5 years of diving and I just learned I was clearing my mask wrong

I've been commercial diving for 5 years and always did the standard mask clear by tilting my head back and blowing hard out my nose. Then a dive instructor in Louisiana watched me last month and said I was wasting air and risking a seal blowout every time. Has anyone else figured out a better way to clear a mask in rough current?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylanh9722d agoMost Upvoted

wasteing air and risking a seal blowout" - that's what the instructor said to you. So what exactly does he suggest you do instead? I've seen guys use the "press and tilt" method where you push the top of the mask against your forehead while blowing out through your nose, but I've never tried it in real current. The standard head back blow out always worked for me too, but I get why it's risky in rough water. Does he want you to just exhale slowly through your nose while looking down, or is there some new trick they're teaching now?

wadeyoung22d ago

My buddy tried that head tilt trick once and his mask blew off in a shipwreck current.