Mask Clearing....

[bill-da-ho]

Since we do our OW dives in cold water, we have the students practice this in the pool -- with their gloves on. It does take practice and sometimes takes a little bit of time to make sure the hood is over, not under, the mask skirt.

I tend to want to have my hood over my mask skirt to minimize the amount of skin directly exposed to water -- I also tend to exhale through my nose every 3rd breath or so (just habit). This means I often have air in my hood -- which generally makes my head warmer! What's wrong with a little balloon head anyway?

I like my hood to cover the skirt on my mask too, dove in 34 degree water this past winter, dont want any skin exposed that I dont have to.
I prolly will put the vent in the top as suggested. And I will take it off before hand too. lol.
I did find it a bit more difficult to do my exercises with the lobster claw gloves on. I am going to get a pair of regular gloves, and use the lobster claws only when its really cold.

 

[DandyDon]

I was told that when you get a hood, lay your mask on it and draw a chalk line around the mask edges. Cut it out, so the mask imediatly touches skin when you put it on. I dove with a hood cutout this weekend, and it worked great. My partner didn't have it cut to her mask, and had the same issue the whole weekend.

Never thot of that, but I dunno - hadn't tried it. I just make sure my mask is not on my beanie/hood as part of my mask clearing. Have had to point the problem out to buddies at times, but buddies should be watching each other that close.

I like my hood to cover the skirt on my mask too, dove in 34 degree water this past winter, dont want any skin exposed that I dont have to.
I prolly will put the vent in the top as suggested. And I will take it off before hand too. lol.
I did find it a bit more difficult to do my exercises with the lobster claw gloves on. I am going to get a pair of regular gloves, and use the lobster claws only when its really cold.

Ouch! I've been okay to 47F, but I can see where 34F would be a completely different game with gear and skills. Since I am not experienced in that, my suggestion may not carry weight - but can you simply lift the bottom of your mask away from your face just enough to exhale thru your nose expelling water without moving the top of the mask tucked under the hood skirt?

I'd also want to avoid smearing the Vaseline I'm sure I'd have smeared thickly on my exposed face. :shocked2:

 

[Dr Neil]

Next time take the hood off before punching a hole in it. You might find it less painful. lol

I used a hot 12 penny nail to punch my holes. The hot nail also cauterized the hole left in my head.

 

[Shaka Doug]

It sounds like you were just being too agressive with your mask clearing. I always tell people this when they ask about clearing their mask...."You're not blowing the water out...you're replacing the air that leaked out. Slowly blow in enough air to refill the mask and mask clearing becomes very easy."

The vent holes in the hood are a great idea too. Remember to remove the hood before adding them!

 

[Greendiver]

Pinching the hood and pulling it away to clear the seal of the mask may have to be done a couple of time to get a good seal. Like everyone has said, this sure can be tough with thick gloves on.

Its also a good idea to double check the position of the mask strap, sometimes can be hard to feel that its in the right position with a hood on. This was a lesson learned about 1/3 of the way through a dive and wasn't apparent as soon as you would think. Certainly reinforced the need to be able to clear your mask, its not always outside forces that flood a mask!

 

[bill-da-ho]

Well, did another dive, so did my mask clearing exercise again, went much better this time,, I'm sure I was being to aggressive with the clearing the first time around. I took it a little easier, took a couple breaths befor actually trying to clear the mask, so I guess it was a lost mask exercise too, I dont really have too much trouble with breathing without the mask tho. Also, I did this clear while swimming, instead of a stopped position. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[bane51031]

My White's "Heat" hood is IMHO the best hood I have ever tried, it is comfortable and has several vents built in....

 

[spectrum]

I was told that when you get a hood, lay your mask on it and draw a chalk line around the mask edges. Cut it out, so the mask imediatly touches skin when you put it on. I dove with a hood cutout this weekend, and it worked great. My partner didn't have it cut to her mask, and had the same issue the whole weekend.

I like to keep 1/4 - 3/8 inch of overlap. It helps a lot in cold water. My method

Pete