Thougts about masks fogging up

[Oldbear]

I am not a big fan of the baby shampoo (or baby poo either for that matter:mooner. I have used it on a few occations while diving with operators that offered it. While it did work, the fine viscosity of the liquid migrated in between the mask's frame and the lens. This leaves a white film...that IMHO just looks bad and is a reflection on how I take care of my gears (good equipment maintenance = good functioning equipment = someone who cares for their gear).

I use Sea Gold Gel. I know that $4.50 is a lot to spend in this economy, when $1.50 shampoo is a functional alternative...especially since I will be spending $1000s just to get to the dive sites, but damn it Gumbie, my mask is darn well worth the Sea Gold Gel and not have to wear that nasty white film.

To the OP on the design of a multiple pane mask...I agree with some of the previous posts; I think weight will become an issue and it will not replace the environmental parameters inside the mask. But at least you are thinking of new and improved ways to enhance diving.

~ME~

 

[fjpatrum]

OTOH, I often exhale through my nose (not that I'm intending to, but I just do - shows up as a tiny stream of bubbles coming from my mask skirt throughout the dive), and my mask has never fogged, except for one time when I gave it the treatment and then didn't don it right away (all other times, I do don it right away). So I wonder if nose exhaling really does cause fogging?

I think it depends upon how much and how often you breath out, and perhaps water temps. I find it less of an issue for me in warmer water (and then I run against the sunscreen issue more) and more in colder water. As someone else mentioned, you have to do it occasionally to accommodate pressure changes. I don't know if it holds for everyone, but I know it makes a difference to me when I consciously block exhaling through my nose.

I was under the impression masks with a purge will likely cause one to breathe out of the nose more just to clear the water out at a higher rate, thus increasing the humidity of inside the mask.

As for double glass, it could be easily done by seperating the two layers in a bellow or soft silicone, thus the 2 layers would squeeze closer as the pressure increases with minimal excess pressure on the panes.

I was talking about a purge between the lenses, not a purge valve for clearing the mask. Or am I misunderstanding what you mean?

Your "soft silicone" layer between the lenses might work, but I think you'd still likely see mask sealing issues when the lenses and silicone flex. Not so much an issue with the lenses breaking but with the mask fitting well, is what I was implying with my other post. I suspect you might see an effect on the optics too, though that may not be much of an issue for most people.

 

[Hank49]

Since this became a thread about what's the best anti fog remedy, THIS leaf, ground up and rubbed into a dry mask is BY FAR the best thing I ever used. If you don't live in the Philippines you're SOL. We don't have it in Belize either but on a scale of 1-10, this is a 10....but c'mon....SPIT is a solid 8 or 9. There's a lot of things that work.

But a double lensed mask....hmmmm

 

[SkimFisher]

Isn't a bottle of Sea Gold like $5?

 

[NAM001]

To fog you have to have dew point inside the mask. The temp should be higher in the mask than the water. however not high enough to prevent fogging. I myself am guilty of this: breathing out my nose,,,,, that provides a continous source of humid air in the mask. At some point the humidity will get high enough to FOG, no matter what temp it is. I tightened my mask strap a bit and stopped a lot if it. I have a furry upper lip and the mask leaks a little, hence constant purging and the fogging returns again. now with the tighter mask and less purging going on, the anti fog on the lense does its job.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I was curious and looked up that plant, and presuming I have the right one (Jatropha curcas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) it says it's "native to The American Tropics, most likely Mexico and Central America." I wonder if it IS in Belize somewhere?

(It also mentions that it is now found many other places in the tropics and sub-tropics.)

 

[ColoDale]

Here is another thread on the subject from last year on Scuboard and talks about waxes/surfactants in addition to the same techniques and products in this thread.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/393422-waxing-mask.html

btw Sea Gold has worked well for me in the past but so has spit.

 

[Hank49]

I was curious and looked up that plant, and presuming I have the right one (Jatropha curcas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) it says it's "native to The American Tropics, most likely Mexico and Central America." I wonder if it IS in Belize somewhere?

(It also mentions that it is now found many other places in the tropics and sub-tropics.)

If it's here, I haven't seen it yet.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Well it's not like there aren't ninety-jillion other plants to possibly obscure it (if it even is there)

 

[FuzzyNutz]

What about a mask that has a little chamber somewhere inside that you can put silica gel into? I wouldn't use it, but perhaps it would work. I dunno.