Hot take: The shift from surface-supplied to full face masks on inland dives is a game changer

About two years back on a bridge job in Pittsburgh, we were still on old school Kirby Morgan helmets with the coms box topside. Visibility was always trash, maybe six inches on a good day. The company switched us to OTS Guardian full face masks with integrated coms last season. The difference is night and day, you can actually hear the tender clearly and keep your face warm in that 40 degree river water. Anyone else made the switch and noticed a drop in job time?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ben2d ago

Man, you got to work with a Kirby Morgan on a real job? I'm over here feeling like a caveman who just discovered fire. We were still using those basic half masks with the separate coms units until last year. The switch to a full face setup cut our time on the bottom by like a third, just from not having to stop and clear a flooded comm every five minutes. That warm face thing is no joke either, makes a ten hour shift almost bearable.

jennyh552d ago

Yeah I read a whole thread about that warm water system. Some guys were saying it's a total game changer for long dives in cold spots, like working on pipelines up north. They said you can actually think straight when your face isn't frozen. Other divers talked about the coms being so clear they could hear a pin drop topside, which must be wild compared to the old crackly stuff. Sounds like the tech finally caught up to what divers actually need down there.

amy_sanchez2d ago

Totally get what you're saying about the coms being clear. But I'm curious about the actual work getting done faster. With the old gear, were you guys wasting a lot of time just trying to hear instructions or repeat yourselves? Like, did a simple "hand me the wrench" turn into a five minute game of telephone?