Mask question

excuse me if this is a silly question, but take a look at this video and I would like to know what kind of mask this guy is wearing at 1:34/1:46/1:51 in the video.

YouTube - BELIZE on MSNBC: Discovering the Blue Hole, Belize Barrier Reef

It seems like the mask is covering his entire face. He also seems to have some kind of covering on his ears, I have not seen this before.

yeah, full face mask

still relatively rare in rec diving

I was on a dive recently with a couple of guys using full face masks. The dives were far from technical, really pretty shallow ocean dives near land. But it got me thinking, why don't more people use full face masks.

Any opinions?

Jeff

well, they're hard if not impossible to use in tech diving, because you can't really switch regulators/mixes with one on

in rec diving, probably price plays a factor, plus lack of familiarity

I went out on a PM charter last Sunday and within minutes of arrival, the Captain began rattling off info about the wreck such as temperature at the bottom, currents, surge, and visibility- all before the mate returned. As a former mate of a sister boat, I was wondering if the Captain was using data from the AM trip as our PM briefing. Usually the patrons had to wait until the mate who set the anchor returned to give the Captain the scoop.

Well, it all became clear as the mate climbed back on the boat- he was wearing an AGA mask with communications. He suited up on the bow where I didn't see him put the mask on, and in my days the only way of communication that we used was the ol' balloons. I thought that was a pretty good idea, incorporating the FFM into a local charter.

If you travel with them, they are a major PITA in terms of size/space used.

The lenses can take a beating and not break as they are some kind of acrylic, but they will scratch.

They are also hugely expensive as compared to our more commonly used glass-lensed models.

As with many such technical application items, there are cross-over uses from commercial diving into the recreational sphere. At the same time, as we plan a dive, looking over the selection of gear that we own does not mean that we should strap-on everything we own for every dive.

Tailor the gear to the dive.