you lost your dive mask now what?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

OceanicRocks

Guest
Messages
209
Reaction score
0
I'm wondering if anyone out there had the unfortunate expierience to loose thier mask while on a dive...? did you have a buddy find them? did you open you eyes to look for them? did you or would you go topside? we are tought to clear a mask if this should happen but what happens if you loose one? does anyone actually connect thier mask to a clip attached to the bc for added insurance? I have seen a device that holds the reg. in your mouth if it should be forced out for whatever reason. Just wondering. thanks
 
The concept of a mask tether comes up from time to time and I'm not so sure it's a bad idea but I have yet to see a good design. I ost a prescription mask in a back roll from a boat once I sure with it was tethered at time! Since then i have learned some subtleties to avoid a repeat fiasco.

Some of the design challenges are not letting it become an entanglement hazard and having a consistent attachment point.

Back to your initial question the answer is all that you mentioned. This would be a time when having a buddy handy can save the day. Without a mask your visibility is very limited so a mask with color contrast to the bottom may be easier to spot on your own. This is a reason for solo divers to have an extra mask in a pocket. There is also a technique of cupping a hand over an eyebrow then filling it with exhaled air allowing you to read your depth while making a controlled ascent.

Pete
 
Masks are occasionally dislodged when divers are congregating on the anchor line, doing safety stops in a bait bundle, and someone's wayward fin kicks someone else below them in the face.

Rarely is the mask entirely knocked off your face, but it can nevertheless be disconcerting.

Generally speaking, you grab it before it leaves your head entirely, reposition it, and clear it.

No worries.

If it's kicked off entirely, hopefully you have a buddy who can snab it for you before it drops too far. If yes, no worries - reposition it and clear it. If no, basically it isn't a problem unless you're wearing contacts, in which case you might lose a contact.

Most divers can see reasonably well without their masks, assuming they open their eyes. That is to say, given some ambient light, if your mask gets kicked off at 20' you can see other divers, you can see objects, deal with your ascent, etc. Mask-less divers may need some help during the rest of the ascent if you lose your mask down at depth, but its rarely a huge deal - particularly if you have your buddy there to assist you. Try it on your next dive in shallow water. Remove your mask and run it up your arm or hand it to your buddy. Try to spend the next 5-10 minutes conducting your dive calmly, just cruising around in shallow water. It isn't that challenging.

If you're penetrating a wreck or a cave, where the loss of a mask may compromise your ability to see the line or function as a team-member, most divers doing these dives carry a spare mask.

But for general open water recreational diving, carrying a spare mask or using a clip to tether your mask to your BC is overkill. Pay attention to whats going on above you during the ascent at the end of your dives, and become comfortable without a mask on so you don't freak out if it gets kicked off. Then just relax... The likelihood of you losing it to begin with is slim, and if you do, it still isn't likely to be much of a problem.

Regards,

Doc
 
We routinely drill with masks off (ascents, line following, etc.). Generally I keep my eyes open so that I can use the blur of my dive team to hold stops, etc..

That said, I carry a backup mask in my right suit pocket. I'd switch to it on a real (i.e. non-training) dive.

There is also a technique of cupping a hand over an eyebrow then filling it with exhaled air allowing you to read your depth

I've still never met anyone who can pull that off. Personally, I couldn't focus on a gage that close to my face.
 
Thanks guys... as you can tell I have a need to know different options. I'd love to hear more about the air traped in your hand above the eye. sounds like an interesting concept. question is does it work.

the other question... we all opened our eyes in a pool before. stings a little. however, what is the sensation of opening your eyes in saltwater? is it painful? I suppose you do what you have to.

I dive solely in clear tropical reefs and wear a black zeagle mask. All black.... if it was to fall on the white sand and assuming you can open your eyes and see a blurry vision than I would probablybe able to find it on my own if I had to but I would signal a buddy of the situation first.

I also wondered why I've seen a tether for the reg? the reg will never go far if kicked out of your mouth... and if that should happen you have several methods of retreaval. Practice in this case like anything else is key to keeping yourself sharp. It just seems to me that a tether for a mask is more of a necessity than a tether for a reg. Don't you?
 
the other question... we all opened our eyes in a pool before. stings a little. however, what is the sensation of opening your eyes in saltwater? is it painful? I suppose you do what you have to.
you do what you have to do. Some people say it doesn't bother them and they don't understand the people who say it does. The usual thing.
I dive solely in clear tropical reefs and wear a black zeagle mask. All black.... if it was to fall on the white sand and assuming you can open your eyes and see a blurry vision than I would probablybe able to find it on my own if I had to but I would signal a buddy of the situation first.
Assuming you had something in some reasonable distance below you. :wink: Anyway, if you can really see it and it's not far, I'd probably try and grab it myself first.
I also wondered why I've seen a tether for the reg? the reg will never go far if kicked out of your mouth... and if that should happen you have several methods of retreaval. Practice in this case like anything else is key to keeping yourself sharp. It just seems to me that a tether for a mask is more of a necessity than a tether for a reg. Don't you?
By tether I assume you're refering to the bungie loop around the neck some people use? If so this isn't a tether in the same sense, they're not using that reg. That's their backup reg; they will donate their primary to someone if needed then have the backup around their neck where they can get to it easily. Just a different style of gear setup then what most people start off learning which is to donate the backup they have (hopefully) clipped to their BC. A whole 'nother can of worms.
 
I have seen a device that holds the reg. in your mouth if it should be forced out for whatever reason. Just wondering. thanks

I've never seen such a device: do you have a link?

Like many divers here I have a secondary regulator on a short hose that is held below my neck by a necklace: is that what you mean?

Mask tethers are up there with snorkels and retractable retainers on the list of useless gear bought when still new to diving. All mine did is choke me whenever I forgot about it and took my mask off. After several hundred dives I've never had a mask come right off after a misplaced kick: flood yes, but lost, no.

Loosing your reg or your mask is not a big issue: you learn how to deal with it in open water training and should continue practise these skills as you develop as a diver.

Cheers,
Rohan.
 
right hip pocket

Just in case.

And I have heard of an instance of one dive completing a deco dive having to count time in his and without a mask - he did it.

I believe he carries a backup mask too now.
 
Like everybody else says, you can live without a mask. It's hard to read gauges, though, so having a buddy to coordinate an ascent is a very good thing. Salt water doesn't sting, at least it doesn't sting my eyes; I don't like the cold very much, but I can cope with it.

The only times I've lost a mask were on a back roll entry, where my husband went down and got it (tropical dive, 70 foot viz) and being rolled in the surf in LA. And in the latter case, I simply reached into my pocket and pulled out my backup mask. It was handy enough (saved the entire dive in that case) that I will carry a backup mask on all dives. It pretty much lives in my dry suit pocket.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

Back
Top Bottom