Max safe depth for goggles

[efattah]

I used tubing to connect the bulb to the goggles, and an enema bulb syringe that I purchased at the drug store. I think this method has great promise if a softer bulb is used.

 

[wdaf]

i also think one has to keep in mind that the perfect position for the bulb would be exactly at eye level. Only a few cm higher will make it already harder (produce more pressure on the eyes) before it automatically equalizes.

 

[esom]

thanks eric, my idea was that your tubing was maybe soft enough to get queezed.
further, depending on the shape of the bulb the bulb itself could have got queezed (i got this idea when thinking: "why not a little plastic bag,
it´s as soft as you could wish for" ... -but maybe get´s queezed so it deliveres its air unsufficiently)

i also think one has to keep in mind that the perfect position for the bulb would be exactly at eye level. Only a few cm higher will make it already harder (produce more pressure on the eyes) before it automatically equalizes.

depending if you are head up or head down- or what was your idea?

normally one goes down head down, consequently under the hood (in the front part), and by this even a little deeper than eye level should be a good position.

 

[growingupninja]

Ever since I was a little kid I used Sweddish goggles; you can easily dive past 2-3 meters in those (although 6+ gets very uncomfortable). They are incredibly low volume/low drag. They cost about $4 and have no actual seals, so they also dry quickly which keeps them a little more hygenic... a concern if you are in the water all the time. They aren't adjustable--you just assemble them for your face.

Those bulb goggles look really cool though. After I did some cold water MDR tests and realized how much my mask interferes, I have been trying to come up with a way to equalize a pair of goggles to use for deep spearfishing.

 

[wdaf]

The new teak wooden goggle - A piece of art

 

[dimitris33]

Have dived yesterday at -11m with wooden goggles. Feeling absolutely no pressure during descent. Only thing, they start flooding water at about 5-6m.

At -11m they are half water flooded. The dives was confirmed and by my buddy who dived too at -11m. Maybe next time I will try to add another meter.

 

[maui400]

Have dived yesterday at -11m with wooden goggles. Feeling absolutely no pressure during descent. Only thing, they start flooding water at about 5-6m.

At -11m they are half water flooded. The dives was confirmed and by my buddy who dived too at -11m. Maybe next time I will try to add another meter.

Your numbers make sense. At 10m (2bar) the air is compressed to half of its volume compared to surface. Therefore your goggles were equalized with water (half flooded <-> half volume).

 

[efattah]

Have dived yesterday at -11m with wooden goggles. Feeling absolutely no pressure during descent. Only thing, they start flooding water at about 5-6m.

At -11m they are half water flooded. The dives was confirmed and by my buddy who dived too at -11m. Maybe next time I will try to add another meter.

So, you said you made it to 5m with dry goggles and no feeling of pressure. Absolutely amazing. That shouldn't be possible. Even at 2m you should feel pain.

 

[dimitris33]

So, you said you made it to 5m with dry goggles and no feeling of pressure. Absolutely amazing. That shouldn't be possible. Even at 2m you should feel pain.

Eric believe me, I do not have a reason to lie. Even at -11 meters I felt absolutely no pressure. At -5m to -6m the dive is pleasant (because if no water inside the goggle).

I am extremely curious why this is happenning and what are the limits of this wood ancient goggles.

 

[maui400]

Not too amazing. In 5m swimming pools with tower, if seen several divers (including me) doing that without pain. And during dynamics I'm at 1,8m frequently.

 

[Simos]

So, you said you made it to 5m with dry goggles and no feeling of pressure. Absolutely amazing. That shouldn't be possible. Even at 2m you should feel pain.

Why do you think so Eric? I routinely took all kinds of goggles I owned over the years to the bottom of 3m pools and never felt any pain.

Some of the rubbish ones that didn't fit me very well in the first place felt like they were exerting a bit of 'pressure' but that's about it.

In some cases (e.g Aquasphere Seal) it really felt like I could go a long way before feeling any kind of discomfort and I've found out last month from a friend of mine that has been often diving to 5m-10m a lot using his new cool 'mask' that this 'mask' was Aquasphere Seal goggles :duh

He said he never felt any pain or pressure!!

(it's true that most goggles are depth-rated for 2m but that's just to cover their a$$ )

 

[dimitris33]

I dived with Seal aquasphere at -17.5m and burst only two blood vessels on my right eye. If i had much looser on my face then two more meters would be possible for me.

With wooden you feel absolutely no pressure, even slight . Nothing!

 

[Simos]

I dived with Seal aquasphere at -17.5m and burst only two blood vessels on my right eye. If i had much looser on my face then two more meters would be possible for me.

With wooden you feel absolutely no pressure, even slight . Nothing!

This number makes sense - even if you see masks like the Omer Zero 3, they do say publicly that it can be taken down to -18m without compensation.

I think whether goggles hurt or not has mainly to do with how they fit on your face - if there is a lot of surface area (like the wooden goggles seem to have) in contact with the hard parts (bone) around your eyes, then there is a lot less pressure and hence pain (the downside is that if they are rigid like the wooden goggles, they'll likely to leak and flood).

On the other hand, if you happen to get goggles that seal on the soft part around the eyes I'm sure they will hurt pretty quickly! I was recently offered goggles for a shallow dive in the sea (around 6m) as I had no gear with me and just wearing them on the surface I was feeling the pressure as it was completely the wrong fit.

Needless to say I politely declined and didn't even dream of using them as I am sure they would have hurt like hell at -6m and just dove without...

 

[hteas]

Take another look at the submarine idea. The physics of the goggles that allow dives to 20 m, and much deeper according to tropical Pacific divers from the '50s, have to be different that almost everyone is assuming. If the goggles seal a diver's face sufficiently, then the volume inside the goggles will be maintained at 1 atmosphere, allowing deep dives: the submarine effect. If this weeren't true, then the dives wouldn't be possible.

 

[Azrael3000]

hteas, as Trux already corrected me this is not true. The simple reason is that your eye is not solid/fixed, so once the pressure rises it needs to be compensated somehow. It can't be the glass nor the wooden frame that moves, so it has to be your eye that gets sucked out. So the only way of achieving the submarine effect is to completely enclose your body in a solid object that has no flexible part.

 

[hteas]

No, everybody is missing the point. The custom goggles are sealing against the bones of your face, with only a thin layer of skin as a gasket. It literally is not compressible. The complete seal and rigid goggles allow the air space inside the goggles to remain at 1 atmosphere, as long as there are no leaks
Normal swimming goggles seal against soft skin in the eye socket. The tissue there is compressible, so the goggles can be pushed in, causing a range of pressure-related problems. They are also softer, allowing them to compress against the face, causing more problems.
Dimitris made the point that the goggles let a small amount of water in at depth. That shows there is a weak point in the gasket at that point on his face.

 

[Simos]

No, everybody is missing the point. The custom goggles are sealing against the bones of your face, with only a thin layer of skin as a gasket. It literally is not compressible. The complete seal and rigid goggles allow the air space inside the goggles to remain at 1 atmosphere, as long as there are no leaks
Normal swimming goggles seal against soft skin in the eye socket. The tissue there is compressible, so the goggles can be pushed in, causing a range of pressure-related problems. They are also softer, allowing them to compress against the face, causing more problems.
Dimitris made the point that the goggles let a small amount of water in at depth. That shows there is a weak point in the gasket at that point on his face.

I think you are missing the point that the volume will need to decrease as you go deeper and as a result your eyes will pop out of their sockets lol

If what you are saying was true, there would be no need for fluid goggles or anything - we'd all be wearing wooden goggles that seal well and dive to 100m with no problems...

PS the seal and most other goggles also seal against the hard part of the face and not the soft part around the eyes and I am sure seal much better than wooden goggles. I do agree that if the goggles seal against the soft part you will feel a lot of pain a lot sooner (which is the case even at the surface sometimes).

Such a situation happened to me recently when I was offered some goggles to dive with and as soon as I put them on I knew they were wrong as all the pressure was against the soft part so I didn't even dream of diving with them to any depth. I'd gladly dive to a reasonable depth with the seal and some other goggles I have.

Still the above doesn't take away from the fact that wooden goggles can allow one to dive to apparently 20m without issues - it's a great design but the usual limitations still apply

 

[dimitris33]

Wooden goggles seals perfect especially if wear by a little fat face person which has some flesh around the eyes. Even me who has very skinny part around the eyes seals so perfect without the sucking feeling at the surface or deeper.

I can say that for me is the most comfort goggles ever wear. I even use them sometimes in the pool dynamic sessions during the evenings. Not good for open pool sessions during sunny day for me, I need tinted glasses!

In any case, wooden goggles is fun. Take a look!

 

[rafacuatic]

I have 3 pairs of Wooden googles,and the Classic model,like swedish googles, is the best for me,the others don't fit me,and water run inside.
It is realy comfortable,and sometimes i use it in the pool.But my PB in the sea is 9m...

 

[Simos]

If anyone has $100 to waste, would be quite interesting to see how deep these could go

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