Maskless vision?

[Antmany2k]

its blurry, uncomfortable and not nice but i can see my fingers clearly and gauges i could make out roughly. hurts like hell if the bubbles hit your eyes so breathe out with your head tilted. but id like to share a story:

on a trip to Turkey in October i was the only customer of a dive company and had a great guide who took me out for dives. at the end of dives he would test me on certain skills and drills during our safety stop (on the seabed) one of them was the mask clearing which i was comfortable with so i flooded my mask and cleared it and then he asked me to take my mask off which i did with my eyes closed expecting to put it back on like i was taught in my open water course. but to my surprise he took my mask from me, held my arm for support and got me to open my eyes for the short 5m or so to the boat ladder and ascension.

afterwards he explained that divers should always practice drills. he explained that taking my mask was teaching me to open my eyes to my surroundings as if i was down at 20m,25m,30m and lost my mask i couldn't just keep my eyes closed till i got to the surface. (a valid point i had not considered) now whenever i dive i take my mask off and open my eyes just as a drill and to get a bit more used to it (at first id breathe a bit heavier) now it doesn't faze me and even led to my party piece (i take a leg bag with a cheap pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap with me and during the safety stop i swap my mask for the sunglasses and cap then i surface to the bemusement of the people on the beach/boat etc (see profile pic). gets a few laughs which is the main point but is also a way to practice the no mask thing).

 

[kelemvor]

(i take a leg bag with a cheap pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap with me and during the safety stop i swap my mask for the sunglasses and cap then i surface to the bemusement of the people on the beach/boat etc (see profile pic). gets a few laughs which is the main point but is also a way to practice the no mask thing).

That's a good one!

 

[Antmany2k]

That's a good one!

thanks, i love seeing peoples reaction to it

 

[Cr.padlo]

I wear contacts...so its like looking without my contacts. All depends on how silty the water is. Ialso do quite well with the drunk goggles...

 

[stretchthepenn]

Former pool guy/commercial swimming pool operator here... FYI, the reason y'all's eyes are uncomfortable in a pool is not the chlorine level. The pH is the culprit.

 

[wKkaY]

I've heard of "ear beer" to prevent infection after a dive. Is there "eye beer" for when we do these drills?

 

[dmaziuk]

I've heard of "ear beer" to prevent infection after a dive. Is there "eye beer" for when we do these drills?

Not specifically AFAIK but you could use any "dry eye" drops to help reduce irritation if your eyes don't recover on their own by the time you're out of the showers. Personally I avoid ones with liquid polyethylene/polypropylene and prefer "homeopathic" variants, YMMV.

 

[wKkaY]

Just don't wanna end up like the scuba version of this guy Bendigo Man Goes Blind After Stripper Urinates on Him

 

[Griffo]

Also depends how cold the water is. I find being maskless a relatively minor issue in the tropics, much more so in my local water which is considered 'temperate' (I call it bloody cold). I can't read my computer in either, even though it had very big numbers, but I find the task loading of maskless cold water much more than maskless warm water.