Serious question, I heard a diver in Seattle say a full face mask is overkill for most harbor work

I was on a job in Seattle last week, and a diver from another crew said he thinks full face masks are just extra gear for simple harbor inspections. He argued a standard mask and reg is faster to get on and lets you communicate just fine with hand signals. My take is that the extra protection from contaminants and clearer comms is worth the setup time, especially in dirty water. What jobs do you guys think a full face mask is actually needed for?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannah_wright9d ago

That diver in Seattle has a point about speed. For basic visual checks in calm harbor water, a regular setup is way faster to deploy and just as good. Hand signals work fine if your team knows them, and you avoid the extra bulk and maintenance of a full face mask. Even cases like wesleyc75's cousin with an ear infection are rare, and a good hood offers plenty of protection for most jobs. The extra gear only makes sense for real chemical risks, not general murky water.

wesleyc759d ago

My cousin did harbor inspections in Tacoma for a year. He switched to a full face mask after getting a nasty ear infection from the water.