The drowning rate for visitors 13x the national average and 10x the rate of residents. Snorkeling in Hawaii is by far the most common activity.
26 thoughts on “Dangers of Full Face Masks | Snorkeling in Hawaii”
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The drowning rate for visitors 13x the national average and 10x the rate of residents. Snorkeling in Hawaii is by far the most common activity.
Comments are closed.
Thanks for covering this issue. It was my wife that died on the big island (actually in 2016) and caused me to raise the issue. Before then nobody paid any attention to the equipment. Many causal possibilities have been suggested: CO2 retention, leaking and other failures due to poor construction or design, rapid onset pulmonary edema, increased work of breathing, etc.. Others point to the relatively small numbers of fatalities with full face masks without considering the percentage of that pool. All I know is I’ve heard from a number of experienced snorkelers who have never encountered trouble until they tried one of these new masks.
Hi Guy.
We’re very sorry about your loss. And sincerely appreciate you checking in on this troubling issue.
Aloha.
My boyfriend and I purchased these masks on Amazon for our 13 day vacation in Maui this winter. I have to say the view and visibility is great. I recommend that anyone practice in the pool first. I don’t believe it’s carbon dioxide issue. But instead a suffication issue from my experience. You will only experience this when you lean your head too far back which causes the float ball to go up and close off your air supply causing you to panic and try to breathe harder which doesn’t allow the ball to drop down so that you can breathe. This happened to me three times before I figured out what I was doing wrong. After panicking I just took my mask off. Traditional masks allow you to blow air out and clear the water from your snorkel with this method. So people need to relearn how to snorkel. Practice in a pool first and you will see what I mean. Perhaps if the snorkel was longer might help.
I agree. We purchased our Tribords and realized that snorkeling for extended periods of time with these masks Can be problematic. When you start breathing too fast, you feel like you are suffocating.
I was on a kayak/snorkeling trip and we were swimming for a ou an hour. I had to take my mask off as we swam back to the kayaks since my fast breathing could not be accommodated with the full mask. I now know to use the traditional set up with longer trips.
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I’ve never used one of these masks, but thank you for raising awareness for those who want to try them. I’m sorry about your late wife.
57 year old lifetime diver and surfer almost drowned when my CO level dropped to the point where my breaths were reduced to about 40 percent of normal volume. Definitely the full face mask. Very dangerous. Do not use!
The increase in people having problems with these masks is most likely due to the increase in “knock-off” versions of the original mask created by Tribord, a French company. I bought mine on a French dive boat about 5 years ago. I have used it all over the world with zero issues. MANY on Amazon and elsewhere are cheap imitations from China. DO YOUR RESEARCH before buying! There is no reason you should ever have to take it off in the water unless you find water has gotten inside. These masks are the future of snorkeling. So much better than the traditional set up.
I am a Professional scuba instructor of 14 years. I am an FII (Freediving Instructors International level 1 diver, a surfer since 1992 and an underwater photographer. To say there is no reason to remove this mask in water is ludicrous. Anybody should be able to remove their equipment, and remove their equipment with ease at any point in time. The design is a complete failure. Co2 buildup is a legitimate concern. There is ZERO way to equalize these masks, making them impossible to break the waters surface without risk of damaging the ear AND the worst issue with full face mask design is that they provide the user with a false sense of security. Nothing beats nor replaces a diving education. Money spent on a full face mask would be better spent taking a freediving or scuba certification course. On top of the issues I’ve already mentioned, I work as a snorkel guide in Waikiki and can tell you that most users that have full face masks grow frustrated with their inability to see as their lens becomes overwhelmingly foggy. Those same snorkelers then switch to a traditional mask and snorkel and are much safer and happier because they can see! Brand…Tribord…have nothing to die with the designs failures…Replace the full face mask with a full certification in freediving or scuba diving. Aloha.
My husband and I used our new full face snorkel masks in Maui two weeks ago. We loved them. We had no trouble breathing, but we will keep the CO2 problem in mind.
I bought one thinking it wouldn’t leak around my beard. Turns out it did but my gf loves it so it’s hers now.
The early models only used 1 chamber for incoming/outgoing air thus you’d intake a lot of the same co². The new style full masks now have 2 Chambers with directional valves that open/close depending on need.
I witnessed three people having trouble with these masks in PoiPu just a couple of weeks ago. I talked to two of them. They both said they’d been having trouble breathing. I recommended they exchange them for the regular snorkle/mask gear. My dive shop in CA says they only carry “Head”, the original mask of this style. They are concerned about anyone getting any other brand than “Head”.
The increase is probably due to the increase in first time snorkelers…these are the people who did not feel comfortable breathing with their mouth through a lot tube…
I tried my friend’s new full-face mask last year, on Kauai. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to get out and take it off.
It feels like you’re suffocating, and the pleasure of feeling the water on your face is gone. She was excited about her new gear, but I know it’s not for me.
i have been using full face mask for a 3 years now with no issues. you do have to remove the mask every 15 minutes or so to get in some fresh air. i only use wildhorn outfitters snorkel products . and please be aware just because you can swim theres no excuse not to use a life vest while snorkeling.
I totally agree. I have had mine for three years with out no issues
Thank you for your comment about the life vest. I wear mine every time.
I hope you will warn people not to wear reef-damaging suncreen too. The lack of retailer and tourist industry committment to this very critical cause is appalling.
Wildhorn Outfitters has developed a new design for a full face mask that is engineered around the problem of getting the CO2 out of the mask. I bought one and wore it in Maui and Kauai snorkeling in March and had no issues. I wouldn’t use the cheaper masks, but I am skeptical of blaming the masks for the drownings.