Why is my mask doing this?!

[Nautical Dreamer]

I started having problems with a mask that I had used for a good number of dives with no issues. I went to the shop and they took a look at how the skirt fit my face. The shop owner told me that there was not a single mask in the shop that would fit my face any better. He told me to be careful of making facial movements.

On my next dive I was very conscious of my facial expressions and tried not to smile as much. It worked like a charm. I found that I could even make the mask leak on demand by simply smiling. Now my situation sounds a little different then the original posters, but facial expressions are a large contributor to leaking masks.

 

[Fuzzmutton]

Does your mask strap buckles pivot so that you can change the angle the strap comes off the frame? My mask was fine until I accidently changed that angle. Had to experiment a little to get it back to where it was not leaking.

This is one of the things I'm going to check out; there is a whole lot of good advice here!

My hubby told me that if you over-tighten your mask strap you can cause your mask to leak by deforming your mask, so it can actually help to have it looser which doesn't seem right somehow. My last dive I loosened the strap up a bunch to try theory out-no dice in my case.

I have lost 10 lbs. since I bought my mask and my face IS narrower now, but it still fits the same criteria they give you for selecting a mask with a good seal to your face.

Also, I can't find any loose places in the skirt, it's nice and secure all around. Back to the LDS it goes and I will talk to the DM there who I like really well. She's offered to replace it but I will see what she says when she looks at it. I'm still such a newbie, maybe I've missed something.

Thanks for all these great suggestions, I'm looking into every one of them just out of curiosity to see where the problem lies.

 

[pescador775]

The loose/tight strap theory is crap, apologies to your husband. DO NOT buy another Quartz mask, period. Ten pounds is more than enough to affect fit. However, if the mask had been properly selected for you in the first place, this would not have happened. Please don't be so trusting of dive shop people. Use the resources available on the net, including here. Objective tests of the Quartz mask which you have available to you on the included link indicate that this was a situation waiting to happen.

I don't know why this change in mask design is happening. I can speculate that some marketing consultant is claiming that Americans have all become fat heads and it is necessary to design to that including using a WWE wrestler like Mark Henry or "Big Show" as a test subject.

 

[billinwilliamston]

This is one of the things I'm going to check out; there is a whole lot of good advice here!

My hubby told me that if you over-tighten your mask strap you can cause your mask to leak by deforming your mask, so it can actually help to have it looser which doesn't seem right somehow. My last dive I loosened the strap up a bunch to try theory out-no dice in my case.

I have lost 10 lbs. since I bought my mask and my face IS narrower now, but it still fits the same criteria they give you for selecting a mask with a good seal to your face.

Also, I can't find any loose places in the skirt, it's nice and secure all around. Back to the LDS it goes and I will talk to the DM there who I like really well. She's offered to replace it but I will see what she says when she looks at it. I'm still such a newbie, maybe I've missed something.

Thanks for all these great suggestions, I'm looking into every one of them just out of curiosity to see where the problem lies.

As I was perusing this thread, the first question that came to my mind was "did you lose weight?" Not that easy a question to ask most folks, but a lot easier than "did you gain weight?"

Also, one of my step-daughters had an issue where her mask suddenly started leaking at the top and the bottom for no apparent reason. We figured out that the problem was she had started wearing a pony tail and it was pushing the mask a little too far down on her face. When she smiled or adjusted her reg in her mouth or made almost any other mouth movement (and teenage girls make a LOT of mouth movements), the mask would leak buckets. Moved the pony tail, problem solved.

A couple of other random thoughts. Are you checking the fit of the mask with a reg in your mouth? Do you have a snorkle hanging off of your mask strap? Is it pulling your mask out of alignment when you swim?

Good luck!!

 

[8buck]

i sold that mask in my dive shop and if i remember right it has a little lip inside the skirt almost like a second seal make sure it is not bunched up or pinched and everyone is talking about maybe it being to tight .... well does the bottom of your nose start hurting if it does then it is to tight if it does not then it may be just that second line inside the skirt

 

[Fuzzmutton]

It doesn't fit, get a new one.

BTW...Har har, Foggy, you're a fountain of knowledge


Siiiiigggghh...Okay, I could *probabaly* look at new masks since I don't relish the idea of snorting more seawater up my nose next time I go out diving. Seeing where I'm going is not to be under-rated also...