PADI Instructors

I have a very basic question mostly directed toward PADI Instructors but I am interested in other agenicies' instructor comments also.

I did my open water cert. with IDEA and my advanced cert. with PADI. In my open water course I was instructed, correctly I think, to never wear my mask on my head. The obvious reasons, it is seen by many people to be a distress signal and, I think more importantly, if a wave knocks it off it's gone and you are out of luck. I think this is/was taught by all the agencies.

Naturally this was really not discussed much in the PADI advanced course as you should already know this protocol by the time you take the advanced course.

I have always practiced this and don't even think about pulling my mask down around my neck. Over the years I have seen a few people wearing their masks on their forehead but not a lot. So few in fact that I probably never conciuosly noticed it most of the time.

Now here's the kicker. I was recently at a local dive spot that many people visit regularly but that I myself had never been to. While I was there I saw probably 25 divers wearing their masks on their heads and turned around backwards. It was very noticable and I thought it looked so strange that I just had to ask.

What in the world is going on here? Did I miss the memo or something, why does everyone go around with their masks not only on their head but turned around backwards?

A PADI instructor happened to be there with a group doing their open water check out dives. He told me that it was common place, a recent change in the PADI protocol, and that he taught this in all his courses. He must have taught everyone there at one time or another that's for sure. He went on to explain that a person in distress would not take the time to turn their masks around backwards so it is not seen as a distress signal.

When I mentioned to him about the increased possibility of losing the mask when worn on the head he chuckled and said that happen to a fellow he had sold a $75.00 mask to not long after it was purchased and he never recovered it.

:06: So the question is. Is this a local phenomenon, has PADI recently started to teach this habit or was this PADI instructor some kind of nut?

These were very intelligent people doctors and engineers and the like and they all just thought nothing of it. I wish I had pictures of these folks I could post it really looks alien to see everyone entering and exiting with their masks on backwards. I don't know if I could ever get used to it but it sure didn't seem to be noticed by anyone else there.

They probably thought I looked like some kind of freak with my mask down around my neck. :11: I'm sure I was noticed by someone, I probably stuck out like a sore thumb. :33:

Guess I'll have to check back through the updates. I can't imagine telling someone to put their masks on their heads, turned backwards or forwards, while they are still in the water. As you said, it's more likely to fall off. Somehow I doubt PADI has mandated this, but I probably should check, things change from time to time.

My personal feeling is that people should keep their masks in place 'til they are on the boat or shore. Any little slip, and if the mask is in place, they've got one less thing to deal with. Not to mention, I've seen several times over the years when divers have been climbing the ladder and a manta ray or sother cool critter has swum directly under the boat.... guess who gets to drop back in for a quick glimpse, the one's still wearing their masks, not the ones who've already handed thier masks up.

I'm not an instructor, but I'm taking my PADI OW certification right now and my instructor emphasized NOT to put my mask on my head (only around my neck) when in OW, that keeping it on my head was a sign of distress. In fact, when were were at the surface on one of my boat dives, I went to adjust my mask and she thought that I was going to put it on my forehead and reminded me NOT to do this.

So I guess PADI is still teaching it the way you learned...

In my OW class last summer, we were informed that since none of us was Lloyd Bridges, wearing one's mask on the forehead was a no-no. The fine for this infraction was to be a six-pack of the instructors' favorite adult beverage!

My personal feeling is that people should keep their masks in place 'til they are on the boat or shore. Any little slip, and if the mask is in place, they've got one less thing to deal with. Not to mention, I've seen several times over the years when divers have been climbing the ladder and a manta ray or sother cool critter has swum directly under the boat.... guess who gets to drop back in for a quick glimpse, the one's still wearing their masks, not the ones who've already handed thier masks up.

Click to expand...

You are exactly right.

it is not PADI standard. but a practice commonly done here as well. The lesson taught not to put the mask on your forehead is to avoid losing it. normally a stressed diver would do this and losses his priority in losing his mask to breathing normally upon surfacing

a mask turn to the back is (not a rule) an indication that the person intentionally turned his mask back. hence not in stress or able to mange stress at that time.

turning the mask back lessens the likelihood of it falling off VS. having the mask on the forehead while at the surface.

if a wave hits the mask on the forehead the the force of the wave hits the surface area of the mask and MAY build enough force to knock the mask off the divers head.

having the mask positioned at the back greatly reduces the likelihood of the mask being tossed off the head as it is not likely to slide. again there is a proper technique (not a standard) to do this.

having the mask back is less trouble than having the mask on your neck.

I personally don't do this, instead i use a carabiner to secure my mask when i am not using it. Mask-carabiner clipped to a D-ring on my BC.

Well, as far as I know, its a dont-I-look-cool thing. I had never noticed it before until I started my cave training out in Florida, everyone is out there in all black with their black low-profile masks backwards on their foreheads - I'm sure most of them didn't learn it in a PADI OW class they just took.

I'd love to look cool but I've got a damn chronic ear infection so I've got to wear that ProEar mask with the damn ear cups. I guess other than that, I look pretty cool but it does ruin the image.

My students are trained to keep their masks on their faces, regulators in their mouths and fins on their wrists until they and their buddy have exited the water. Putting your mask around your neck means you have to remove your regulator and wrestle the mask back in place, your neck is not a quick place to don a mask from. While not a huge problem most of the time, maybe you miss seeing the manta ray, it becomes a problem in an emergency where you need to help your buddy or someone else and have to take the extra time getting your mask into position.

The problem with putting your mask on the back of your head is the natural oil in your hair, over time it will stick to the inside of the mask and I'm told that nothing will remove it. Your mask will keep fogging up thanks to the oil layer and you will have to replace the mask. Wearing a hood prevents this problem but may make it easier for the mask to get knocked off of your head if you are hit by a wave plus it's not as easy to feel the mask leave when you are wearing a hood. This is not a problem for quarry divers until they get in the habit of doing it and then go somewhere that has waves. Training the way you intend to dive will always benefit you, the first time you get thrown off of a boat ladder by a wave with your mask and regulator still in place and you simply have to pull your fins off of your wrists to don them and swim back to the boat you will see why keeping your gear in place pays off. Then again the same scenario with your mask, regulator and fins in some other location can give you the same lesson there's just a lot more cursing and the possiblity of some lost gear involved.

Just my .02
Ber :lilbunny:

I still cant see how mask on head signals distress. No mask at all yes, mask thrown from head or ripped off yes but placed on forehead no. Could be any reason but probably not distress.
Ive certainly never seen a distressed diver make their first move to put the mask nicely on their head

I did my PADI OW about a month ago my both of my instructors stressed that we don't wear the mask on our forheads. That being said, they said either around our necks or turned backwards was acceptable. I have tried both ways and I am alot more comfortable with the mask backwards. I just feel like I can't move my head comfortably with the mask around my neck. Typically when we surfaced we left our masks on unless we were going to be up for a while. Then it was just more comfortable with the masks off. We were also in a quarry so there was no fear of waves knocking our masks off.