Leaking mask - my personal experience

[Max Birsa]

Dear Forum members,
I am a relatively new OWD (with around 10 dives), so I still consider myself little experienced.

When I have started diving I was using a 20 years old Mares mask, which was constantly leaking from the bottom part.
I then decided to buy a new one, which I should have done in a shop, but due to pandemic I ordered a new one via internet. So I bought a Mares X Vision Liquidskin after reading some reviews, thinking that my old Mares rubber lost its flexibility.
Unfortunately, at the first dive with the new mask, the leaking continued exactly like with the old one.
As you can imagine, having to clear your mask constantly while diving, can be very annoying and will eat up you air quickly.
I have a somewhat narrow face with little flesh on the cheeks, I shave daily to avoid any hair breaking the seal.

Then, last month, I unexpectedly found a solution.
I went to a diving site in Brazil, without any piece of equipment, so I rented everything. I was giving an unassuming old mask, of a brand I never heard before (Aeris). It was a small volume mask, very similar to the Cressi Focus, I put it on, jumped into the water and - bingo - not one drop of water came in, in over 40 minutes dive.

Lesson learned, which I'd like to share:
if you are struggling with a leaking mask, you might have (like me) a weird shaped face which the most common masks do not fit well with. I hope my experience can be useful to some other beginners.

 

[Marie13]

I went through a lot of masks. Number 17 was the charm. I have chubby cheeks with deep smile lines. A lot of masks have very short skirts under the nose. I needed something longer to cover the smile lines.

 

[divinh]

The funny thing is that your solution to a "weird shaped face which the most common mask do not fit well" is a Cressi Focus, which is a very common mask, also sold under other branding. I have two, a primary and a backup.

I started diving with a specialized mask, Hilco, due to prescription lenses and when it broke (dumb me left it in the dive bag without mask box), I borrowed a dive ops' spare that had prescription, but not quite mine. It was better at sealing than my specialized one and since I knew it had prescription drop-ins, I bought it. After signing up for a liveaboard, I bought a backup.

Having a leaking mask, I think, was beneficial in my early diving, as I got pretty good at clearing and never being fussed when water did entered. (Some people panic.)

My advice is to store masks in rigid mask boxes if they're being kept with gear in a dive bag.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

I have a narrow face also and the only mask I found that doesn't leak is a Mares X-Vision Liquidskin Mid. It is a smaller version of the Mares X-Vision. X-Vision Mid 2.0

 

[stiebs]

I'm glad you found a mask that works well for you. A comfortable mask can make all the difference, especially when you're new to diving and there is so much unfamiliarity and so many things to think about.

I often struggle finding masks that don't put pressure on the underneath of my nose. I try not to replace masks too often, but when I do I'll try on many masks and then buy two of the one that is most comfortable.

I've come to accept that I can either keep my facial hair or have a mask that doesn't leak - a moustache and complete mask seal are mutually exclusive - but a mask that leaks from the bottom is not a big issue, I just tend to partially exhale through my nose a lot; mask clearing doesn't use any more air than normal breathing, it's just exhaling through your nose instead of through your mouth!

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

I'm glad you found a mask that works well for you. A comfortable mask can make all the difference, especially when you're new to diving and there is so much unfamiliarity and so many things to think about.

I often struggle finding masks that don't put pressure on the underneath of my nose. I try not to replace masks too often, but when I do I'll try on many masks and then buy two of the one that is most comfortable.

I've come to accept that I can either keep my facial hair or have a mask that doesn't leak - a moustache and complete mask seal are mutually exclusive - but a mask that leaks from the bottom is not a big issue, I just tend to partially exhale through my nose a lot; mask clearing doesn't use any more air than normal breathing, it's just exhaling through your nose instead of through your mouth!

When I had facial hair, I put silicone grease on my mustache and that helped make a seal Trident Silicone Grease Jar, 2oz. Don't use Vaseline, it is petroleum based and will damage the silicone skirt on your mask.
If you exhale through your nose that will break the seal on your mask. When students would breath through their nose, we would have them put their face in the water with snorkel and no mask and breath, this would to help them learn not to breath through their nose while diving.

 

[Max Birsa]

I actually ended up buying exactly a Cressi Focus

The funny thing is that your solution to a "weird shaped face which the most common mask do not fit well" is a Cressi Focus, which is a very common mask, also sold under other branding. I have two, a primary and a backup.

I started diving with a specialized mask, Hilco, due to prescription lenses and when it broke (dumb me left it in the dive bag without mask box), I borrowed a dive ops' spare that had prescription, but not quite mine. It was better at sealing than my specialized one and since I knew it had prescription drop-ins, I bought it. After signing up for a liveaboard, I bought a backup.

Having a leaking mask, I think, was beneficial in my early diving, as I got pretty good at clearing and never being fussed when water did entered. (Some people panic.)

My advice is to store masks in rigid mask boxes if they're being kept with gear in a dive bag.

 

[DanBMW]

After many years of diving I find that my face must change on every other dive. My general go to mask, a Cressi will be perfect one day and leak like a sieve the next. I have yet to find a reliable mask that rarely leaks intermittently except a very old Voit that had neoprene around the skirt.

 

[AfterDark]

This is why mask clearing is a required skill. In a perfect world no mask would leak, ever, this world ain't it.

 

[Daebado]

When I'm diving, I can't help but smile because, well... I'm diving!!
Therefore, my mask leaks. If I could just keep a straight face, I would be fine most of the time!