Purge Valve or Not

[spectrum]

Hello all.


I hope this isn't too noobie of a question, but was hoping to get some of your insights on purge valves.

As soon as I put on a mask I find my breathing laboured or restricted because I can't breath through my nose. Couple that with a drysuit and hood and sometimes my experience is less than enjoying, not that it's so bad to abort the dive.


While hanging out doing my safty stop I thought that a purge valve might do the trick allowing me to partly breath thru my nose while exhaling. Any thoughts on this?

You have not fully adapted to sustained oral breathing. Try to augment your scuba diving with some skin-diving. This will let you get some extra mask time when you may not have the time or buddy for a scuba dive. Developing a long deep breathing style to overcome the dead space of the snorkel will do wonders for your scuba breathing as well.

Pete

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I did a dive once with my wifes mask (because she couldn't get it to quit leaking) it turns out it was missing the purge valve "flapper". Just a little positive pressure and a cool reef and no worries.

I dive now without one. Sometimes with 1/2 inch of water in my mask.

 

[hardin]

Why take a reliable piece of equipment as built & put a part in it that can break & fail. I do not let students dive a mask with a purge until after they are certified. I have enough problems with students problems without adding a very failable part on a piece of inherently reliable equipment.
My 2 cents!
Grady
MSDT

 

[Turtleguy9]

Aloha UA Vaj
Why not give both of the masks a go in the pool, and see which one you prefer. I prefer purge masks, mostly due to moustache issues, but hey its all about what you want and like, not about me.
Aloha
Turtleguy9

 

[Isaac-1]

I just wanted to add a couple of thoughts, over the years I have dived with purge and non purge masks, and I can say I prefer purge masks if they are well designed (I also don't like low volume masks). That being said it is hard to find good quality purge masks, as most seem to just be a non purge with a purge valve added to the nose pocket. In particular I like the Scubapro Tri-Vent although they are getting hard to find in good condition, there is currently a used one on ebay yellowed, etc. selling for over $100, these masks retailed for around $150 new.

Ike

 

[Hakuna Matata]

Wow a lot of Albert Einsteins regarding a simple question. Funny how some things from back in the day become gimmicks. Now bear with me as I just got into diving but 30 some years ago I use to snorkel and free dive with friends around Laguna Beach. From what I saw back then all mask had the purge.

Step forward 30 years and now my wife and I are diving. Yeah something else to do from our 48 foot sportfisher living in Hawaii. My wife had problems with water and also her neck is limited in range. When I saw the Scubapro Crystal Vu purge mask I bought one for each of us and they are very nice mask and so nice to use.

I feel and now relax internet nazi's this is for me, they are actually much easier to use since all I have to do and I like doing it quite often is just exhale through my nose. It keeps all the water out, yes I have a stash and gottee and i never get any mask squeeze either. I find it very comfortable for breathing slow to exhale right through my purge.

Can the purge fail, sure its man made. Can one of my 8V92 750 HP Detroit engines in my sportfisher fail yeah, its man made. Can the new Scubapro Smart Com computer Ibought fail, yeah its man made, I bought a straight up analog air pressure guage just to tuck into my BC for a back up.

Jack

 

[HandsomeRyan]

leggomyeggo- go troll somewhere else.

 

[DiVe_DaWg]

You have not fully adapted to sustained oral breathing. Try to augment your scuba diving with some skin-diving. This will let you get some extra mask time when you may not have the time or buddy for a scuba dive. Developing a long deep breathing style to overcome the dead space of the snorkel will do wonders for your scuba breathing as well.

Pete

Hi Pete. I figured there would be no easy answer, kinda hoping there might be a solution to assist me until I get my SAC rate down and breathing in a zen state.

You can exhale through your nose with or without a purge. Without a purge, the air just harmlessly bubbles out around the skirt. Try it!

I will try it, just thinking about the few times I've lost air around the skirt and I seem to remember a rushing slurpy headache as it bubbled thru my hood and cold water rushed in.

I think I will buy one to try, if for nothing else it will be my new backup. I'm sure it's better then the walmart special I run with now. :11:

 

[UaVaj]

*Bump* becasue i had to go to page 9 to find this info.

im sure im not the only n00b with this question.

Aloha UA Vaj
Why not give both of the masks a go in the pool, and see which one you prefer.

Here my 2cents. After trying both.

Purge valve is a great feature for snorkeling. However for diving they are more of a nusiance than helpful.

For snorkeling. It is a great way to clear a mask while swiming horizontally on the surface without having to get vertical. All I have to do is slightly tilt my head and blow through my nose. For snorkeling I will definitely have a purge value.

For diving. It is very very hard to pinch my nose for equailzation becuase the purge valve is in the way. For diving - the best mask IMHO are low volume with a super soft skirt. My next/backup/other mask will definitely be a Mares X-Vision Liquidskin. Hopefully someday if I ever can equalize without having to pinch my nose - I will reconsider a purge value.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

For diving. It is very very hard to pinch my nose for equailzation becuase the purge valve is in the way. .

I can understand someone feeling this way. I found it a little confined on pinching my nose at first but quickly found that barely pinching way up just below the bridge of my nose was actually more then enough to block the airways instead of grabbing the whole entire honker.

Oh yea and BTW Ryan I did go trolling today, for Wahoo.

Jack