On the advantages of a leaking mask

[Storker]

I've got two masks: one with ordinary tempered glass, and one with prescription lenses. I like that because it gives me flexibility WRT having to don my contacts before going diving, and if I want to practice a mask drill, wearing contacts isn't among the best ideas in the world. Now, the one with normal glass fits me almost perfectly. As long as I don't fold the mask skirt or manage to get some of my hood under the skirt, it's dry. Completely dry. OTOH, since it's frameless it's a mite difficult to get prescription lenses for it, so I got another mask for use with prescription lenses. That mask fits "just almost". I'm really lucky if I don't have a slight trickle, and I usually have to clear it every five to ten minutes or so. Pain in the a$$, right?

But then there's the slogan "Always look on the bright side of life". That's a good slogan to live by, because it makes your life a lot easier and less frustrating. And if I do that, I see a couple of advantages to a leaking mask.

Firstly, it's the fog. I use spit as defogger, and it usually works pretty well. However, if I'm not diligent in rubbing the spit well on to the glass, I sometimes have a little condensation. Diving in cold water doesn't really help, either. Here's where the water in the bottom of my mask comes in handy: If the underwater world starts to look a bit... foggy, I just nod slightly, washing all condensation off the glass. I've even started letting a drop of three of water into my mask if the world starts to look foggy and I'm wearing my non-prescription mask, to use for rinsing off the condensation.

Another advantage is that I'm a bit sloppy when it comes to mask equalization. More often than not, when diving with my non-prescription mask, I come out of the water with a neat oval indentation around my face. And it takes at least a couple of hours to subside so much that it's not evidently, in-your-face (or rather in-my-face...) apparent to anyone around me. When I have to clear my mask every ten minutes or so, I have automatic equalization. Presto, no mask squeeze even when I forget to equalize!

Of course, those days when the trickle is so big I have to clear my mask every couple of minutes, it is a pain in the a$$. But that usually happens if I haven't bothered to shave in a few days and have a five-day stubble on my upper lip.

So, is a small mask leak acceptable to you?

 

[tbone1004]

acceptable no, but I actually have the EXACT same situation as you, I have a Hog Razorback that fits me like a glove, and doesn't leak. I got a free Rx mask a while back and it has a slight trickle that causes me to have to clear ever 2 minutes or so, it's a pain, but that one never fogs!

 

[knotical]

Sure, it’s acceptable. It better be since some of us have no choice.
I’ve always had a hard-to-fit face, and it’s even worse now that my “laugh lines” have become fissures. In the bad old when there were only a limited number of options, I used the best-fitting mask I could find, but still never had a dry dive. With the evolving market, I finally found one that occasionally gives me a dry dive – cool!
But as Storker points out, having to clear isn’t all bad. Those of us who must clear frequently are certainly quite comfortable when water enters. Pity the diver who only had water in his/her mask while taking the Open Water class. If/when water gets in, he’s likely to feel stress that Storker and I don’t. Totally unnecessary. Go out and buy an ill-fitting mask. It will improve your diving. (He says with tongue in cheek, which causes another mask leak.)

 

[lowviz]

I've got two masks: one with ordinary tempered glass, and one with prescription lenses.
...//...

I have several low volume frameless masks that fit perfectly (need to use contact lenses with them). I have two el cheapo off-the-shelf "corrective masks" with +2.5 and +3 lenses. They leak. Guess which ones are my go-to masks?

So, is a small mask leak acceptable to you?

More than acceptable, most welcome in cold water.

 

[kr2y5]

I find it a little distracting, but if nothing else, a leaky and foggy mask makes for a good regular practice in clearing without going out of trim, and buoyancy control while removing, rubbing, and re-donning it. I think that learning to live with it has increased my comfort underwater.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I don't mind a little water in the mask, like you say it's handy for sloshing around and clearing up the lens.
But anything more than a slight trickle and it gets bothersome.
The one time it gets downright annoying is when I'm cleaning boats and working face up. Then the water gets in my eyes and up my nose and after an hour or so of that it's a challenge.
But having a wet reg diving face up is even worse. Many problems occur diving face up that you wouldn't encounter face down like a leaky exhaust mushroom valve. Constantly choking on water droplets is way more annoying to me than a leaky mask, especially when working hard and needing the air.

 

[shotgunuk]

Personally I think a leaking mask is a bad thing - it means that either your mask doesn't fit you properly or the skirt is aging/wearing. Sure they let in the odd bit of water (if you grimace/smile/frown etc) but that should be the exception (unless you're narked and your buddy is doing a particularly good air-guitar with his fins at 35m)

I mostly keep a little bit in the bottom of mine to clear it just like many of you but that's a choice thing and the time will come when you choose not to let it happen for whatever reason- if you can't stop it leaking, replace it. Neither of my masks are very expensive ones (less than £50ukpds each) but they fit my face and that's why I use them.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I hate leaky masks. If a mask fogs and I decide to flood and clear it to defog it, fine--that's under my control. But I don't think I would like a self-defogging-by-way-of-leakage mask.

 

[rongoodman]

My leaky mask problems were my single biggest issue in my rebreather class, and it's still a pain in the butt. I can do an entire dive without having to clear it, and on the next dive it might be flooding almost continuously.

 

[TMHeimer]

Sometimes my mask leaks a little, sometimes not. May have to do with unconscious exhaling through the nose to equalize mask space--who knows. It's a different thread, but I highly recommend baby shampoo for fogging. Haven't yet had any fogging in salt water. A little in the pool, but only if I start flooding it to clear a little fogging--the chlorine must wash off the shampoo. There is also a thread on "burning" your mask--I have seen this done with a blow torch.