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Snorkel masks?

ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Snorkel masks?
on: March 29, 2018, 12:15:12 AM
I know we have a few snorkelers in the house, and I was wondering what masks you use?  For most of my diving fun I have used a traditional type mask like this one:



Lately though I have been looking more and more at the full face type lately, although I am not really sure what benefits, if any that it might have.



Anyone have any experience with this kind of mask?

Def
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us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #1 on: March 29, 2018, 07:04:18 AM
I don't have experience with it, but it looks like it would allow you to breath through your nose while snorkeling. If that's the case, first... you're SUPPOSED to breath through your nose. It filters stuff. Second, at least for me, when i DIN'T breath through my nose while doing snorkel/scuba, I got horrible squiddies. Might also allow some kind of comm thing to be put in it. I know the open face masks for scuba, covering the entire mouth and nose allow them to put mics and such to speak underwater to one another. Not sure that's the case here. (shrug)

I'm mostly just spitballing here, not actually sure. Given the option though, I'd take that new style any day over the old style.

Downside for guys, though, you'd have to have clean shave over more facial area for good seal.


ie Offline eamo

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #2 on: March 29, 2018, 10:06:52 AM
Lynn what are squiddies? ??
It is never too late to be what you might have been - George Eliot


se Offline kottskrapa

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #3 on: March 29, 2018, 10:07:05 AM
I have one of those but have barely used it. Only in a pool and after I got rid of my beard it worked fantastic. After that the sea got to cold and the summer was over so I haven't tested it in the sea with waves and currents. With my beard it was leaking a lot.

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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #4 on: March 29, 2018, 12:59:19 PM
I don't often breath through my nose at the best of times (plugged more often than not) but I suppose it would be worth having the option.

I'm not sure how well a comm system would work as radio waves don't penetrate water, so it would only work when I am on the surface, or it would have to be corded.  And yes, clean shaven is important as I found out with my regular mask- mustaches also ruin the seal.  Also, would moving your jaw to talk also ruin the seal?

I think my biggest concern with a full face mask I guess is clearing it underwater.  I suppose it isn't as big a deal as you are usually at or near the surface when snorkeling, but I often clear my mask (particularly when it fills up with water because I didn't shave  :facepalm:) while underwater and it's very easy to do with a regular type mask. 

Still, these are cheap enough, I'll probably get one for experimentation anyway- it's no great loss if it turns out that I don't like it.  I started snorkeling with a cheap Body Glove snorkel kit from Costco, but I've replaced the flippers with Aqualung shorties, partially because I broke the ones in the kit and partly because the shorter fin doesn't put as much pressure on my bolted on ankles.   :facepalm:

I also have to say that I think I like the GoPro mount on this mask, and that alone might be worth the price of this mask.

There's a spot near my parent's place that is a fairly shallow pool at the bottom of some falls/rapids.  It's a hugely oxygenated section of the river because of the falls, but it is a nice and calm pool that is usually full of rock bass.  Megan wants to fish there, although I hear rock bass aren't the best eating.  Either way, it's a perfectly clear pool that I think would be great to snorkel in, and it's about a 45 minute kayak paddle from the house, so it could be fun to paddle there in the hot sun this summer, then cool off with a nice dip before paddling back home.

And all of those fish would be fun to watch in HD!

Def
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us Offline SteveC

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #5 on: March 29, 2018, 02:06:45 PM
Rock Bass might not be good eating but they sure are fun to catch, they put up a hell of a fight for their size.   :tu:


cy Offline dks

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #6 on: March 29, 2018, 02:13:30 PM
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us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #7 on: March 30, 2018, 12:34:58 AM
Lynn what are squiddies? ??

There is a scuba diving hand sign, where you hold your wrist at your nose, point your fingers downward and wiggle them. This is the hand sign for 'you have squidies'.

Squiddies are when you are leaking copious mucus from your nose, since you haven't breathed through it for half an hour, and that stuff is floating in the water, looking like a bunch of squid legs waving around.

Aren't you glad you asked?

It's basically the effect some people get when they don't breath through their nose while underwater. Myself among them.


ie Offline Don Pablo

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #8 on: March 30, 2018, 12:50:00 AM
Ewwwwwwww :rofl:
Hooked, like everyone else. ;)

All hail the hook!


ie Offline eamo

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #9 on: March 30, 2018, 01:51:22 AM
Lynn what are squiddies? ??

There is a scuba diving hand sign, where you hold your wrist at your nose, point your fingers downward and wiggle them. This is the hand sign for 'you have squidies'.

Squiddies are when you are leaking copious mucus from your nose, since you haven't breathed through it for half an hour, and that stuff is floating in the water, looking like a bunch of squid legs waving around.

Aren't you glad you asked?

It's basically the effect some people get when they don't breath through their nose while underwater. Myself among them.

Interesting. I must mention this to my youngest who dives
It is never too late to be what you might have been - George Eliot


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #10 on: March 31, 2018, 12:19:35 AM
I did not know that squiddies were a thing. 

Now I know.

And I can never un-know that now.

This is a very educational site and sometimes I am not sure if that's such a good thing!

Def
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ie Offline Don Pablo

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #11 on: March 31, 2018, 01:00:35 AM
Squiddies. Squiddies. Squiddies.
Fun word.  :)
Hooked, like everyone else. ;)

All hail the hook!


ca Offline Marc_in_NS

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #12 on: April 01, 2018, 02:36:10 AM
In my world, squiddies are usually accompanied by blood...not a good thing. Those full face mask MUST fit just right, otherwise you are in a leaky boat. Bad idea if you have a couple day’s growth on your face...


I think they suck. :)


But am I to judge. :)


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #13 on: April 02, 2018, 12:42:30 AM
I had wondered about that.  I guess maybe I will consider finding one in store that I can try instead of buying one online.

And I hate shaving....

Def
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #14 on: May 15, 2018, 11:18:12 PM
I finally pulled the trigger on one of these.  I bought it online for about $20 as I figured that was a fitting budget for experimentation.  I have to say, the more I think about it, the less I think it is going to be of much use.

I am not the most fastidious shaver- in fact, I hate shaving and really only do it every few days when the annoyance of having stubble starts to bother me.  But, in fairness, this was also a problem with my standard snorkel mast, at least around the moustache area. 

That having been said, the smaller eye-and-nose only mask was easy to clear underwater, I simply exhaled sharply from my nose and most, if not all of the water was expelled.  I am not sure that is likely to be the case with this mask, as it is a much larger surface area, and any exhaling from my nose (from now on, this will be known as "squiddie generation") is likely to just exit through the snorkel.  I have watched a video where someone reviewing similar masks said that water was ejected out the bottom, but I'm not sure how that is supposed to work.

I also wonder about anti-fog, although I have to deal with fogging issues with my normal mask, so again, I am not sure that is going to be much different.

The last thing I wonder is, if the GoPro mounts to the top of the mask, wouldn't that largely keep the GoPro out of the water when snorkeling, unless you are under water or face down?   I have to think it would suck greatly to have this wonderful underwater experience and only film the nothing that happened above....  :facepalm:

Def
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #15 on: May 28, 2018, 10:19:24 PM
My cheapo full face snorkel mask arrived today and surprisingly it fits my ugly mug.  Most of the breath is contained to the lower part of the mask and I can see that being the reasoning behind the anti-fog concept, however my breath is completely outside of my regular mask as well and it still fogs up.  I hear these tend to fog up just as much, which comes as no surprise with the moisture and heat from your face and the relative coldness of the water.

It comes in a mesh bag and, as I bought the model without the folding snorkel tube, it sticks out of the bag- or else I could remove it every time I put it away.

I'm looking forward to trying it in the water, but I think I'll wait for the water to warm up a bit first.  Wearing it around the house seemed a bit restrictive in the oxygen department, and I seemed to only be getting about 90% of the air I needed.  Not enough to make me pass out or anything, but less than I wanted to feel completely comfortable.  Perhaps better models of it will allow the user to breathe, but as I went cheap just to try it out, I am willing to accept an oxygen penalty.  It could come in handy should I ever decide to run for public office....  :facepalm:

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us Offline SteveC

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #16 on: May 28, 2018, 11:30:13 PM
 :like: :tu:


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #17 on: May 29, 2018, 12:56:30 AM
Here is my old snorkel mask, that I have been using for a few years now.  Since maybe 2010-ish?  It is still fine, but I have one serious problem with snorkels in general that I was sort of hoping the full face one would solve.

I am a bit of a germophobe, and I have gone snorkeling in some places where I really didn't want to put my snorkel back in my mouth after it had gotten wet.  It gets worse when the water is a bit murky and there's sand or silt on it, and you get the sand crunching in your teeth.   :ahhh

The full face mask benefits by not having to stick things in my mouth, which is something I appreciate greatly.  I keep thinking of the story of this one guy in Halifax, who was required to dive into the holding tank of the (then) brand new waste treatment plant and clear an obstruction.  I'll bet he did everything he could to keep a good seal on his regulator!

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tr Offline ddogu

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #18 on: May 29, 2018, 09:09:03 AM
If you're snorkelling actually almost any mask would do. The diving boat I worked on, we even had plexi masks for snorkelling purposes. They're cheap, light.

For SCUBA though, you cannot go wrong with Scubapro, Mares, Aqualung, Beuchat, Cressisub, Oceanic... Depending on your comfort and choice of viewing field single-glass and double-glass options are available.


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #19 on: May 31, 2018, 05:08:10 PM
This morning I wedged my fat arse into a rubber suit and headed for the beach.... for science.   :facepalm:

The mask actually did quite well.  I shaved this morning (very important) before leaving, and the mask held up quite well to swimming on the surface and a small dive, 2-3 feet under the surface.  It did not leak and despite the water being a bit cold there was not a significant amount of fogging.

Due to the cold weather and the panic I always get when snorkeling the first time each year (takes a bit to convince my body that it can in fact breathe underwater) I wasn't out for long, but I can see me putting a lot of miles on this mask.  I really quite like it so far, although that may change with some fuller testing.

I forgot to mention that this mask comes with fabric elastic to hold it in place.  I like that because it is a lot less hair-pulley than the silicone or rubber straps, but I have concerns about it's longevity.  Time will tell on that one, but I'd really rather it didn't get saggy and loose like old underwear.  For now though it is surprisingly comfortable to wear and use, and the snorkel does seem to seal well enough and be out of the water far enough to be useful.  It's a bit windy today and the river is a bit choppy, but I didn't find it closing at any inopportune times at all, or letting water in when it wasn't supposed to.

So far I am liking this mask, and I think I may prefer it to my traditional mask, but I'll need to put a few more miles on it before I can decide.

Def
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #20 on: July 03, 2018, 06:17:28 PM
Over the weekend we decided the best way to manage the 40C + heat was to go swimming.  We went to a nice beach outside of town that we'd hoped wouldn't be too busy, as it is a bit far out and the houses in the neighborhood all have their own private beaches.  We were right- there was a bunch of people there, but we didn't have a problem finding some space on the beach and we quickly made our way to the water.

I had brought my full face snorkel mask and got to do a lot more testing and I have to say that I don't see myself going back to a standard snorkel mask.  In fact, I discovered an "undocumented feature" that I really like.  We all know snorkel masks fog up, and these types are no different.  But, if it fogs up too much you simply dive under the water.  While under, try to inhale (please try this in safe circumstances first!) and some water will leach in around the sides of the mask.  If you are face down you can use that water to clear the inside of the lens.  When you are done, lift your head and exhale- the water will be exhausted through the valve on the chin of the mask.  It's actually quite effective and I was able to do it numerous times successfully.

Other than intentionally causing leakage I didn't experience any leakage of note, but if I did the purge valve is really effective at disposing of it.  I really like this mask and I highly recommend it. 

Even if Megan does say that I look creepy in it.

Def
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ca Offline Greg Jones

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #21 on: July 03, 2018, 10:09:54 PM
You have my attention  :tu:
I haven't been snorkeling in many years and when I started to see these, it made me think and now you can give first hand thoughts  :cheers:


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #22 on: July 04, 2018, 03:33:48 AM
It's an odd feeling to be completely underwater and your whole face is completely dry.  It doesn't seem like anything serious, but it is noticeable.

I was curious but skeptical of these initially, but now I have to say that I am a really big fan of it.

Def
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #23 on: September 04, 2018, 01:28:38 AM
Apparently this mask is not only preferable, it is infectious.

When I first got it I posted a pic of me wearing it on Facebook and Instagram for a few cheap laughs.  Within minutes my cousin called and was asking me about it, as he was very curious and wanted to get one too.

Then, I had it a few weeks ago while swimming with my nephews and they both liked it so much, my brother had ordered some for them before we had even gotten out of the water.  They got black ones, which meant it was time for Uncle Grant to teach them some bad habits.  Since they are muffled to the point where you can't understand them when they talk while wearing it, they reminded me of Dark Helmet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNcDI_uBGUo

So, I got the younger one to say "Keep firing smurfholes" which amused me to no end.

The next time the three of us went snorkeling Megan was feeling a bit left out, so I asked if she wanted a snorkel mask too.  She hadn't snorkeled in years so she wasn't sure, and we dug out the snorkel set I had bought her years ago.  When we were camping later on she tried both, this mask and the traditional mask she had.  She absolutely hated the way she looked in the full face mask, insisting that it looks creepy like a gas mask, but she pretty much refused to go back to the standard mask as well, and I ended up using the standard mask all weekend while she used the full face one.

I ordered Megan a better mask than the one I have- I went uber cheap on mine because I wasn't sure about it, but now that we know we like them I felt it was worth getting a better one.  One of the problems I have with mine is that the snorkel sticks out of the storage bag, so when it was time to get one for Megan I made sure I got one with a foldable  snorkel, better straps, a removable GoPro mount and better UV protection.

It seems that everyone who sees or uses it has to have one, so I think that is pretty much an open and shut case on whether or not they are any good.  I don't know how I could give a higher recommendation for it than that.   :tu:

Def
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cy Offline dks

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #24 on: September 04, 2018, 09:48:19 AM
They do seem very popular this year - it seems like it must offer some more comfort, as you would not buy it for how it makes you look.

I saw several tourists using them, but I am too hard core/macho/beautifull for this type of mask
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ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #25 on: September 05, 2018, 02:22:27 PM
Yeah, you kind of look like a psycho in this mask, but then my thoughts about snorkeling is that you are supposed to be looking at a wonderful underwater world than your own outfit (or that of others) so it doesn't really matter what you look like.  Plus truly good looking people will make anything look good....  :pok:

Def
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cy Offline dks

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Re: Snorkel masks?
Reply #26 on: September 05, 2018, 05:11:04 PM
 :dd:   Grant......
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Al : "Women!"

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