Mask on forehead=panic. Where did this mask signal originate?

[Bowers]

I always learned to put my mask around my neck when not in use because on the forehead is there perfect place for it to slip off and be donated to the ocean. Signs of distress often present as divers not following standard procedures that calm thinking divers would. Therefore it has always been my assumption that the distress sign was something that started out as "look for signs of a diver not acting right such as a mask on the forehead" and eventually someone who learned that starting saying "mask's on the forehead is a sign of distress" which is close but easily misinterpreted...

 

[Nemrod]

Yeah, whatever. Never lost one either. If I do after some 56 plus years of scuba diving, I guss it was about high time.



The more I learn it annoys some elements of the dive world the more I place my mask jauntily on my forehead.

 

[MB NZ]

I have no issue with it either, but put the mask around my neck when it's not in use.

 

[Eric802]

Around the neck just isn’t as comfortable as MOF. The bias against MOF seems to be fading from where it was in the late 80’s when I was certified, and I think that’s just fine.

 

[TMHeimer]

Only times I've done MOF were when walking out on a shore dive over slippery rocks. Better vision without the mask. If it ever fell it's in 1-2 feet of water. But usually I just took it off and held it. The reason I talk past tense is I (at least try to) avoid slippery rocks at my age now.
I did break another rule once-- During the first OW course I assisted on I left my tank standing up-- the instructor sure did point that out. But, unless there is hurricane force winds, I do it all the time. Because when you're diving alone the chances of someone bumping into it are miniscual.

 

[OTF]

Sometimes I pull my mask up on my forehead. It's a perfectly reasonable place to put it, sometimes.

I don't put it up there when it could get easily knocked off and lost, eg. surf entry/exit or floating in deep water.

More often I pull it down around my neck, where it is much more secure, but can be a bit more "in the way" of my necklaced reg or CCR loop.

I almost always have a backup mask in my right pocket anyway.

 

[LI-er]

It's uncomfortable to grab the mask and pull it down to the neck and then reverse the process if necessary, the forehead much more convenient.

That much said I will rarely put the mask on my forehead for two reasons that may not always be applicable.

1- A rogue wave or something bumping against it can cause it to fly off and be lost
2- Wearing the mask on forehead prior to a dive increases the odds of it fogging

For me the best option when it's not strapped to my BCD chest strap, hanging on an adjacent tank or in my hand or on my face during a dive is to wear it facing backwards, and the neoprene strap cover makes that easy.

 

[AJ]

I'am panicking every dive then I guess. I wear my mask on the back of my head for convenience reaseons. Mainly because there's a backup reg or a ccr loop under my chin. No place to put a mask.

Oh, and by the way I do a giant stride without my regulator in my mouth and my mask placed on the back of my head. Can't understand I'am still alive after almost 1.000 dives

 

[clownfishsydney]

Yes, instructors have always said it was a sign of panicking diver. However, I always say it is the sign of a diver who has enough money to lose a mask and buy a new one. In 36 years of diving and almost 5,000 dives, I have always left on my face till I get out of the water, whether it is a shore dive or a boat dive.

 

[LI-er]

I do a giant stride without my regulator in my mouth and my mask placed on the back of my head.

Why would you do that?