I need some advise, I had all sorts of problems with my mask this last trip. I bought a new one on GC and as soon as I got into the water, it leaked! I have a very small face and so need a small fitting mask. Have tried children's size, too small.. my partner and I spent much time over buying my new mask and I also had assistance in the dive shop.. the mask felt really comfortable, I was very surprised to find that it leaked.. I'm a big smiley person and have been told that that's part of my problem.. Any advise would be much appreciated. We're off to Bonaire in December and I really want to get something sorted before we leave. Thanks

Sarah,

Try a Mares Target. Also check out Bruce Bowker's treatise on mask fitting at his site.

http://www.caribinn.com/maskfitting.html

Bob

Bob, that's really useful information, thank you so much..

Sarah

pratice mask clearing techniques...some of just have faces that can not be fit properly...even with the carib inn's help...

I've just had a quick peep at my mask and snorkel (I bought them as a set), the make is actually Mares.. I guess there are different sizes though??? Anony, thanks for your input too.. I don't have a problem with clearing, just didn't like the way I had to do it constantly due to leaking...

>> at my mask and snorkel (I bought them as a set), the make is actually Mares.. <<

Yes, Mares has many makes and models. The Target is a VERY LOW VOLUME mask. Black only. Sporasub also make a similar very small mask.

Bob

Sarah,

BTW, what's a snorkel? ...VBG!

Bob

Bob, a snorkel is a tube housing air intake..

I've wrote down the make of the Mares, we have a large Scuba store in London. Hopefully, I'll find it there..

Sarah, I also have a problem, and I have a small face too, but it really does help when I concentrate on not grinning and smiling. Which is SO hard. There's so much to smile at. However, not smiling does make a big difference. Bummer!!!

Josie, how right you are.. Something that Hugh did whilst on holiday in the Caymans, made me burst out laughing in the water.. my mask flooded, and I tried desperately to keep a straight face thereafter.. but with great difficulty..

I have trouble with my mask leaking because I breathe out my nose. Imagine that! No matter how hard I try not to, I still end up doing it and in comes the water.

This months issue of Scuba Diving has a bunch of smaller masks. And ALWAYS try out the mask with your snorkle in your mouth (or Regulator).
I must have tried on 200 masks before I found this one I have. I found some of the older style masks sometimes fit people - not a low volume but more skirt to fit around faces.

One thing I have noticed is that I need to avoid sunscreen in my mask fit area. I would suspect any face cream etc. could cause a problem. I had to reclean the mask with the toothpaste as when it was new and that fixed the problem.

I also try to turn my body to look sideways not just my head.

I really appreciate all the input on this subject.. that's one of the things I like so much about BonaireTalk.. people are so helpful.. thank you all..

Sarah, who said you could have fun under water...this is a serious sport - no smiling or laughing allowed......

Have you considered shaving your mustache - it did wonders for me!

I, too, am a smiler and I leaked all the time...solution? I bought a purge mask. JOSIE, LEIGH ANN this would help your problems for sure.

They now have some very attractive ones and even though it leaks, still, (slowly), I just blow out through my nose and walla - it's clear.

I also found that purge masks are somewhat cheaper, too.

I've thought about that Barry, but I have prescription lenses in my mask and hate to have to incur that expense again. However, as I'm getting older (it's rough when you get past 21!), my eyes are changing so maybe in five years or so I'll need another one...

Josie, have you considered contacts? I know many many people who dive with contacts...no problems with pressure, etc....

I guess I'm very lucky, never had a problem with a mask leaking. I dove for years with contacts, they do work well, the best choice though is to get the lasik surgery and lose the glasses and contacts altogether.

Barry, I'd love to have contacts, but my doctor says they're not an option. Currently I have bifocals and I also have an astigmatism. However, I keep thinking of the newest Lasik surgery!

Hi Josie....

I was a contact lens wearer and had the lasik surgery done in may and was diving in bonaire in june.....contact free!!! check into it...what a wonderful feeling.....

I've made a commitment to myself to look into it as soon as I get back from Bonaire. Maybe the next trip I can do glasses-free!

You'll still need reading glasses afterwards, it can fix nearsightness and astigmatism but it can't make you any younger.

Damn.... I was hoping for the younger, too!!

Yes, I did know that Cecil, and think I can manage with reading glasses. Still, I'll have to take everything into account.

Well, good luck with whatever you decide. I'm fortunate - only need the reading glasses, but boy do I need them

It's difficult to see the tiny little things underwater without my reading glasses and I tried one of those stick-on magnifyers - mannnn, did that gobie look like a whale shark or what!!!!

Actually, I don't like the magnifyers...my eye always seems to go to that corner to see somethng far away - which blurs it...can't even see a whale shark that way! So, I dumped it....

BIG HINT: Take a magnifying glass and attach it to a string or whatever and keep it in your pocket or even in your wetsuit/polartech at the breast zipper....it really works, and you can see the tiniest little creatures so easily.

I'm one of the folks with a narrow face and some big wrinkles. I've found that masks with double seals work the best. I am near-sighted so that limits me to masks that can have corrective inserts or I have to send it off to get lenses glued into the mask face plate(s).
Also, many new divers pull their mask straps too tight. You should come up from a dive with only light mask marks, if they are deep, loosen your strap. You only need to keep the mask in place, not hold your head together. (And that's a quote from an instructor)

Linnea.....excellent point about the strap. I forgot about that.

I use a slap strap and sometimes when I expel the water out of the purge, the mask slightly moves away from my face - my strap is so loose, it sometimes slides up my head on its own

Leigh Ann - I second on the purge mask. I found myself breathing out my nose and had no trouble. I also find it more comforting as I'm a beginner diver and I get a little anxious when I only breathe through my mouth - even on dry land.

Josie - I have an astigmatism and wear bifocal lenses. They're gas permeables. (I have a friend who wears soft bifocal lenses which she likes but says she had to get used to a sense that there was butter smeared on everything she looked at.... And I don't know if they make toric [for astigmatism] bifocals.) You need to find a REALLY GOOD lens fitter to make this happen. The one at my opthamologist's office told me I was crazy to consider it - wanted me to wear 2 differently ground lenses so I'd look out of one eye at a time - some such nonsense. But when I went to my usual contact lens guy he fit me great - only had to make one small adjustment on one lens. He said it can often take a few adjustments but with patience he can almost always make it happen. I'm thrilled with them and can read all but the smallest print in dark light without reading glasses. (If you're anywhere near western Massachusetts let me know and I'll hook you up with my lens guy.)

Barry, thanks for the info on the purge masks.. I am going to try a few out before we leave for Bonaire. By the way, is snorkeling a serious sport too??? I was only snorkeling when I experienced the flooding. Though the smiling bit did take place at about 5 feet!!!! I guess that's why it was worse than at the surface????

Sarah...I'm sure if you smile at the dinner table, your smile lines will be there...it's not the depth, but the lines.

I will not buy another type mask. Most purge masks are cheap, too. I have a Tetra and it's really stylish and works sooooooo well. I now smile, get water, breathe through my nose and walllllla....water gone. No putting you hand on the top of your mask and tilting your head back...you just keep your head in position and breathe.

You too can have fun on or under the water.

Sarah, are you trying the masks on in the store before you take it to the water? If you put the mask on your face without the straps and inhale very lightly, it should stay on. If it falls off, it isn't a good fit. NOTE: NO SMILING WITH THIS TEST unless you see a nice fish in the store! I assume you have been doing this but thought I would ask. Linnea is correct in that if it is too tight, it may also leak if it rides up your face. I bought a new one this year and had issues until I got the strap adjustment just perfect. Had to take it in the pool a couple of times to get the thing worked out right. Don't know why I switched as my old one never gave me problems...guess I didn't like the color! Ha! Good luck, Mares is a good company.

Cynde, thanks for your input on this I thought I was doing all the right things when buying the mask, I guess there was more to it!! I have recently printed off a very useful info sheet on Mask Fitting given to me by another Bonaire Talker.. I'm going to take their advice and hope for the best.. the mask I bought was a Mares mask, but obviously not the right one! I'm going to try the mask in the local dive shop pool before I buy.. seems like a good idea..

Good luck Sarah, and keep trying! I am sure your shop is like most, in that you can return the mask if it has just been in the pool. The "put the mask on and inhale lightly" should be done out of the water. While in the shop I usually just look, give it the test, put it back, look some more. I got the new "Big Eyes" by CrestSub. It has a greater visual range and a softer skirt which i think conforms to the face a bit better. The pool is a good place to fiddle around with the straps, tightness, etc. When are you going to Bonaire?

Hi there Cynde, we're off to Bonaire December 7 - 21st. We're all booked up, and I'm hoping I'll be arriving with a "super" mask!!!!....