Is there a situation in which you would intentionally remove your mask?

[soltari675]

I've gotten defogger in my eye before and taken my mask off underwater. We dive in fresh water most of the time, so I've opened my eyes and rinsed them free of the defogger. +1 to a sneeze too or if the mask won't quit fogging up.

 

[pafindr]

As others have stated sometimes it's to scratch an itch, sometimes it's to clear the mask, and sometimes it's to take an AWESOME picture!

 

[WeldonDowd]

I have to do it sometimes when my eyes need a little rubbing; like if something's in them.

 

[Qnape]

Did something really stupid in Little Cayman this August - waved to the video camera while striding in off the stern. Of course I lost my prescription mask, which sank out of sight. DM threw me a spare mask, and down I headed to try to find the prescription mask. Searched the bottom at 35 feet, depressed because I could not focus on anything and was joined by the DM, who spotted my mask right away. He signaled and held it out to me - I tore off the spare while I finned over to make the exchange, grinning like a fool. DM got a few laughs, and earned a few beers that day!

 

[Griffo]

I've taken it off when it's been leaking and i've had something caught under it. But I don't get why people take them off completely to defog?? I just let a little bit of water in the mask and swish it around. If the mask constantly is fogging, just leave it in there and swish occasionally.

 

[highdesert]

When you're diving with an ear/sinus infection ...

(Okay, okay, ... I know that's an absolute no-no, but when you've flown halfway around the world on a $5K/person dive trip, you dive, okay???)

... you'll find that your dive is much more comfortable when you do whatever it takes to clear your sinuses. I tried one time just lifting the bottom edge of my mask to blow my nose, but you really don't want to know what was hanging on the inside of my mask when I lowered it back down.

Seriously ... just take the mask off and blow.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As others have stated sometimes it's to scratch an itch, sometimes it's to clear the mask, and sometimes it's to take an AWESOME picture!

View attachment 118992

... you have to be careful not to get something in your eye when you do that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[The Chairman]

I was on a dive once where one of my buddies had used a defog that was new to him. Partway through the dive, he rolled over on his back to look at the bottom of something, and got his eyes full of water with defog in it. He got an awful reaction -- his eyes stung horribly and turned bright red. He took the mask off, rubbed it and rinsed it repeatedly, but we had to call the dive and go in. We guided him, and he kept his mask off.

This happened to me back in 1972 at Alexander Springs. I thought I was going to go blind. I have never liked using commercial anti-fogs since and prefer to lick my mask clean. If my mask is fogging during the dive, I will remove it to lick it some more. I do this in either fresh or salt water. The tongue does a superior job of cleaning crap off of a mask and there is NO WAY that it can cause such a reaction to my eyes.

 

[Rhone Man]

I sometimes get an itch somewhere behind my mask. It's easier to scratch if I take the mask off first.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

When I was a young DM I used to make a point of doing this (or seeming to do this) whenever there were students on a dive. I was trying to subliminally make the point - taking off and then clearing your mask is really no big deal.

 

[The Chairman]

This picture is a little fishy, Bob.

... you have to be careful not to get something in your eye when you do that ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)