Delray Beach, FL - Aug 3rd (Sat) try for free a FULL MASK diving in a pool

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Texasguy

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Location
Fort Lauderdale, FL
# of dives
I just don't log dives
"We will provide the gear to try this out, just bring your own fins, certification card, swimsuit and a towel."

Link to register: HERE

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Link to register: HERE
 
very cool...free trial with no obligations sound like a good idea.
 
So, afterthoughts:

The event was interrupted by a storm. Perhaps 75% of the event was salvageable.

The masks that were given to us were semi-professional, ones that are mid-tier. They were all also were equipped with mic/speaker combo for underwater communication.

Overall my thoughts, while might be ok for certain scenarios, I'd be sticking to my normal mask. However, I am very thankful that Force-E was able to conduct such a demo along with the manufacturer (OceanReef).

My original hope was that the full face mask will give a better field of view but it does not anyhow improve over a low volume normal mask.

The full face mask mounts on 6 straps that make sure the skirt of the mask has an even dispersion of pressure. This makes manipulation of the mask harder over a single strap on a normal mask. If you have long hair, multitude of straps may interfere in many way. However, evidently you don't need to be clean shaven to have a good seal, you can dive with a beard or other facial hair, the skirt is very thick and, I guess, it does seal well.

We did a mask removal drill, was not hard but the amount of volume within the mask did make clearing a mask a bit of a messier experience. Though, I'd have to say, pushing purge on the mask's regulator does a very violent air recovery. I'd say maybe 2x or more over gas volume of my regular regulator.

Other than ability to breath through your nose, I thought the best feature was that a full face mask does not fog. In a normal mask it is a closed system, air does not move much. But in a full face mask the dry air from the tank continuously removes any deposited fog.

You might ask, what does one do in an emergency... The mask's lower 2 straps have finger gripping bars that are easy to find and pull on. The releases the tightness of the mask around the jaw area and you can take the mask off akin to taking a bag off your head. Then you'd switch to a normal 2nd stage and need to don on that normal mask that you'd hopefully be packing. Thus, not really making things easier. Definitely not for a sidemount diving without some fancy physical gas switch module.

One weird areas that I have observed is that fast breathing makes the mask kind of vibrate like a little engine, as if its exhaust valve is not large enough and the exhaled gas was coming through the skirt and then the 2nd stage would try import more air, creating a kind of sympathetic resonance. Evidently it is a known problem when a user breaths hard. It took me a while to get used to a slower rate of breathing that made the experience acceptable.

Another thing that was slightly surprising was a quick disconnect valve on the mask for the air hose akin to one you have on an inflator. I'd assume it is similar to scubapro adapter on Air2 regulator. However, this would mean that the mask then has some limitation on depth due to the restriction of the adapter to provide gas in proper amounts.

The test was done in a FL pool during a midst of summer, I was unable to test if a face felt warmer, you understand.

Communication in was was ok, it has 2 difficulties. A normal voice is converted to ultrasonic wave and then to a normal wave. But it is fed through a specific speaker. This speaker, because it works underwater, lacks base and most mid-range frequencies. Such frequencies require WAY too much power to move water, so, the speaker is made not to attempt. The speaker hangs next to your ear but does not cup it. You can hear all around you plus the speaker. Because of all the technical difficulties, understanding the speech greatly depends on the user's ability to speak slow and distinctly. Though, as an example, a clarity on P's or B's (and such) might still suffer as a result. If there is an incoming message, the speaker beeps, then plays the transmission. Similarly, when you want to transmit, you press a button, wait for a tone to play for others, then start speaking. The mask I was using had 2 channels, for example. One button for speaking, another for switching a channel.

Generally, swimming in the mask was no different than your normal mask.
 
thanks for sharing such an in-depth summery and review....
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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