ocean reef neptune 2 full face mask

[LBHeyman]

Good info everyone thanks!

 

[stangd1909]

Great info, thanks a lot everyone!

 

[stangd1909]

Stangd1909, Is there any other reasons besides the tech diving classes that made you decide against the ocean reef masks? The reason I ask, is I just purchased one myself, and I was trying to reseach the pros/cons. I did'nt find much about them except for high air consumption. Just trying to see if there was something else that steered you away from them??? Thanx in advance for any help you can provide...

No other reason at the time, It's something that we are still interested in, and are going to give a try.

 

[stangd1909]

We currently have a special on the Ocean Reef SPACE masks with single channel communications. Our special is for the purchase of two masks. Give us a call at (800) 601-3483. Thanks.

Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com

I looked on your website and didn't see any? Do you still sell them?

 

[stangd1909]

I dive with a Fire Department Dive Team.
We were using a more "commercial" FFM, but nobody liked them, they were finicky, heavy, and when they broke, they cost a bunch of money to fix (THEY WERE NOT MADE BY OCEAN REEF).
About a year ago, we switched to Ocean Reef Neptune masks.

Some observations since the switch...
People are actually using them. (on most dives, we can choose normal regs or the FFM)
With just a little bit of training and famaliarization, we've come to prefer the Ocean Reef FFM.
They can be a pain to set up properly (they have to be adjusted to fit your face, but the adjustment is pretty easy to change).
They can be a little finicky in shallow water (under 10ft). The reg adjustment knob needs to be all the way in (or is that out...hardest to breath setting) in shallow water, or they will stutter. The deeper you go, the less this is a problem.
They provide excellent vision. I wear glasses. I got the glasses insert with my prescription in them. It is probably the BEST I've ever been able to see underwater. They don't fog, ever.

Some observations on the Communications system:
When my wife saw the Ocean Reef masks with Comm system that the Dive Team had, she wanted us to get a set for our personal use (she dives too). We took advantage of the buy two with single channel comm promotion mentioned above.
She was imagining that we'd have long rambling conversations about the flora and fauna underwater. Having experience U/W comms before, I was pretty sure that wasn't going to be the case.
She was disappointed, I wasn't. The comms are just as good as a $10k wireless commercial diving system, but if you are expecting much more than simple 3 word conversations, with lots of "WHAT???" thrown in, and slow speaking annunciating each word very clearly, you'll be disappointed.
It's the nature of the beast. There is water between your ear and the speaker. There are bubbles that interfere with the transmission. Your own breathing makes it hard to hear. There are boat noises, and other things underwater that mess with the system, it's not perfect. If you want perfect, you'll need a fully enclosed hard hat, with a hard wired comm system, and you'll pay lots of cash for it.
My wife and I have the singel channel comms. The dive team has the dual channel comms. We can talk to them (if they are on channel 1). Ours are push-to-talk only. The Dive Team's are PTT or Voice activated. They mostly use the PTT setting, because the Voice activated is a pain. Theirs has a robot voice which helps guide them through the settings. When the battery goes dead, the robot voice just keeps announcing something about "Channel 1" over and over. It's pretty annoying. It annoyed me, and I was diving NEXT TO the guy with the dead battery.
The comms come with a clear plastic doohickey that attaches them to the masks. This looks flimsy, and prone to break, so my wife and I took ours off and just attached the comm unit directly to the mask straps with the built-in hooks. This works just fine. The Dive Team choose to use the clear plastic doohickeys and has already broken several of them.

So, to end my quasi-review...
Even though I brought up a few negatives, overall I feel that the Ocean Reef masks are worth the money. I bought my own set after seeing the Dive Team's, and I don't regret the purchase. If they were lost or stolen, I'd probably go out and buy an exact replacement!

Again thanks a lot for the post. Did you take a class on how to operate the mask, or is it something that I should be able to fiqure out myself?

 

[MrWizard]

On the subject of tech, my wife and I both dive these for tech including full deco stops. I can be done and its not really hard. There are multiple ways to do it and I'll give you a little history on our evolution so far. Before I go any further I will point out that OCEAN Reef seems to corporately cring every time we start talking to them about our set ups, so I wouldn't expect them to support anything we've done (other than basic mask function) I understand corporate liability and all that and distancing yourself from the crazy tech divers seems to be part of that mindset.

We started out using the Ocean Reef FFM for the bottom gas only. Using a more traditional reg/mask set up for everything else

After a few dives we tested then adopted doing gas switching by using the quick disconnect system to accomplish gas switches and still going back to a traditional stage 2 for the O2 stop at the end. Concern about O2 cleanliness and cold water freeze ups started us looking for alternatives.

We are now using gas blocks, which while expensive is really the way to go. We use a 3 block system which allows 4 bottles of travel-bottom-deco arrangements. Its very simple, damm near idiot proof and we've got a buddy process on our check list to check each others switch positions at each interval.

We both carry a spare mask and a spare stage 2 (also on a quick disconnect) and at least one tank is rigged with a normal stage-2 as is the output block set up on a Y allowing direct gas sharing. Diving in 3rds will leave one tank with enough gas for an ugly ascent with a long deco if the deco bottle fails in some way. (probably overkill, but we are way out on the gear and diving edge, besides thats why the diving gods make 15L tanks)

The remaining issues to solve are minor but annoying:

We've yet to work out a good process for buddy breathing while still maintaining the FFM. I've figured out more or less how to build a 7' QD hose and have ordered the bits and pieces to work that, we will see.. The ideal system would be a 7' hose with a QD on the end with a stage 2. Pop the stage 2 off for the FFM and leave it on for a normal mask. Our experience with buddy breathing so far has not been the dramatic grab the diver and shove your octo into their mouth kind of thing, but rather the $*#^ deco bottle bubbled out, or a burst plate popped and you have a reasonable amount of time to communicate and make arrangements.

Diving with others is an issue as well. You NEED to brief your friendly neighborhood dive master and your diving buddies on how to remove the mask from your face. Don't go in the water without doing this. I've started thinking about making up some laminated cards to pass out with pictures so everyone will be clear. Don't assume another diver will know how to release it, make sure they do. IF your the only guy with the FFM on the boat, your the guy thats going to get screwed in the underwater debate about how to help you should a problem occur.

Which brings me to the last point, classes. As far as I know PADI doesn't yet offer a card in FFM operations (though they offer a card in nearly everything else ... swim to the left, need a card, swim to the right need another card .. so who knows) but I would highly recommend not trying to figure it out on your own. Find someone who dives them and work with that person an hour or so. There are a few subtle issues with the equalization pads worth having someone who knows spend a few minutes with you on. Also, seeing the entire emergency procedure for removing the face mask is in person is good (the video doesn't do it justice) and you need to practice that over and over and over again until you get it nailed. Same with no-mask operations. Worth a periodic practice on both even after you have it down.


Now all the good things ..

If someone has a CNS issue, less chance of them drowning while using a FFM. If the FFM is fitted properly its unlikely a stray kick is going to take it off your face. There is no fog.. and no reason to get a blast of cold water to clear your mask periodically. The COMM systems work well and we use them all the time. Oh any my wifes most important feature ... no "raccoon face" when you've had a lot of bottom time.

 

[bfuqua]

My wife and I have been considering FFMs for some time. Both of us are photographers and it seems like it would be very helpful. Does anyone know of a LDS in the Houston area that stocks them and could answer questions - not just read the pamplet to us.

 

[aaronp]

As a followup,
We were provided training when we purchased our masks. This was from the dealer that sold them to us, and I assumed that it was standard with the purchase of the mask.
There is a DVD included with the masks that gives you the basic training, but there is no substitute for hands-on in the water training.

I've seen several mentions of the "fact" that you use more air when using a FFM. My dive computer has a download function, and one of the parameters it calculates is Air Consumption (SAC). I can tell you that my TWO LOWEST SAC dives have been dives I've done on the Ocean Reef mask (.43 and .46 cu ft/min). These were both shallow dives without much activity (pivot man in a circle search, 15ft water), but from personal experience, I don't think that the masks really make much difference.
When you are first getting used to them, you probably use more air, but once you get comfortable with them, I'd guess you use the same as a standard regulator.

 

[MrWizard]

I've seen several mentions of the "fact" that you use more air when using a FFM. My dive computer has a download function, and one of the parameters it calculates is Air Consumption (SAC). I can tell you that my TWO LOWEST SAC dives have been dives I've done on the Ocean Reef mask (.43 and .46 cu ft/min). These were both shallow dives without much activity (pivot man in a circle search, 15ft water), but from personal experience, I don't think that the masks really make much difference.

I would agree completely. I think this fact comes from people who jump in with a FFM and never fit them properly or learn how to use them. I can't tell from my gas consumption numbers which style I'm using and neither can my computers (who also pull gas consumption numbers) and thats a fact I also hear another fact that unusual attitudes (inverted, etc) will cause more flow issues. I haven't seen that either in my experience.

 

[Masterdiver48]

I just got 2 of the neptune space w/ comms and i have done 10 dives with them. "I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO A 2 PIECE SET UP AGAIN!!!!! THEY ARE GREAT!!!!

1st it does take some getting used to, but after about 15 min you ll know if you like it or not.
2nd it is almost impossible to flood. ( unless you remove it)
3rd you can breathe at the service by opening the right hand valve
4th no more fogging of the mask, dont know why but mine has never fogged for more more then a sec or 2.
5th and if you dont want to talk under water just put in the cap and leave the comms in the boat.

So far these are the best masks i have ever used. I highly recommend them to anyone that wants to try them.