Is a full face mask good?

Saw a full face snorkel advertised and wonder if this is better than the standard type?

Input appreciated.

My husband just purchased one. He has been unable to use the regular snorkel mask as he is not able to get a good seal with his mustache and the mask leaked. He would not shave off his mustache which he has had for over 50 years so we thought the full face mask might work for him. Up to this point he has been sitting on the beach or in the boat for the past 15 years watching me snorkel. He just tried it on our last cruise and it works for him. He was pretty excited about it! We just snorkeled at the beach and the water was a bit murky but he did see a few different fish. It does fog up as soon as he puts it on but he says the fog clears when he puts his face in the water. We are looking forward to going snorkeling together on a cruise stop in Key West in a couple of months.

My husband just purchased one. He has been unable to use the regular snorkel mask as he is not able to get a good seal with his mustache and the mask leaked. He would not shave off his mustache which he has had for over 50 years so we thought the full face mask might work for him. Up to this point he has been sitting on the beach or in the boat for the past 15 years watching me snorkel. He just tried it on our last cruise and it works for him. He was pretty excited about it! We just snorkeled at the beach and the water was a bit murky but he did see a few different fish. It does fog up as soon as he puts it on but he says the fog clears when he puts his face in the water. We are looking forward to going snorkeling together on a cruise stop in Key West in a couple of months.

Try a little anti-fog a commercial product available at my scuba/dive shops, or some people use baby shampoo on the inside of the mask.

I Love mine! No fogging issue once in the water and the view is much better. I really like that the snorkel and mask is all ONE piece, no rubber tangling in my hair.

I bought one for my wife recently for an upcoming cruise since she tends to dislike the regular face mask and snorkel mouth piece. In fact she's never been big fan of snorkeling since it is so uncomfortable for her. She pretty much did it just to be with me. She tried the full face mask for the first time recently on a cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. She loved it and I couldn't get her out of the water. It did not fog or leak at all. I tried it (though hers was a bit small for me) and really liked it. Will probably buy one for myself.

After much research I bought her the Tribord Easybreath mask.

I picked up one of these on eBay early last year when I stumbled across a listing for one while searching for deals on regular snorkel masks, and liked it enough that I picked up a second one for friends to use.

Pros:

• holy moley, you can breathe through your nose! Less mouth fatigue! "More natural" feeling!
  
• You can talk back and forth underwater...sorta
  
• The dry-top portion of the snorkel works about the best I've seen, with little to no leakage
  
• Very little fogging even without using anti-fog
  

Cons:

• Larger volume means it's more buoyant than a regular mask
  
• Related to freediving, it will REALLY squeeze your face tight the deeper you try to dive, and start to seriously leak due to the pressure gradient
  

My verdict: really good mask for surface and shallow-dive snorkeling, but if you like to freedive deeper while snorkeling, its usefulness decreases accordingly.

They seem to come in two sizes, S/M and L/XL. My two were L/XL but I just purchased a S/M model for my friends (or more likely, their girlfriends) to use.

I paid around $40-45 for each, including shipping, on eBay. Although they were from different sellers and had different branding, they have been functionally identical except for size. Most of the units offered also have a GoPro mount installed.

Tx for info...I cannot wait to purchase and try one.

Brands do vary. I did a lot of research and found the original Triboard Easybreath has the best reviews. I paid $65 for it on Amazon which is still cheaper than a good conventional mask. I did do some shallow diving with it. 10-15 ft and had no leakage. The problem with going any deeper is that you can't pinch your nose to equalize pressure. Given a choice I always use one of these for snorkeling over a conventional mask, even the one I use for scuba.

There is some info on the Tripadvisor Hawaii board. Apparently the Hawaii officials are investigating a few deaths of snorkelers who were using the full face mask. The question, without an answer, is whether there was any CO2 buildup and also whether if a snorkeler had a problem or panic attack if the tight fitting mask was difficult to remove.

Nothing seem definitive but I guess there are always concerns.

I was able to try one out at our local dive shop (try before you buy) and I found it a little "odd" to use. Maybe because I have been snorkeling for so many years that the full face just felt weird to me. I'm not really sure.

I kept having a problem every time I looked directly down and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. I'd panic and just up out of water. It kept happening over and over. It would suction to my face and no air was coming in. It took me awhile, but then I discovered that (since the snorkel part is part of the mask and it's hard like the mask and fixed at a certain angle) when I looked too far down, the snorkel was actually submerging in the water...hence no air.

I didn't have any problem with fogging as others have mentioned (from what I can remember).

The neat thing about it was that if water gets into the mask, there's a rubber piece that goes around the inside of the mask and the water will not come into the section where your face is and travel between the mask and the rubber part and out the bottom.

In the end, I personally didn't like it, but I can see where it would be neat to use for those that maybe haven't snorkeled for years. :)

There is some info on the Tripadvisor Hawaii board. Apparently the Hawaii officials are investigating a few deaths of snorkelers who were using the full face mask. The question, without an answer, is whether there was any CO2 buildup and also whether if a snorkeler had a problem or panic attack if the tight fitting mask was difficult to remove.

 

Nothing seem definitive but I guess there are always concerns.

Going to have to look into that. I find it hard to believe that you could build up enough CO2 to pass out let alone die while floating on the surface. Any breath gives you fresh O2. It takes a helluva long time to die of Co2.

On the other hand not all masks are the same. Some are better than others but I don't see CO2 being an issue at all.

My experience with a full face mask is that while you have a good seal around your face the mask is not all that tight. In fact it is not as tight as a conventional mask. I found it easy to take off and put on. The one difference between it and a regular snorkel is that if you go under water, instead of a mouth full of water the tube on the full face mask closes and you get nothing. Not supposed to dive with them but I have done some shallow dives 10-15 feet and like not having to clear the tube when I get back to the surface.

My wife who is not a strong swimmer and doesn't like putting her face in the water loves her full face mask. She never had problem with it.

BTW, we've both been snorkeling for 40+ years.

There is some info on the Tripadvisor Hawaii board. Apparently the Hawaii officials are investigating a few deaths of snorkelers who were using the full face mask. The question, without an answer, is whether there was any CO2 buildup and also whether if a snorkeler had a problem or panic attack if the tight fitting mask was difficult to remove.

 

Nothing seem definitive but I guess there are always concerns.

I looked into full face snorkeling mask deaths. All I could find was... One death of a 70 year old woman who lived in Hawaii snorkeling by herself in an area that is closed to swimmers because it is hazardous. She was using an off brand version, not an original Tribord. She was found floating face down by a surfer with the mask up around her nose and her mouth exposed. The stuff about a leaking and/or difficult to remove mask, and/or C02 buildup is purely speculation by the grieving husband who is trying to make sense (understandably) of a tragic situation. He apparently bought the mask and gave it to her.

Second, I couldn't find anything that indicates full face masks of any type are susceptible to CO2 poisoning. It is a very long and gradual process with clear symptoms. As long as a person is getting any O2 it won't happen.

I looked into full face snorkeling mask deaths.

 

 

Your statement made me want to google that same thing.

I found THIS article interesting, which seams to be a snorkeling blog or something, but found the part interesting about "swimming" in the 5th and 6th paragraphs. Very interesting about the hyperventilating and ability to actually "swim" with these if you get into trouble. I don't know if any of this is a proven scientific fact or just their thoughts, but maybe it could have been a combination of things that happened to his wife that caused her to drown while wearing one of these masks.

Looking at reviews on Amazon (the bad reviews), there seems to be a lot of complaints about fogging, a bad fit, leaking, jamming valve and faulty design.

Even though nothing has been proven yet, I'm glad I did not purchase one in the end after trying one out in the pool at the scuba store.

Good luck to anyone who buys one or tries one. As with any equipment or when in the water, always be safe. :)

Your statement made me want to google that same thing.

 

 

I found THIS article interesting, which seams to be a snorkeling blog or something, but found the part interesting about "swimming" in the 5th and 6th paragraphs. Very interesting about the hyperventilating and ability to actually "swim" with these if you get into trouble. I don't know if any of this is a proven scientific fact or just their thoughts, but maybe it could have been a combination of things that happened to his wife that caused her to drown while wearing one of these masks.

 

 

 

Looking at reviews on Amazon (the bad reviews), there seems to be a lot of complaints about fogging, a bad fit, leaking, jamming valve and faulty design.

 

 

Even though nothing has been proven yet, I'm glad I did not purchase one in the end after trying one out in the pool at the scuba store.

 

 

Good luck to anyone who buys one or tries one. As with any equipment or when in the water, always be safe. :)

I did read the part about swimming and hyperventilating. Other than swimming under water does any one actually swim in a diving mask? Wouldn't you simply pull it up onto your head? to swim? As for hyperventilating, Isn't the cure for hyperventilating breathing into a bag? Wouldn't breathing into a full face mask be the cure not the cause?

My wife is not a swimmer though has been snorkeling for 40 years. She had a good experience with her Tribord full face mask. She tried it in a pool before our cruise and then three times on our cruise. She liked it more every time she used it.

Is a full face mask right for everyone? No, everyone is different. I wouldn't buy one if you like to free dive or swim under water. I would recommend trying one if you simply like to surface snorkel and are tired of leaky masks, uncomfortable mouth pieces and mouths full of sea water.

My wife who is a biologist asked to correct my statement about C02 and hyperventilation. CO2 is what triggers the body to breath in order to get rid of Co2. A build up of CO2 would cause someone to breath harder. Co2 build up is only an issue in an enclosed space with no outside oxygen source. Since a full face mask is vented it is highly unlikely to have Co2 buildup. CO2 does not cause hyperventilation.

Second, she says that if you are comfortable and happy with a conventional mask you have no need for a full face mask. She personally has never found a conventional mask and snorkel that didn't leak or was comfortable to use.

Third, For her, the mouthpiece on a conventional snorkel hurt her mouth and because she has an upper dental plate she always had trouble gripping it. It was exhausting and painful for her to hold it in her mouth. The full face mask doesn't require you to hold anything in your mouth.

Finally, she says... If you are not comfortable with a conventional mask/snorkel and/or have a medical/dental condition, a full face mask might be the answer you are looking for. It was for her. She does say to try it first to see if it works for you.