On the advantages of a leaking mask

[Mustard Dave]

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.

To add to this for the benefit of those unfamiliar with CCR, it is more than just a nuisance. For CCR divers, having to clear the mask constantly means you are dumping gas from the loop. You then have to make up the volume by adding diluent, which as well as wasting dil, also wastes O2 as the solenoid has to fire to bring the loop P02 back up to the setpoint.

 

[Doc]

My mask leaks: I have mustache and full beard.

My mask never fogs, I use toothpaste on it before every dive.

Next?

 

[lowviz]

Doc makes a good point. There are endless recipes for initial mask cleaning. Once the processing film is removed you have clean glass.

Clean glass is a wonderful substrate for biofilm and anything else to coat it. Continuous addition of soap or antifog won't get you where you want to be. Aggressive cleaning is the only answer. I'm reminded of this every time the world goes foggy...

 

[highdesert]

My Rx mask is your basic Mares X-Vision, the one issued before the Liquid Skin skirt. It is either bone dry, or tries to drown me. I find that if I have my mask strap more than about 1/4" from the optimum position on my head, either up or down, it will leak uncontrollably. If I get the strap right, it's bone dry. I've also found that an aging face is no help in the leak-free respect.

As for de-fog, we just returned from Indo where we had one dive guide who cleaned his mask with a toothbrush and regular white toothpaste before every dive ... and had no strap on his mask.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

My mask leaks: I have mustache and full beard.

My mask never fogs, I use toothpaste on it before every dive.

Next?

Bon Ami?

 

[Doc]

Bon Ami?

Ahhh.. do read my sig line

 

[Z Gear]

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?

Actually I used to hate any sign of a leaky mask before, until I started noticing a very prominant ring around my face after diving. I thought perhaps I was torquing down on my mask to much. I was occasionally getting these mask squeeses and I was trying to avoid them some how. I noticed if I had a very small leak after I would clear my mask and I then would push the mask slightly towards my face this was enough to get a good seal and not get a mask squeeze. No more super ring around my face! Plus a little water would always clear up any fogging problems. A leak can get annoying if its caused by something else like : snorkel tugging, hood under mask, incorrect mask size, mount on mask ,etc... This kind of leak can be frustrating and most likely you will have to replace the item with something that will not create this problem from constantly reoccurring.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I just dive with my contacts in. Never had any problem with no mask swims, which it seems every instructor I've had wants me to do every training dive .

Played waterpolo with them in a bit too and never any lost contacts.

 

[Mike]

So, is a small mask leak acceptable to you?

Since it's possible to dive with a mask that doesn't fog and it's possible to dive with a mask that doesn't leak, it's not acceptable. Masks that fog are dirty and masks that leak don't fit your particular face, both can be solved.

 

[Storker]

Go out and buy an ill-fitting mask. It will improve your diving. (He says with tongue in cheek, which causes another mask leak.)

Crap, now I have to clear my mask again. And this time I was wearing the (supposedly) non-leaking one...