Why don't technical divers use full face masks?
- Thread starter supercritical
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OP
supercritical
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I heard that Dave Shaw died because he was working too hard at depth, and because he wasn't getting enough oxygen, he blacked out and eventually died by drowning; apparently he would've survived if he had called the dive. However, that's not my only premise; just an example. I thought it might be a bit more comfortable for those performing long, deep dives and would facilitate communication with other divers (in helium-speak of course.)
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Dave Shaw is a bit of an extreme example, in that he was working at a depth where even a modest amount of exertion can cause CO2 overload. His death was, as usual, a compounding of several factors ... having to do with extreme depths, unplanned effort to bag a body that was literally falling apart, and complications due to unfamiliar equipment (helmet cam). Some would also say it was a case of "too much, too fast" since Dave wasn't really a very experienced diver for the type of diving he was doing. Nothing about his death can really be applied to recreational diving ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
elmer fudd
Contributor
I've never dove a FFM, but I've always thought that a lot of dive accidents could have been prevented just by having the communication that full face masks provide. Just having the ability to tell your buddy something simple without first making eye contact would be a huge advantage. How many dive accidents are there where if the divers buddy had been made aware earlier of the problem they could have been avoided?
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supercritical
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However, ignoring the plight of Dave Shaw, what about the reasons that a full face mask shouldn't be used for (recreational) technical diving, besides gas switching and difficulty with inflating the SMB?
In an emergency gas sharing, it is already a stressful situation. With a full face mask, in order to share gas, you need to either remove the mask and now can't see, or fiddle with changing a quick disconnect connector to a different supply line. Either way, you are adding stress to a stressful situation as opposed to sticking a different (non-FFM) regulator in your mouth.
If you practice using a FFM, you can get pretty good at switching, I think it can be as safe as using a conventional regulator, but without practice, it can be more dangerous.
If you practice using a FFM, you can get pretty good at switching, I think it can be as safe as using a conventional regulator, but without practice, it can be more dangerous.
Gas sharing. (If you don't get this one, go watch the James Cameron movie Sanctum for a graphic example, or just watch this clip: Sanctum Judes Death - YouTube).
The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
It's my opinion that there is too much volume in the typical full face mask. This makes getting rid of the CO2 in the dead air space problematic for a rebreather diver.
Gas sharing could easily be solved by having your regulator already open and ready to got right?
One of the scariest things I've seen recently was in Roatan last October. Relatively inexperienced diver with a full face mask (said he didn't like getting water on his face), with his "backup" regulator a SP Air-2.
What could possibly go wrong
Fortunately he came with his own buddy, so no-one had to team up with him.
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