good full face mask?

[Gravybird]

just wondering what kind of full face masks are good for ice diving? I don't know how you guys dive in the cold water with the face exposed:-) even the 50 degree water bothers me ;D I have already been warned that my scubapro regs are not going to work for cold water diving, so I guess I am definitely looking for a full face mask with a regulator in it. thanks ;D

[AandA]

I like my "monkey mask". ;D ;D  I'ts a Cressi product that keeps my face quite warm.  The simplicity is nice.  You just take a VERY GOOD cold water reg and install the mouthpiece into the mask.  This is what I'm wearing in my avatar...  Full face positive pressure masks are also appropriate but quite frankly with more than a few down sides.  I would not go with a positive prssure full face mask unless your intent was primarily for communication as opposed to warmth.  :-\
Either way, positive pressure or monkey mask you will most certainly need to become comfortable with this "new " piece of equipment before going into a challenging environment such as Ice.  New pieces of equipment and overhead environments SHOULD never be used in the same sentence. :o :o :o :o :o

[Gravybird]

ok, thanks for the advice ;D Yeah, my main reason is warmth, not communication. But I never gave much thought to using new gear under a dangerous environment :-\  another good reason for asking around before doing...

[DetectorGuy]

I haven't dove with a monkey mask but I have with an AGA from Interspiro. The pros for using a full face are maybe a bit more warmth from covering more of the face but I think the biggie for me is that if you pass out, the reg will continue delivering air to your unconcious body. with a regular regulator, if you pass out, the reg would most likely fall out of your mouth and that would be all she wrote. Another advantage with a monkey mask without com gear is that you can yell to your buddy underwater and they can hear what you are saying if they are relatively close. The air space created by the mask around the mouth is enough to let the sound waves reverberate and the sound will transfer through the water -> to your buddy. I have even heard of divers taking a latex glove under water, they take the regular reg out of thier mouth, blow air into the glove, hold the inflated glove up to their mouth and speak into it. This is clumsy but it works.

The negative aspects of using a full face mask are (in my opinion) many. For me at least, I seem to use more air than normal when using a full face mask. Once you put it on... you are breathing off your tank. This sucks because any air coming from your tank on the surface could be better used on the bottom. We saw this coming prior to the purchase and had ambient air valves installed on ours. The auto ambient air valves shut automatically once you enter the water, so it eliminates wasting your air in the tank. The drawback to having an ambient air valve is that if you go inverted, the mask will flood. The way to prevent this from happening is to manually screw the valve shut once you enter the water. Alot of public safety divers don't get the ambient air valve installed on their AGA's because if they do go inverted and the mask floods, thier eyes, nose, and mouth would be exposed to contaminates in the water... fuel, sludge, body juice, ETC. Another reason I think my SAC rate gets worse when using an AGA is that breathing is easier and I don't concentrate on my breathing like I would using a regular regulator. We use com lines with our AGA's, and these have heavy wires in them to the surface. Because the ropes are negatively buoyant, they drag on the bottom and seem to get snagged on everything and reduce the viz by dragging also. Fighting with these lines probably don't help the SAC rate as they add one more thing to think about. Wireless com gear would eliminate these ropes, but I have heard that they can lose communication through the different thermoclines. We are going to buy a couple of the 5 watt wireless units in the spring and try them out. Another draw back to using a full face mask is that if you have a free flow and need to switch to your octo, then you will also need to have a spare mask with you. If you are diving with a full face mask you should carry a spare mask on those dives for those what if scenarios. Practice clearing a full face mask and switching to a spare mask often will keep you comfortable with it.

As far as the extra warmth a full face mask affords, I don't think that would be reason enough to purchase one. A good 7MM hood that was minimally trimmed and a lipshield on a good cold water reg will go a long way to keep you warm. After a few minutes the little bit of you face that is exposed will get comortably numb and the rest of the dive is good.

These are just my thoughts on it but do your own research before buying one.

[Spyder]

Based on the information I've been shown, and my personal diving, I tend to use around 30% more air using an AGA. I do want to point out that AGA's come with a demand valve (like a typical reg) or pressurized (as DG was talking about). It doesn't cost much to convert a pressurized mask to a demand setup, but it is several hundred to go from demand to pressurized. While I still dive a traditional reg, the AGA is very, very nice for the reasons mentioned above.

[Gravybird]

Ok, thanks some more ;D .    all helpful info!