how tight to make mask ?

[Insta-Gator]

A little water in your mask under your nose isn't necessarily a bad thing. It will help train you to breath through your mouth, not your nose, for those times when you have no mask on. Also, at depth the pressure will want to push the mask onto your face, so being slightly lose at the surface isn't awful either. You'll find what's comfortable for you.

 

[Kenny13]

A little water in your mask under your nose isn't necessarily a bad thing. It will help train you to breath through your mouth, not your nose, for those times when you have no mask on. Also, at depth the pressure will want to push the mask onto your face, so being slightly lose at the surface isn't awful either. You'll find what's comfortable for you.

Exactly. I usually shave before diving, but I forgot once and had a problem with very minor leakage at shallow dept but once I got a little deeper, say around 30 fsw, the pressure helped to get a better seal and stop the leak.

 

[fire_diver]

A little water in your mask under your nose isn't necessarily a bad thing. It will help train you to breath through your mouth, not your nose, for those times when you have no mask on. Also, at depth the pressure will want to push the mask onto your face, so being slightly lose at the surface isn't awful either. You'll find what's comfortable for you.

And when that happens, you exhale through the nose to relieve the pressure, restoring it to "surface" tightness. That is why we wear masks instead of goggles. Otherwise you are going to have one hell of an uncomfortable dive and serious "mask ring" when you surface.

 

[coldwaterdufus]

bigrich954rr I just noticed your from San Diego, are you guys wearing hoods down there?
If you are make sure your mask skirt is tucked under the hood and that your hair is out from under the skirt as well. You can trim most hoods if you don't want to bother with tucking



G1138: I dive in a drysuit with a hood. The problem with tucking is that, if you have a mask problem ( flooding or whatever ) it is very difficult to get your mask on again . Very tough to tuck it all around while clearing your mask etc. I trimmed my hood so that there is no hood close to my mask skirt. My face is not any colder . Solves the problem of tucking and any potential problems underwater. Works much better. When I first started diving ( not that long ago ) I used to tuck my mask under my hood on shore and then go in. My mask used to fog quite a bit due to the heat from my face when the mask hits the cold water. Now, mask around my neck as I go in ( except for boat dives where entry is quick ), easy to put on my mask in the water, good if your buddy or anybody is having any surface issues and takes some time to get adjusted.

A lot of my diving is inland lakes. I think for entry in heavy surf, my mask would be on pretty quick for obvious reasons. Either way, trimming works much better for me than tucking, and I think , safer too.

 

[spectrum]

Pay attention to where you place the back of the mask strap. A little higher or lower can make a big difference in how it conforms.

Also make sure your hood (if worn) is vented. A bubble in there will mess with mask seating. Add vents as needed.

The "no mask line" is a nice goal but it's not always the result. A good with a good face seal you can almost guarantee a line. No big deal.

Also if the hood has a face seal be sure it's trimmed so the mask sits unconstrained.

If it's minor volume that's bugging you it will soon be second nature. A persistent leak needs to be dealt with. It can push a challenging moment over the edge.

Pete

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

I have a mustache/goatee and my mask does not leak, shaving doesn't seem to help or hinder a properly adjusted mask. To be perfectly honest I've not run across a mask that doesn't fit if the strap is properly adjusted.

As stated previously the strap is there to keep the mask from slipping off your face, that's about it. Water pressure does the rest, even just below the surface,

 

[cocoajoe]

Pay attention to where you place the back of the mask strap. A little higher or lower can make a big difference in how it conforms.

Also make sure your hood (if worn) is vented. A bubble in there will mess with mask seating. Add vents as needed.

The "no mask line" is a nice goal but it's not always the result. A good with a good face seal you can almost guarantee a line. No big deal.

Also if the hood has a face seal be sure it's trimmed so the mask sits unconstrained.

If it's minor volume that's bugging you it will soon be second nature. A persistent leak needs to be dealt with. It can push a challenging moment over the edge.

Pete

I've noticed John Chatterton's (DeepSea Detectives-History Channel) face always has.....not just the outline of his mask but really deep lines, after a dive. Thought for a while it was due to the extreme depths. But noticed the same lines on shallow dives.

But my question is, when I'm inverted (head down, feet up hovering) mask leaks really bad. Why?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Linedog]

Perhaps you have a leak in the bottom portion of your mask. Under your eyes or nose, when your inverter it lets the air out/water in much quicker.

 

[cocoajoe]

Perhaps you have a leak in the bottom portion of your mask. Under your eyes or nose, when your inverter it lets the air out/water in much quicker.

I don't know....thinking about a new mask

 

[smurf doc]

I don't cut/shave my hair but don't have problems, so I doubt your facial hair is the issue. If I feel like I have significant facial hair trapped underneath I'll fold my upper lip down and adjust my mask. I have a small area between the bottom of my nose and where my facial hair begins to grow. Odds are you do also.

Getting a mask that fits you is key. During class I tried several different masks that were just OK, until I finally found one that was perfect for me. A person's facial features do make a difference. Make sure your mask can stay in place for several breaths without holding it. That'll be a good sign.

Do you wear a swim cap/hood? When doing a giant stride my turban tended to come off so I started wearing a swim cap to keep my hair in check. On my last open water dive I was having trouble with leakage, beginning at the surface. My instructor noticed that the top skirt of the mask was lying on top of the edge of my swim cap. As soon as she lifted that edge out from beneath my mask, my leakage problem stopped. Now, as she suggested, I deliberately put the front edge over the top of my mask skirt (if I can remember to do so). Never had a problem with leakage ever since.

As others have said, the water pressure will really create the seal. Otherwise it should just be tight enough to stay in place.

Good luck with everything.