Is mask leaking a good thing?

[Apneaddict]

I think there is a lack of clarity re: my diving with a 5mm suit and mask.

I hold my nose closed at all times, except for at -8m and -22 m to put air in it.

As I descend, if the mask isn't quite tight enough at the surface, the mask strap moves on the back of my head as the neoprene compresses.

If the strap has moved enough, I can feel the mask being a bit loose on ascent because the strap position has changed.

I suck the air back in to help keep it on my face and for the free hit of O2.

Not an issue where you can dive with thin neoprene and goggles or just a noseclip.

Point noted about sucking in at depth.

I seem to recall Martin actually noting that sucking back the air in his sphera is possibly how he avoided spacy narcosis.


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[aharon solomons]

Apneaadict unsolicited advice stinks so I have to be very carefull here . However there is a safety issue here and others reading it,hence my decision to reply - if you are diving as you describe ,this is an accident waiting to happen . Holding your nose between the surface and 8 mts and again between 8 and 22 mts converts your mask into goggles and ensures a negative pressure in the mask . This can result in a burst ear drum a depth in the best case scenario - If you have a strong negative pressure in the mask it sucks up the soft palate and prevents air reaching the Eustachian tubes ,therefore end of EQ ! go on a bit more and you are inviting a severe barotrauma . The mask strap going slack is not so much due to suit compression as mask compression .
Martin is a friend and I have never heard him make any remark about avoiding Narcosis by sniffing the air back from a Sphera . I fail to understand how that one would work .I dive to 60 mts with a Sphera ( after that with a nose clip ) and have dived many years in 5 mm suits and have never had a fight with the mask strap.
I hope some of this helps , if you need help on EQ go to Aharon Solomons -Frenzel on google . I have a video on you tube that might be of some help and covers some of these issues

 

[aharon solomons]

@Apneaddict, I mean this video



Hope it helps.

 

[Simos]

I learned freediving with a mask that leaks a bit. I never had to equalize it as the water will fill in when it's getting deep. It wasn't bad on the way down for some reasons but right after turning to ascend, water got in half the mask at 25" and they got out on itsown at shallower. Then I switched to another non leaking mask noticing that I have to waste some air to clear it. Although my instructor says I can suck it back on the way up, but i still lose some. Maybe it's better to dive with leaking mask?

As an idea at least, a mask that can change its internal volume based on pressure is interesting - not sure if any practical design can come out of it but I'm sure you could at least make the 'leaking' predictable by having some valve of some sort In practice I guess for shallow dives a compressible mask like the sphera acts in the same way if worn lose.

On a more personal note, coincidentally yesterday I dived a bit with a leaky mask as I hadn't shaved and found it quite annoying