So, who carries a pocket mask?

[SDAnderson]

I used to carry one around, but there isn't room to haul it in the water with me and it's of essentially worthless when left on the shore.

They work well and it would be nice (but not necessary) to have one if it's ever needed, but the facts remain that:

• You probably won't ever be involved in an in-water rescue.
• If you do have the opportunity, you'll probably forget that you've got it with you.
• If you have the opportunity and also remember that you have one, you probably won't remember how to use it.

That's a lot of "what if" for hauling a largeish piece of doodad around for years and years. Keep it simple.

Steven

 

[Stone]

lives in the first-aid tool box on my boat.

 

[Hallmac]

but the facts remain that:

You probably won't ever be involved in an in-water rescue.

If you do have the opportunity, you'll probably forget that you've got it with you.

If you have the opportunity and also remember that you have one, you probably won't remember how to use it.

That's scary. Time for some mental rehearsal.

Hallmac

 

[cat]

Yup - one larger one with replaceable valve in the car F.A. kit, one disposable version (including gloves) in my butt-pack. Not much point in having the training if I'm going to have to worry about losing my blood-donor status by actually doing AR on someone i don't know that well

Umm, *should* it come into the water with me??? I'm not even sure it would work underwater and if I'm diving with someone and thus willing to share regs with them in an emergency, I'm not going to balk at maskless AR on the surface.

Sigh - CPR has changed a lot since I first certified - the emphasis on rescuer safety and disease avoidance has gone up exponentially. I bet they don't teach 8-year olds AR on real people during the Survivor swimming class anymore either.

 

[Sgt Nitrox]

Carry mine in my first aid/save a dive kit. It the first peice of gear I load in the truck. The day I finished my ADV Resuce class I put together my first aid kit. I was surprised to find out how cheaply I did it. I had one tray left in the tackle box that I used so I made that the save a dive part. I used to catch some crap from some divers about lugging around the med sized box, however If I dive with those people more than once chances are they will neeed something from that box. Most of the time band aids,zip ties,mouth peice FIN straps,ear drops...You name it chances are I ve got it. I also carry 3 non rebreather masks and a 15 ltr o2 reg and using hose clamps I mounted a D size o2 bottle on the back side of it. If anyone is interested in more about how I did it it all let me know and I will help anyone get a first aid kit together. If some one would like me to make on for them PM and we can talk. I am just trying to help out not looking to make money. One of the things that stuck out in my mind during my rescue class was that the instructor told us to build our first aid kits like they were saving our own rear ends. Once you think about it or say it this way this way"the first aid kit you build and carry just might save your own life"

Dive often,Dive safe, live to dive another day,
Peace,
SGT NITROX

 

[scuberd]

mine is in the first aid kit which usually lives in my car. so it's never far

 

[bwerb]

It seems that so far, pocket masks are "never far away" but only a few divers actually dive with them (where they would be of most use).

Hmm, something for me to consider. To carry or not to carry, that is the question.

I am not so paranoid as to think that I'm going to get Hep B/C or something if I help someone out. I'll go with the odds that I'll be ok but...someone with a serious lung expansion injury is going to be likely frothing blood (and this happens every year locally) and it might not be nearly as easy to just dive right in as it were.

I am debating over the merits of just having the plain keychain sized shield with the oneway valve, certainly it won't cover the nose and mouth simultaneously and keep waves from hitting the airway but...it does solve the frothy blood question with something which takes up the space of a film canister in a pocket.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

Interesting prospect, carrying it during a dive. My experience has been as long as I have something "just in case" I probably won't need it and that doesnt' bother me one bit. My first aid kit is with me any time I go on a trip whether I'm diving or not.
Ber

 

[Diver0001]

bwerb once bubbled...
It seems that so far, pocket masks are "never far away" but only a few divers actually dive with them (where they would be of most use).

Hmm, something for me to consider. To carry or not to carry, that is the question.

I am not so paranoid as to think that I'm going to get Hep B/C or something if I help someone out. I'll go with the odds that I'll be ok but...someone with a serious lung expansion injury is going to be likely frothing blood (and this happens every year locally) and it might not be nearly as easy to just dive right in as it were.

I am debating over the merits of just having the plain keychain sized shield with the oneway valve, certainly it won't cover the nose and mouth simultaneously and keep waves from hitting the airway but...it does solve the frothy blood question with something which takes up the space of a film canister in a pocket.

I don't know. I "play" rescue victim a *lot* for our dive-club (I can play drowning so convincingly that even the instructors look into my eyes for "the wink" ) and I've seen the rescue course and been on the receiving end of the AR exercise more often than I can remember. I also trained first-aid teams for competition in the 1980's and I've first-aided at several serious motor-vehicle accidents. What I think, based on personal experience, is that most "rescue" divers (not to confuse with the rescue-diver cert) wouldn't use the pocket mask even if it were in their BCD pocket. Something happens to you when it's real. It's hard to explain but you get on the one hand a sort of unusual clarity of thought and on the other hand a sort of 1/2 panic reaction, perhaps better described as perceptual narrowing, yourself, certainly if your experience in genuine emergencies is limited.

What I've experienced is that when the **** is really hitting the fan that you reject everything; every action; every movement; every thought; every waste of time; that's not directly related to the situation at hand. I can imagine that a rescue diver will realise that he has a pocket mask in his pocket but he/she will reject using it because it will take too much time to find it and open it up.

I don't carry one but if I did I think I would reject it too in an emergency unless the waves were so big that I thought it would save time.

These are the kinds of thoughts you have when it's real:

- Time is the only thing that matters. Every second is relevant.

- Blood doesn't scare me (maybe it should) and in an emergency it scares me even less. If I get sick from it I'll deal with that when it happens.

- Frothing at the mouth only means "go faster". If lung tissue is coming out (the most gut-wrenching thing you can imagine) it only makes you say "ohhh...****!" and hurry.

R..

 

[Rush]

In open water, I carry a pocket mask. I also keep one handy in my gear box. When cave diving, I don't carry a pocket mask, as I have too much in my pocket such as extra mask, back-up light, tables, etc., plus, I don't think it would do much good in an overhead environment. I only hope that I never have to use it, and if I do have to use it, I hope my well-practiced skills become second nature to me.