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Purge Mask is invaluable for me; I wear RGP Contact Lenses and every once in awhile, one spontaneously pops out into my mask. If I had to clear the mask conventionally, that popped lens would certainly be washed-out & lost. . .
I love mine and hate it . Down side of the Tusa Imprex is two finger operation to equalize , no big deal till you do a night dive or you need to equalize while one hand gainfully employed . Next the valve need special attention every few months . Basically i just turned it into my backup mask cause i didnt like dealing with it . But i will also say if you dive with a hood , the purge is nice cause it deflects the water away from the hood so it doesnt fill up .
My primary mask is a Tusa Platina Hyperdry. It has a purge, but it's placed at the bottom edge under the left eye, so, there is no obstruction on the nose pocket. Works great for me; custom prescription lenses and 'stash. Just look up, tilt your head a bit to the left, and exhale.
The only downside of this mask, is the thickness of the material used at the nose pocket. When equalizing its not as pliable as other masks I have. I deal with it.
I usually use the purge to clear, even when completely flooded; it does take 2 full breaths, so no problem, unless I'm really in a rush.
My mask is a SeqQuest Tetra which also has the purge under one eye (in this case, the right eye). The nose part is pliable enough for me to plug my nose to equilize, even with my often sore fingers (it's suspected that I have RA). All-in-all i've been very happy with this mask although I have no idea if they still make it. I've had this one for about 7 years I think...
...yeah. That might be a downside for purge valves. I tend to breathe out of my nose a lot, which causes my mask to fog up. Maybe if I had no purge, the feeling of pressure would remind me: "Don't do that!" :05:
I don't have a problem with using the nose purge causing fogging. I use slate erase stuff to give it a soft scrub before a dive trip, then just good old human spit for surfactant, evenly distributed across the glass pane.
If you don't give a mask a nice non-scratch-but-somewhat-abrasive cleaning once in a while, it will lead to fogging problems. Some folks use toothpaste - each their own.
Are you using a commercial anti-fog compund?
And, I can pinch my nose with thumb & forefinger of one hand in the Aqua Lung Pacifica - no problem. No two hand pinching needed. I wear soft 14 use disposable contacts, and I can't use 2 lens masks - the center post does things to me (not a normal vision issue).
Since Aqua Lung now owns SeaQuest, I think the SeaQuest mask line has been discontinued, although a Tetra mask shows up under their Deep See brand. They've done the same with wetsuits too evidently - my Seaquest X-Flex shorty purchased in March 2005 is no longer seen on their web site - but the Aqua Lung Aqua Flex shorty now is. I think the Seaquest and Deep See names will be completely phased out at some point.
WarmWaterDiver: It's not purging that causes fogging, it's the fact that I continually breathe out of my nose because "it just goes out the purge, right?" -that's what causes the fogging. Yes, I wash my mask and use defogger and it generally works, but not always. If I learned not to breathe out of my nose, the mask would be that much less likely to fog. -That's all I was saying.
OK - no problem. I breathe out my nose often throughout the dive also, not just when equalizing or clearing, and I don't have fogging, so thought I'd offer some ideas. That's all I was saying. I have sinus issues and doing zero nose breathing is a challenge to me. The purge style mask has alleviated a lot of the issues associated with nose breathing for me - including unintentional nose exhaling.
I've used commercial anti-fog stuff and never had that work as well for me as spit does - those things would give me a foggy mask - everyone has their own preferences. I'd have to scrub my mask well after using anti-fog stuff for spit to work right even.
The mask purge valve is nice but not essential feature. It also is one more point of possible failure on that piece of equipment. I, personally, place it at the bottom of selection criteria. Besides, a proper fitting and properly used mask should only have to cleared infrequently.
Im sure purge masks have their uses for people with special needs/considerations (contact lense issue above being a good one for example) but we make all students learn proper mask clearing with a normal mask. If they turn up with a purge mask they have to borrow a normal mask for all pool sessions, assessments and the related open water dives. Nobody will get the qualification signed up without being able to demonstrate full mask clear and removal with a normal mask.
Once qualified they can do what they like (until the next level course where again they have to demonstrate skills without the purge mask).
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