Mask removal help

[Reallydg]

I just hope my mask never gets knocked off. Otherwise, I'm in for an interesting ride.

Isn't the point of getting comfortable with the skill precisely something like this? That if you're mask gets knocked off, you don't have an interesting ride, just an inconvience.

 

[Reallydg]

D'oh! Guess I need to practice my grammar! (Your - not you're!)

 

[Winterpeg]

I had HUGE difficulty mastering the mask removal for my OW course and got very discouraged over it, thought I would never be able to do it:depressed: But eventually I did perseverance pays off! The trick that helped me the most was to look straight downward at the bottom of the pool when the mask is off. This enables the bubbles to go up and around the sides of my face when I exhale, instead of into my nose and eyes. That made all the difference!!
Jim Lap is absolutely right, it is essential to master this skill - it is a survival skill. What happens if your mask strap breaks of gets caught on something and you're under 60 feet of water? Are you going to just panic and drown??? Of course not!
I have read the most common reason to accidentally lose a mask under water is to be knocked by another diver's fin, and I can certainly how this could happen after my trip to Cozumel in Feb. In a vacation situation, there are lots of dive groups in a popular area, and suddenly one of the divemasters sees some cute little critter and wants to point it out to everyone, and so you have a whole hoard of divers swimming over to a rocky ledge or piece of coral, and they get too close together, and boom! someone's mask gets kicked off.
Since mastering this skill, I have practiced it regularly every pool session or dive. And I have found that salt water does not sting. So keep working at it - lots of good advice on this forum - and stay safely in the pool until you have mastered it.

 

[IceCube]

I just hope my mask never gets knocked off. Otherwise, I'm in for an interesting ride.

Isn't the point of getting comfortable with the skill precisely something like this? That if you're mask gets knocked off, you don't have an interesting ride, just an inconvience.

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear.

I meant in the context of cold water (high 40s - low 50s). Even after doing the suggested pre-chill trick, a full instantaneous flood of your mask from getting kicked in the face at those temperatures is going to cause some problems. I've never had problems clearing a mask, and never had problems with my mask off in the those temps as long as I flooded mask slowly. In warm water all I've done is just rip the mask right off.


I guess how you want define interesting ride/inconvenience is up to personal interpretation.

Anyways, I hope to never have my mask get kicked off in cold, near freezing water.