Purge valve masks?

[Seville]

No, you'll have to get very refined with your purging technique without the purge valve.

A well-designed mask with a purge valve will get all the water out of the mask, and if some comes in, you can easily remove it. I have not had a purge valve leak, and I've got some old ones. But, if you like visibility, the purge valve nose-type do inhibit down vision just a bit. So try out a number of them, in the dive store, and make a decision.

SeaRat

Is the best way to clear the mask when there is some water in the nose piece to put your head face down so the purge valve is at the lowest point? Or having your head level so the valve is parallel to the ground?

 

[AfterDark]

Is the best way to clear the mask when there is some water in the nose piece to put your head face down so the purge valve is at the lowest point? Or having your head level so the valve is parallel to the ground?

Position your head so that all the water collects at the purge valve.
Gravity is still working at depth so the water will go to the lowest point in the mask, make that point the purge valve.

I've used both types of masks but have settled on a the non-purge type long ago.
I guess I have a pretty refined clearing technique because I can clear all the water out of my mask either by looking up or with a side roll.
I do sometimes allow a small amount in my mask to rinse the inside in case of fogging but it never has bothered me.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I also usually use a non-purge valve mask. I have one Scubapro mask, a type I've used since the 1980s, which normally comes with a purge valve in the front. Below you can see me both preparing for a dive on the Winchester Dam Project, where we were evaluating the salmon kills at a low-head hydroelectric demonstration project, and after the dive with a salmon we recovered that had been killed by the project, and found inside the exclusion gates which were supposed to protect the salmon. Note the Scubapro mask I'm using. Well, I've melted the neoprene off three of these masks, and finally got one with a purge valve that was made of silicone. I'm still using that mask too, but with the original front glass from the last of my neoprene Scubapro wide vision masks, without the purge.

This last summer, I had a brand new BCD, which I dove for the first time last June. It was a solo dive, and I had the misfortune of the scuba tank (a single steel low pressure 72) coming loose from the BCD backpack. So this video, which was unintentional, documents my doff and don of this unit in order to reestablish my tank's security in that BCD. But in doing so, I had to purge this mask a couple of times, toward the end of this video (14:36 on the video). So you can see the procedure without a purge.


Now, if I had the one with the purge, which I also have (I collect dive masks), it would not have been quite so difficult, but I have a pretty good tolerance to having a bit of water in my mask.

SeaRat

 

[Hatul]

I've been using a purge mask for three decades and love them. I never have to clear water from my mask.

Can I ask you which mask you're using?

OK I saw that you're using the Oceanic mask, but I was surprised it's clear as most recommend using black skirt for taking photos and I know you're a photographer.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Can I ask you which mask you're using?

OK I saw that you're using the Oceanic mask, but I was surprised it's clear as most recommend using black skirt for taking photos and I know you're a photographer.

I think they recommend black if you're going to be in the photos. I'm not often seen in underwater photos.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I think they recommend black if you're going to be in the photos. I'm not often seen in underwater photos.

Actually, the clear silicone masks were developed mostly for underwater photographers to use on their models. That way the outside light comes into the mask and provides very good face lighting on female models.

I use a black mask for my photography, as I don't want surface light coming in from the sides, as I dive in dark river water with a visibility of about 6-10 feet (say 2-3.5 meters). In these conditions, when on the surface, it's surprisingly hard to see the bottom when the sun is out and coming through the sides of your mask on the surface.

SeaRat

 

[RobPNW]

I have a Scubapro Crystal View mask with purge and prefer it to a regular mask.

Scubapro Crystal VU-Plus Mask with Purge

Scubapro's Crystal VU Mask with Purge has a patented tempered single glass lens design, with patented no-seam side windows for increased field of view. The lenses are no-tint glass for greater visual c

www.scuba.com

 

[happy-diver]

I'm currently using the Oceanic ION 2 Mask w/ Purge Valve

Wow you can even get factory optical lenses for this mask