How much mask leakage is normal?

[pasley]

...The people i know with moustaches use vaseline without damage to their masks and say it helps then....

Is the skirt of their mask yellowed? If so, that could be damage from the vasoline.

In the long term I am told it will discolor the silicone skirt material. Not a chemist and have no reference excpet other people telling me that. Silicon lube works well, and you should have some in you bag for o-rings anyway.

 

[gtxl1200]

I have a stache and never touch it as far as shaving the top of it off and such. I had a severe leakeage problem and while on a dive trip to Florida and completly frustrated from the amount of water coming in I stopped at a dive shop just a long shot before I shaved the stache off and the guy working there also had a stache he said try this mask on for fit I did I liked it and bought it. Plus he sold me a little thing of silicone grease. I havent had a drop of water in my mask since. The name of the mask is a Tilos. if you can find one ask if you can try it out in the pool or rent it for the day and see if you if it helps you. I have never seen anyone mention that name brand on this board.

 

[String]

Is the skirt of their mask yellowed? If so, that could be damage from the vasoline.

In the long term I am told it will discolor the silicone skirt material. Not a chemist and have no reference excpet other people telling me that. Silicon lube works well, and you should have some in you bag for o-rings anyway.

Just about every mask ive ever seen thats over a year old is yellowed on the skirt, mine included and its never been near any form of lubricant or chemical.
2 people im thinking of have had their masks for 3+ years and not seen corrosion related to vaseline or other chemicals.

Silicone lube is expensive and tends to come in small tubes - far smaller than vaseline so may not be very economical to use.

 

[Charlie99]

Silicone lube is expensive and tends to come in small tubes - far smaller than vaseline so may not be very economical to use.

I buy the Trident 2 ounce jars for about US$8, and it lasts me for about 50 dives, so it isn't really that big of an expense.

I don't really know whether vaseline destroys good quality silicone skirts, or if it was just a problem with older generation rubber masks, but I've chosen to spend the few pennies per dive that it costs to use the high grade stuff -- particularly since I have a prescription mask.

OTOH, were I using rental gear .......

 

[Charlie99]

I have a moustache so I've pretty much gotten used to mask leakage. Water doesn't "flood" in, but I have to clear the mask pretty often.

I'm wondering how much should a mask leak, with or without a moustache?

On most dives, virtually no water seeps past my moustache, but that wasn't always true.

Here are some techniques I've developed after about 350 dives with a moustache:

Start with a good fitting mask

Adjust the strap properly. Either too tight or too loose may cause problems.

A dab of silicone grease on your moustache helps a lot. Look in a mirror to see where the mask crosses the moustache. You only need to coat that area.

Comb or otherwise smooth your moustache so that the hairs all point downward. If it's a particularly bad hair day, use some chapstick to get the unruly hairs to stay in place. Chapstick is petroleum based, as is Vaseline, but it doesn't seem to have any negative effect on my mask.

When putting on your mask, carefully slide the skirt down the moustache -- again the goal is to have all the moustache hairs pointing down.

Sometimes I put on the mask a few minutes early to let things settle into place. This has the advantages of improving my topside vision (prescription mask), and clearing the path to the entry gate since it looks like I'm in a hurry to get into the water .

I fill an old chapstick tube with silicone grease and put it into a BC pocket. Most of the time I only have to grease up before the 1st dive, but on a few ocassions it's been nice to be able to regrease the moustache and reseat the mask during the dive.

Before digging out the chapstick tube, I'll just do a little underwater moustache grooming by reaching up under the mask skirt and smoothing down the moustache -- that cures the problem most of the time.

If I do have a slow leak, I just ignore it since repeatedly clearing a mask tends to remove the defog. Warn your buddy though, otherwise he may try to give you underwater lessons in how to clear a mask.

DO try to remember to fully clear your mask before flipping upside down. If you don't, remember that a good saline rinse is good for the nasal passages

Dive safe, dive often,

Charlie Allen

 

[DIvemaster234]

Try using a water based lube like KY-Jelly. You need to put it on between dives but there is no adverse effects on your mask skirt. And its cheap too.

 

[BuoyantC]

Charlie99 has some good tips.
I also have a moustache, though I've seldom had any leakage problem. The times I did was when I shaved a small space between 'stache and nose to prevent a problem that didn't exist.

If it's shaved really smooth okay, but stubble will make it leak. My beard hair is fairly fine so that may to my advantage as well. Also I wear my mask fairly loose and use a USD Look mask.
----------------
D.C.C.

 

[pt40fathoms]

I just started diving and I haven't purchased any personal gear yet.

I have a moustache so I've pretty much gotten used to mask leakage. Water doesn't "flood" in, but I have to clear the mask pretty often. It's only really annoying when I'm trying to navigate with the compass because the water pools on the glass. Also, I occasionally get water down my nose or in my eyes when I look up.

I'm wondering how much should a mask leak, with or without a moustache? I'm not sure how much of the leakage is because of the poor fitting rental mask and how much is from my moustache.

Thanks.

OK, heres one suggestion that may not be very common.

I have a stash, and I used to shave a little clean area under the nose, trim the stash before diving, and even used shmutz to help stop the leaking. You know what I discovered......

Don't Shave!

The shorter hairs will make the silicon skirt stand away from your face and make it leak. Either leave the hairs longer, so they lay flat and afford a good seal with mask skirt, or shave it off completely.

Short Hairs Cause Leaks!

There you have it. Unconventional thinking, yes, but so far every diver I know who has had this problem and experimented with leaving the hairs longer have all come away saying "much drier", or "completely dry". Thats not to say you never trim the cookie duster when the hairs get a little long, just dont trim too short.

Give it a try next time you go for a dive, you have nothing to loose, except maybe that bottle of shmutz you spread on the stash.

 

[Charlie99]

Don't Shave!

The shorter hairs will make the silicon skirt stand away from your face and make it leak. Either leave the hairs longer, so they lay flat and afford a good seal with mask skirt, or shave it off completely.

I've noted the same -- short hairs tend stick up and cause leaks.

One more tip that I forgot in my earlier, lengthy post --- after several days of intensive saltwater diving your beard will get coarse and unruly. Hair conditioner will get it soft again so that you can get the hairs to lay flat under the mask seal.

 

[pt40fathoms]

One more tip that I forgot in my earlier, lengthy post --- after several days of intensive saltwater diving your beard will get coarse and unruly. Hair conditioner will get it soft again so that you can get the hairs to lay flat under the mask seal.

Hadn't thought of using hair conditioner on my face durring a shower to soften the facial hairs. Sounds logical, I'll try it this summer.