Why don't technical divers use full face masks?

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Perhaps instead of writing "Difficulty with AAS", it should be "Difficulty with switching to bailout regulator".

It's certainly more difficult, but not impossible. I don't regularly dive with a backup mask, but I do have an AAS. I am comfortable making an ascent without a mask on and opening my eyes under water. If I was forced to make a technical dive on FFM, I would carry a backup mask in my pocket.
 
It's certainly more difficult, but not impossible. I don't regularly dive with a backup mask, but I do have an AAS. I am comfortable making an ascent without a mask on and opening my eyes under water. If I was forced to make a technical dive on FFM, I would carry a backup mask in my pocket.


I agree. There are advantages and disadvantages. If you need such things as verbal communication on a particular dive, then perhaps you are willing to put up with the disadvantages.
 
I don't tech dive (yet - that's next year), but I have been using an OTS Guardian for a year. When I dive with it, it's always with a pony bottle. Both my main hose and the pony bottle hose are routed to the reg through a gas switch block. I believe some fire departments use a similar setup. That takes care of any potential ooa issues for me. If someone needs help, my octo is still available, clipped off on a D ring.
 
I dive with a Kirby Morgan Supermask. This mask has 2 parts; a set of eyepieces which work like most standard scuba masks, and a "pod" that holds the regulator which clips to the mask. The "pod" can be removed underwater without flooding the eyepiece, which makes it easy to switch to a backup regulator or share a regulator with a teammate in the event of an emergency.

When the pod is clipped on, you can breathe through the regulator mouthpiece like normal, or open your mouth and breathe around it. The interior of the pod is clear of water so you can speak (and be heard pretty well by anyone nearby). With a little practice you can learn to grab the mouthpiece with your lips and return it to your mouth if you wish.

With the pod unclipped you clear the eyepiece area of the mask normally like you would any other scuba mask. With the pod clipped you can manipulate the eyepiece area to drain water into the pod.

The pod has a small button on it that allows you to purge it of water.

You can unclip and donate the pod to a teammate if needed. The pod does not interfere with a normal mask; you can easily breath on it in an emergency.

You attach any standard regulator 2nd stage to the pod. You need a special extended-length mouthpiece for the inside of the pod. This is not like one of those "custom fit" mouthpieces that make it hard for anyone else to share your reg, it's just a normal mouthpiece with a longer base; you wouldn't notice the difference between the mouthpiece you have on your reg now and this one when you use it or when you donate it.

I love love love this mask. It is warmer and you don't have the problem of numb lips when you dive in cold PNW waters. You can speak and be heard. There's less jaw fatigue (especially nice when doing a dive trip where you may be in the water 2-3 times a day for an extended period).

My only concern is how it will respond to being yanked at if a diver has an OOA emergency and I don't see them asking for me to donate the reg. We're all trained to just grab the reg out of the mouth of a teammate if necessary. The pod is held in place by a plastic clip and I have tested it by yanking it hard and it will detach. Until a teammate out of gas and in extremis tries to take it by force I won't know how well it will work "in real life"

RyanD
 
If you were to use a CCR, you can put a high-flow quick disconnect on the second stage of the BOV. If you have to bail out completely from the loop, you simply flip the switch. You can have the BOV connected to your onboard and offboard gasses (accessible whenever you want). The only reason to remove the mask would be for a mask problem or failure of the BOV itself. It's wise to carry a spare half mask in a pocket in any case.

Although a FFM may pose a CO2 hazard, proper training makes this a minimal risk. Certainly the benefits that are achieved in the case of an unconscious diver, more than make up for any risk. Better visibility and increased warmth are other benefits. Care should however be taken in the selection and configuration of the FFM to maximize diver safety.
 
Not if you're the one needing the gas. However, I saw a little gismo when I did my rebreather training. I could actually change tanks mid water if it had this connector in place. I am thinking of the possibilities of using it.

First two products on this page - Accessories : Chipola Divers, Sidemount, Technical, & Cave Diving Instruction & Mentoring

These could be used with a full face mask pretty effectively. Some of the other issues are easily also non-issues. When I dive rebreather in mixed teams I always have a 2nd stage on a long hose ready to donate from one of my bailout bottles. I can use the same regulator to inflate an SMB.

The main issue is the large amount of dead space in the FFM. Tech divers look for the lowest volume mask to make equalization and flood clearing easy. An FFM wouldn't help in that situation. It can also increase task loading in dives where the goal is to decrease task loading as much as possible.
 
Not sure if these are similar to the ones from Chipola, but these are what I use with the gas switch block: Page Title

They have a twist locking feature to minimize the risk of accidental blowout.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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