Deep diving with a FFM

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Hold on. Why would someone blackout in the first place? Let's address the root cause here instead of trying to work around it by introducing additional risks and convolutions with a FFM and gas switching block.

The Thai cave rescue was a unique circumstance with little relevance to sport diving. In regular ocean tech diving, a blackout is unlikely to be survivable regardless of what kind of mask or regulator arrangement you have. I mean we practice rescuing an unconscious diver by managing the airway and bringing them up in a controlled ascent, but the actual odds of success are pretty low.

Sure I would not argue with any of that.
 
I don't know what people are blacking out from, and ideally you REALLY don't want that happening underwater. However, some people (myself included) make a regulator-necklace out of bungie, which can be tightened to prevent the regulator from falling out of your mouth, or drifting off if knocked out of your mouth.
A fellow with whom I worked, back in the 1990s, suffered what was later determined be a petite mal seizure, while diving with a full face mask. He was obviously semi or unconscious when we came upon him, a limp noodle, and took him to the surface; but that mask prevented regulator loss and / or interruption of breathing.

Had he a conventional set-up that day, I would have toasted him at his wake, with the good stuff . . .
 
I was trained as a commercial Diver in the early 1970's and worked on many diving jobs using everything from a Desco Pot to KM ultralight helmets and KMB masks. This is, as mentioned by one poster, is a very different type of diving, but became something that I was used to. I changed careers and worked as an Engineer primarily in heavy industry and nuclear power generation for many years. Since moving to Hawaii 6 years ago I am back in the water at work divng for a tourist Submarine company. Some years back I bought a new Scubapro FFM, for almost nothing, from an old diving buddy that I used to work with and stashed it away. We are in shallow water most of the time doing inspections, running tests, cleaning and doing repairs on the sub and two surface vessels. So, on this job we just use SCUBA, and I decided to give this mask a try. I put a Scubapro Mk11 with an S620 2nd on it and use it about 3 times a week. I like it because it has a better field of vision and I spend a long time in the water on dive days and my mouth does not get as dried out as it does on a regular mouthpiece. The company also owns a Ocean Reef FFM with comms that is used for Coast Guard and Insurance company inspections, annually. This is a mask that I really dislike for the way it fits. I do not use a FFM on recreational dives; there I dive a conventional SCUBA mask with a Poseidon Reg. I have zero issues with diving a FFM in any situation. I think (in my case at least) it is a non-issue to dive this way, with easily over 1000 working dives, using this gear I have had zero issues. CO2 buildup in the oral nasal cavity has never been a problem, and if I have to ditch the mask I have an octo 2nd, which I have no problem using without a mask. When we do deeper tasks in 110 - 120 fsw I change over to diving Tiny doubles with the Poseidon reg and a conventional mask.

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I have been diving an Ocean Reef GDiver mask for over a year now almost exclusively. I think its perfectly fine for deep diving within recreational limits. I did my deep cert in it and had it down to 135 feet, had no issues or negative or things to note.

Does it have some "limitations", yes. But the FFM training teaches you to manage ALL of them.

Having said all of that, if the dive is outside of recreational limits, requires gas switching, or the dive requires something other than single or double backmount, I would leave it at home. Its not worth all the extra plumbing to make all of that work.
 
I'v seen some dive full face masks to avoid face freez in cold water like ice diving. Never asked how deep they were going but they came back so I guess it worked out fine.
 
I'v seen some dive full face masks to avoid face freez in cold water like ice diving. Never asked how deep they were going but they came back so I guess it worked out fine.
Most of my ice diving experiences were in those first few years of scuba (when I was far crazier and less risk-adverse); and what was most commonly -- and cheaply -- available, back then, were very simple, though effectively-designed full-face masks, like the one seen below, which are amazingly, still available.

The Cousteau team used that set-up, during their Antarctica filming, fifty years ago.

The most expensive component had been the replacement body and adaptor for a Cyklon regulator; but the whole set-up, mask and bits, had only been around 150.00 back then -- still a chunk of change for a student, on a largely sardine and ramen diet.

The lion's share of those dives, involved lakes in the US Northeast, though we generally maxed out at depths around 20 meters, since visibility wasn't always that great and light was often limited; though I have frequently used more sophisticated FFMs for more comfortable diving and far deeper ones, in cold waters, such as Nanaimo in BC . . .
 

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After over 5 years of use on the job and only a couple of minor cleanings it was time for a cleanup and upgrade to the latest version of this ScubaPro Full Face Mask. I replaced the frame around the glass and that included the new style metal buckles. I also replaced the blind plug for the comm port that replaced the left lower buckle. I completely disassembled the mask and soaked parts in white vinegar to remove deposits and then I cleaned and wiped all parts with silicon lube. The regulator is serviced but it is still pretty scratched up, but the mask looks pretty new.
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You don’t think a FFM would be extensively used already if it was so great for deep diving? It’s not and there are good reasons, primarily the complications already mentioned.
We had frequently used FFMs to depths around 50 meters, along with a 100 or 120 cf tank, with a 30 cf pony, strung together with a gas-switching manifold.

The bigger concern, back then, was hypercapnia, from the FFMs that we were then using — comfortable enough, in terms of fit and view; but the second stages were absolute crap (compared to our standard gear), among the worst I had ever used, in terms of work of breathing, especially in any current or under a workload -- a guaranteed headache, each and every time . . .
 
I dive a OTS Guardian FFM once the water gets into the 50's because I feel much warmer. I also do like the mask because my jaw doesn't get tired (our dives can be up to 3 hours), and I like being able to breathe through my nose. With that being said, the mask is too hot most of the year so I don't wear it. This is on shallow dives and for many reasons stated above, I don't think I would go with the FFM on deep dives.
 
I dive a OTS Guardian FFM once the water gets into the 50's because I feel much warmer. I also do like the mask because my jaw doesn't get tired (our dives can be up to 3 hours), and I like being able to breathe through my nose. With that being said, the mask is too hot most of the year so I don't wear it. This is on shallow dives and for many reasons stated above, I don't think I would go with the FFM on deep dives.
I thought that the work of breathing -- compared with some other masks -- was terrible with the Guardian, especially in any current; and that is apparently, a common complaint.

Any comments about the second stage?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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