Full face diving mask

The full face mask is a special kind of diving mask.

It is the essential diving mask mold for the commercial diving, but is also used in technical diving, ice diving and now increasingly also of ambitious amateur and recreational divers. In contrast to regular diving mask that covers only the nose and eyes, the full face mask covers the entire face and protects against environmental influences. The communication via radio is possible but the buddy breathing difficult or impossible without octopus. The distribution of the dead space within the mask are different depending on the manufacturer and design principle in number and structure.

Full face masks are therefore often used by professional divers and amateur divers to dive in cold or polluted water. A diving around in sewage treatment plants is impossible without a helmet diving apparatus or full-face mask.

The regulator is usually attached to the mask, special devices for the pressure compensation over the nose are available at most masks. Inside masks or purge largely prevent fogging of the visor.

The wider field of view up to 180 °, the temperature protection, and support for the natural breathing through the nose and mouth make diving more comfortable, safer and less tiring. Manufacturers now offer total concepts which allow flexible integration of different components for communications, lighting, head-up display and drinking establishment.

Particular importance is the full-face mask in conjunction with UW- communication now to also in diver training. By directly communicating with a receiver unit of the student diver instructor can clearer, give verbal instructions, than would be possible with pure sign language. A constant emergence to the surface is not required.

An episode in the technical development was the full face snorkel mask. It was a diving mask that covered the entire face, to the place of a regulator one or even two snorkel but were fixed. Because of the large dead space here was a great danger of the pendulum breathing, which could lead to loss of consciousness of the wearer.

The early developed full-face masks are optional and, to date, technically and developmentally:

  • A conversion of regular military or commercial gas masks,
  • A larger version of the regular diving mask with a laterally mounted regulator,
  • A variety of modern light diver helmets, full- face mask with a rigid front and multiple, rather coarse banding or spider,
  • An in-house designs and varieties and hybrids of the previous three points.

The Aqualung Rouquayrol - Denayrouze could be used from 1864/65 with full face mask. This may have been the first application of this mask type which was commercially successful.

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