Switched to full face masks after that Visio job in Galveston

Was doing hull cleaning off Pier 45 last spring and took a nasty bit of silt through my reg. Guy I was with said he had a spare full face and lent it to me for the rest of the dive. The difference in comfort and comms was night and day, I felt way less anxious and could actually talk to the surface crew. I saved up for three months and got a used Ocean Reef, now I won't touch a half mask for anything beyond a quick shallow inspection. Anyone else made the jump and had issues with the weight on their neck on longer jobs?

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noahcampbell23d ago

The neck fatigue thing is real but I found the bigger issue is how it changes your breathing rhythm once you've used it for a while. My surface interval got longer because I was used to the extra resistance and kept skipping my normal breaks. Actually the thing nobody talks about is how much quieter the ocean is with a full face. You lose that constant hiss of your own exhale and suddenly you hear all the little creaks and pops of the boat and the current moving debris. That messed with my head more than the weight did. I started wearing a thin neoprene hood under the skirt and that helped spread the load pretty good.