is my wife deformed?

[hbhobby]

In order to keep my recently certified wife willing to dive with me we went out and bought her all new equipment in matching colors and design and everything. the problems we (she) are having is finding a mask that doesn't leak. We (she) has tried on several masks at the dive shop and they stick to her face fine don't leak etc (all the stuff they tell you to do to see if a mask will work) and then we get into the water and the thing leaks. So we go back to the dive shop and get another maks after trying all of the tests and same results. We now have 6 different masks that we have tried and still it leaks more than she wants it to. What are we doing wrong? Is this common? is there a way to get a "custom" mask made that will fit? Right now I have several hundred dollars in masks that don't work for her. I really have to hand it to my LDS they have been very liberal in their return policy and have been outstanding! But I still have several masks that will be backups for me. I am open to any suggestions that you may have.

 

[themagni]

The masks may not be adjusted properly, or she might be getting hair into the seal.

I had to tighten the straps on my mask after I lost some weight -- obviously if it's too loose, it'll get water inside. However, if the mask is too tight, it will deform the seal and prevent it from staying watertight. The angle of attachment is important, too. If the band sits up over, say, a ponytail, it will leak because the mask isn't sitting flat.

If I smile, I end up breaking the seal, but it works out that my lines channel the water out. (In the event of a leak, I smile and breathe out through my nose, which clears the mask perfectly.)

I've got a buddy with long hair who always gets her hair caught in the seal, so I have to make sure there's not even ONE sitting between her mask and her face. Make sure she's wearing her hair back. (She might also have some peach-fuzz that's causing a problem.)

It could also be that other equipment is getting in the way -- is the mask trying to seal over a hood? Is the regulator pushing the mask up and breaking the seal? You've obviously used your equipment long enough that putting it on is second-nature, but she might have missed part of the setup procedure.

 

[barchy]

I have the same problem! To what depth have you gone with the masks? I found that the pressure from going deeper helps to snug the mask to my face.You get use to a little leak but it`s easy enough to clear. I use the Cressi sub big eyes by the way. Hope this helps good luck.

 

[Big Toes]

when you guys are checking for fit in the store, are you doing it with either a snorkel or reg in her mouth? this tends to make the cheeks puff out a bit and will destroy an otherwise good fit.

this makes a big difference regarding whether it will seal or not and is often overlooked when people give mask fit advice.

hope this helps; best of luck.

 

[chazrich]

I had this problem too when I first started, but my problem was that the snorkel pulled on my mask and would let water in. I solved the problem by removing the snorkel. (Did I say that ? )

 

[diversteve]

If you haven't already, you might try a frameless mask. I bought a cheap one (Sherwood?) online and it seals better than my $60 Tusa Visualator.

If you can find one with a soft-skirt that should seal even better.
Mares sells the X-Vision with what's called Liquid Skin.
Mares X-Vision Mid Skirt Liquid Skin Mask 411029 with reviews at scuba.com

 

[hbhobby]

thank you for all of the responces
we do make sure no hair is in the seal, and she does use a snorkle when testing the masks too, we have tried several mask straps and locations (with and without pony) we will try some of the frameless masks like suggested

 

[RICHinNC]

It really does make a diff not to have a reg in the mouth.

Plus, make sure your face it WET before going down....or even jumping in if you can.

 

[Rutger]

Could also try using some vasaline or chapstick on the mask seal. I know people who have faces like an old catcher's mitt (too much time in the sun!) who use this method.

 

[redacted]

Perhaps the problem is emotions. That is, facial expressions may be creating lines in her face causing the mask to leak. Laughing, frowning, anything other than the calm relaxed face that tried the mask on.