How was your first experience with the Mask Removal Scuba Diving Skill?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Note the % of positive responses from snorkelers and those with other water experience.
I think Jim may be right about demonstrating it super slow causing more problems-- clearing the mask is done quickly.
 
Note the % of positive responses from snorkelers and those with other water experience.
I think Jim may be right about demonstrating it super slow causing more problems-- clearing the mask is done quickly.
This is why I demonstrate at the surface without scuba. Mask removal/clearing is difficult for many students.
 
This is why I demonstrate at the surface without scuba. Mask removal/clearing is difficult for many students.
Makes sense. Funny thing-- right before I took OW course I tried to clear my mask (we lived right on the ocean). I couldn't get my face in the correct angle and figured gee this is hard I guess. Once in the class it went fine. I guess with all my past snorkeling I would dive down & up, then just empty any water in the mask while on the surface-- never had a reason to clear it uw.
 
I don’t remember learning it, but I have plenty of times leaks were an issue. The mustache of my youth ensured a sh*tty fit. I am a Heath believer in “if it is leaking take it off and start over”. I would much rather get 40F sea water in my face than endlessly clear a poorly seated mask…
 
I don’t like open eyes underwater so I probably don’t practice mask recovery enough. Pool or fresh water it’s not that bad, Salt water? Hate it, it stings (duh).

Weird... I can't speak for others, but I've found that the salinity of salt water seems to be nearly the same as that of normal tears. I can keep my eyes open underwater, in salt water, indefinitely with no discomfort (or sting) at all.
 
Weird... I can't speak for others, but I've found that the salinity of salt water seems to be nearly the same as that of normal tears. I can keep my eyes open underwater, in salt water, indefinitely with no discomfort (or sting) at all.
Same here. Salt water fine. It's the pool chlorine that gets me. EYES CLOSED for me without mask on there.
 
Same here. Salt water fine. It's the pool chlorine that gets me. EYES CLOSED for me without mask on there.
At the risk of being pedantic, it's not the chlorine that's the problem. Free chlorine that's dissolved in pool water has little to no effect on the human eye.

It's bad pH balance and an abundance of chloramines (combined chlorine, the form that's bonded to organic matter and creates that "swimming pool smell") that cause eye irritation.

A clean, well-maintained pool is odorless and won't make your eyes sting at all.
 
No issue. I do water sports since I can remember and always open my eyes under water looking for creatures :wink:
 
Weird... I can't speak for others, but I've found that the salinity of salt water seems to be nearly the same as that of normal tears. I can keep my eyes open underwater, in salt water, indefinitely with no discomfort (or sting) at all.

Me too.
 
Long time snorkeler/freediver/water dog here. I've never had problems taking mask off underwater/clearing before I did my OW. I went through the first 3 dives/several internations of all the mask clearing just fine. On the last and final dive where we had to run through all our skills, things got dicy for me. The mask I was provided for class broke on me the day before the last dive. I was given a low profile style mask as a replacement. It was the first time I had worn the mask. When time came for me to do the mask clearing 3(full removal) I'm thinking alright no biggie lets do this, been doing this all weekend. When I started filling the mask/pulling it off, there had been a seal created around my nose, only my nose, not eyes. When I pulled the mask away from my face the seal around my nose broke, the negative pressure immediately flooded my nose with water. Mentally I knew exactly what happened, I knew I could breath, in my head I was telling myself to stay calm but my body was not hearing that. Body was in full blown panic. It took several minutes for me to calm down. After that I was almost terrified to try mask clearing again even though I had done it a million times before. I couldn't even get in the water without a mask and swim without my body thinking I was going to drown. It took me getting into my pool and forcing myself to go underwater no mask, with a snorkel for hours before I felt comfortable again. It was one of the strangest thing that's ever happened to me. Nowadays it's no biggie, I take my mask off all the time while diving to practice mask clearing.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom