Greetings from OTS! (Santa Ana, CA)

[anelson-OTS]

Hi everyone, my name is Andy Nelson. For anyone that would like any questions answered about Full Face masks and/or Underwater Communications, I am your man. I've been with Ocean Technology Systems for about a year now and now that I am on Scuba Board I will be glad to answer any questions you have, or find out the answer for you if I don't have it myself.

I know there is a sort of mystery to the full face mask and underwater communications world and I would like to get rid of that. I will be on here most days and will be able to assist in any way I can. As a newer diver, I understand the difficulties involved with conventional SCUBA sometimes and now fully appreciate the world of full face masks. Having to clear my mask constantly, although sealing when during a "surface test" would leak/fog the minute I hit the water and become horizontal to the ground. My "smile lines" are too distinct from what I've been told by numerous divers. Also, dealing with TMJ has been a problem my entire life and not having to bite down on a reg for a few hours is nice when I dive. In addition, the safety and ease of communicating with a buddy when there is an issue is so much nicer than having to bang on a tank or try and play a game of charades to get their attention.

I hope I don't sound "sales-y", I'm just trying to give a little background into what I've found in my experiences with diving thus far. For anyone that has any questions, please ask, and I'd be glad to assist you.

Happy Diving!

 

[Wookie]

Welcome, Andy. I am new to OTS masks, and wonder if there is a narrower mask than the standard yellow one, designed to fit women.

 

[anelson-OTS]

Hi Wookie. We designed our masks to have a double skirt, so that if a face does not fit on the outer skirt, there is a good chance that they should fit the inside skirt. The only issue that I've heard is that there may be an issue if the person has an EXTREMELY narrow face or are a young child. I've dove with people with narrow faces, but haven't come across one that is so narrow it hasn't worked. I haven't done demos/dives that haven't been resolved without adjusting the straps on the mask or moving a hood out of the seal of the mask.

Also, because our mask is a semi-positive pressure mask, even if there is not a perfect seal, water should not be able to enter the mask. Doing a demo, I tried to demonstrate getting water in my mask and was unable to even with pulling it a good inch off my face/keeping my Ambient Breathing Valve open/inverting. If the mask is not sealing properly, you should ensure that it is sitting directly on the face of the diver and not a hood.

Have you gotten any hands on with our gear or tried it on the woman/women you are thinking of?

Also, we have a variety of colors to choose from, with more coming out in the near future. Hope you're not confusing us with AGA

 

[Wookie]

Well, let me look. Nope, my GRD-BUDS-D2-YB with Buddy phone (times 3) at $1,349 a pop as well as my Aquacom STX-101 at $2,049 all seem to have an OTS logo on them. I certainly hope you aren't confusing me with a single tank numpty.

So, yes, I have tried all 3 of my masks on the woman I'm thinking of, and none of them leak water in, they all leak air out, because they are designed to keep water out, but aren't designed for a woman's face. At this time, she is running through about 2/3 of her air in a cylinder die to air leaking at the temples whenever she turns her head from vertical. This means, for a hundred foot dive, I'll have to have her in steel 120's to get the same bottom time she would have in an aluminum 80 for safety. It isn't impossible to do this, but it's a huge pain in the butt.

Maybe an AGA would be a better fit? What do you think? Maybe I can sell all of my OTS equipment on Ebay....

 

[anelson-OTS]

I wouldn't think of anyone as a numpty. That's the first I've ever heard of that word, but will now be using it in my vocabulary for actual numpties/numptys/numpti. Your standard numpty often confuses the two.

Anyway, as far as trading out for AGA, I wouldn't switch the masks out. The Guardian was designed to fit more faces than the AGA with the double seal and has a much better track record than AGA (mask will fit most). I've talked with numerous military SEALS/divers, with I guess you could say, standard head sizes, and even then they have trouble with the MK20 sealing properly.

I asked our Training Director here, and he advised to try doing a "friction seal" as in putting something in there to fill in the excess space. He recommended using about an inch of surgical tubing to glue in there, or whatever the length is from her cheek bone to temple to fill the space. As I understand this is a little added work, I hope this could get her back in the water and get both of you to enjoy diving the mask.

 

[Wookie]

A friend at NBL in Houston (they have lots of woman divers) suggested something like 1/4" single side weather strip foam. Is this what your training director is advocating? I can give it a shot. Supposedly it makes the inner seas stiffer in the temple area.

Numpty is a great replacement for "Stroke" which has fallen out of favor due to overuse. Numpty comes from the UK, and means "those who don't do this for a living". I now wear a beard, which is hell on seals, so she is doing what I should be. The OTS fits me fine.

 

[anelson-OTS]

Hey Wookie,

Talked with John Hott (the training director) and he informed me that that is something that could work. He also mentioned going with a marine-grade form of the weather strip foam if possible.

I looked up something to the effect of what he is talking about here : M-D Building Products 1033 All-Climate Auto and Marine Weatherstrip -inchAll-inch Strip, 10 Feet, Black - Amazon.com

He also informed me that if you get an "open cell" foam it will more than likely get wet when you dive, but there is also "closed cell" foam, which is what he believes this particular form of foam is, which will not get as wet, but instead when doing deep dives, it may compress a little, but should still keep a seal.

He also said, some people would rather go the surgical tube route, but the problem with that is, is that there is no adhesive on it, such as with the weather stripping. He recommended some 3M adhesive for that if you would rather go that way.

I think it would be worth a shot going either way, but especially if your friends at NBL have had success, it may be worth going the same way they did. If it works, why not replicate their success? I think either way is a viable approach and could work. If/When you get the chance to try it out, let me know how it goes, I'm curious as to see how it works out for you and may be able to offer up additional info if needed.

--Andy N.

 

[Herb-alaska]

wookie, I dive a OTS mask for play and dive AGA for PS dives. I do not have a narrow fit issue however have helped fix a couple of narrow face issues on others. I found the surgical tubing between the double seal on the OTS Guardian worked well, having the double seal was the benefit over the AGA. I Did not have to glue it or stick it in it was able to wedge in and hold well enough,

Mask leaks suck and will really drain your tank as you indicated.