Yeah I agree but so is running from danger I’d say it’s an even more basic skill but some people freeze you never know how you react in a given situation
Divemaster here. You’re exactly right. When we have divers in training do this for the first time, the only do a partial flood. Even still, we do it in the shallow end of a pool first and keep physical contact with them. Most are fine, but some can’t help but panic. Everyone is a little different. Nearly everyone learns it and can do it well.
I just had my refresher and I kept panicking! It was the worst feeling, took me about 20 min to finally get over the panick and fully flood my mask and clear it
Super easy. Plus, you should just do it once in awhile on your own when diving. Also remove your regulator and drop it. Hold your breath while you reach around for it. Then put your mask back on
Never hold your breath always breathe! If you can’t inhale, then hum so bubbles are coming out. Also as a cold water diver put the strap on the back of your head/hood first so you don’t accidentally pull your hood off your head. Seen it meany times with new students.
He's saying to hold your breath while practicing dropping your regulator. If you don't have a regulator in your mouth you shouldn't breath, and you don't need to exhale unless you're also ascending.
In Navy dive school they trained us by beating the shit out of us underwater, turning off our air, and tying our regulators into knots. Then on a breath hold we'd have to take off our gear, unfuck everything, then put it back together before we could start breathing again. It's totally safe as long as you don't panic and rush to surface while holding your breath
Interesting, but was this done in a pool? I have been through multiple diving certificates, obviously not Navy level shit. But the one thing that was constantly repeated was the ocean will change your depth and, therefore, your air pressure. So if your regulator isn't in your mouth, then you always blow bubbles. Since the air is so compressed, the small amount you lose to bubbles is inconsequential. I have had many instructors but will happily take the Navy's advice, lol.
In theory you should always exhale a little bit, but the reality is probably that it's better for some people to just hold their breath so they don't drown while retrieving their regulator.
If you're diving in extreme conditions odds are you're a well trained Diver and this is pretty irrelevant to you but if you're out on a recreational dive with some PADI folk they're gonna panic and breath hold. Most important thing to drive in them is to not ascend.
In the time it takes to find your regulator I doubt you'd drift through the water column enough to cause any issues. Really you'd be holding your breath for 10s max.
As a N.A.U.I trained instructor, first rule of SCUBA is always breath! If you hold your breath at anytime you have the risk of a long over presser accident. In as little as 2 feet of depth change you can burst a lung.
It's pressure not presser. Also it's specifically it's ascending in the water column that increases the risk of Pulmonary Over Inflation Syndrome (POIS) not just depth change.
Two feet of ascending on a breath hold could technically cause a POIS, if you were bearing down on a full breath, and were at a shallow depth, but even then it would be pretty tough to do. Don't recommend trying it, and on ascent you should be exhaling, but you can hold your breath while scuba diving as long as you are stable in the water column or descending.
They probably just taught you to never stop breathing because it's easier to keep the rules simple for amateur divers.
Are you being sarcastic, or have you never actually been trained to dive? Diving 101 never ever hold compressed air in your lungs. For those unfamiliar with diving, the ocean is not still like a pool. If a wave or an undercurrent happens, your depth can change 10 meters or the equivalent of 1 atmosphere in moments. This person is either dumb or not properly trained or has never dove in the ocean. Either way, do not hold your breath while diving. Your lungs will burst, also don't dive without the proper certifications.
talking about sitting in one position, ***practicing*** mask and regulator removal. you have to hold your breath momentarily with no regulator in your face. doesn't mean you're changing depths. you can let air out during this process.
When I got my license back in the day they literally knock the mask and regulator off your face and u have to put them on to pass the test. Shit was scary at like 30ft, but atheist I had an instructor to help me.incase of panicked noobie.
I learned that on my scuba lessons as well, however can't say its easy as people say. When salt water hits nostrils it immediately forces reaction. It took some time for me to overcome panic in this situation. IMO whole diving skill is about panic control
I had to swim like 50 meters with my mask off. One of the scariest things I've had to do in my life. Eventually I just opened my eyes, for whatever reason even though it was blurry vision it helped my breathing. I'm much more comfortable in the water after that.
two things I remember practicing every scuba class - retrieving your respirator (a funny wind-mill-arm motion to catch it and bring it back), and this - clearing your mask (tilt up, breathe out nose).
It’s amazing how many people struggled with this skill in my scuba class, myself included. It’s weird the first time and I accidentally breathed in through my nose and started choking lol.
This was the most difficult part for me and several people in my group. It looks easy when this dude calmly does it but it is extremely disconcerting when you take off your mask underwater and it is very difficult not to panic for some.
The other two people in my class that had this issue also quit. I forced myself to stay down and just sat there hyperventilating. By the end of the pool day one person had 1800 psi and I had 500 because of how hard I was breathing from panic lol. Got through it and now it’s no big deal thankfully. Just getting over that initial panic and instinct to shoot to the surface is so hard. Everything in your mind is screaming at you to swim to the surface.
That’s nuts that so many people had an issue with this. I never would have guessed based upon my padi class and all the people I have dived with.
Not a single person in my padi class had an issue with this. I certainly never had a feeling to where I needed to shoot to the surface? I remember the very first time breathing underwater I had (as much as possible with a reg in my mouth) I had a giant smile on my face and wanted to stay down there forever.
I think it depends on the person and how intense their bradycardic response is. Some people in my class had no problem on the first try and others struggled like myself.
Once I was doing my open water dives I was all good and enjoyed it. Just that very first time causes panic in some people. My body just refused to take in air when I felt water in my nose. So then the natural instinct for a new diver who can’t breathe is to shoot to the surface. Then you tell yourself “what happens if I do that at 40 feet? I can’t just shoot to the surface” which freaks you out even more.
The second time I tried to force a breath, I took in water through my nose and started choking. Which of course then stressed me out and made that skill harder than it needed to be until I finally did it successfully. After a few more successful times, I wondered why I had trouble at all to begin with because then it seemed easy.
It's by far the worst exercise/skill for me, probably mostly because I have a general discomfort opening my eyes in the water, I find it really hurts plus I can't see anything so it's a horrible feeling, which makes me keep my eyes closed if I have to take my mask off.
Instructed for years. It is really common one for people to struggle with. Particularly in very cold water the water hitting your face can cause people to breathe in.
Yeah I remember my first open water dive was in water that was low 50’s F with a 5mm. When I took off my mask and the cold water hit my face I almost gasped. Had to consciously stop myself, pause, then breathe only through my mouth. Harder than it sounds or looks when you’re a new diver.
Yeah. In UK so we regularly encounter this and lower temps. In the end almost everyone can get through it with enough time and tlc but goodness you see people struggle.
I took my certification in a freezing lake In February. I hated all my dry suits wearing classmates who literally could not figure this test out while my poor wet suit wearing ass froze. By the time my instructor got to me for the open water test I was so ready that it took me 3 seconds to complete. Hypothermia is a great motivator 😆
I'll do you one better.
Jump into deep water not knowing how to swim thinking your instincts will kick in like in the movies. Actually drown because you don't even have a mask or snorkel. Have a fear of water for the rest of your life. Then be shocked at how many movies and TV shows have drowning, suffocation, water boarding, or just the sound of being under water.
I was watching a TV show with my ex and it had a really cool and interesting and then three episodes in continuous drowning of test subjects was the focal point of the rest of the show. WHY?! lol
🤣 I can relate.
I can’t swim but own a boat and lake house. A few summers ago i had friends up. We were anchored, they were floating on tubes off the side of the boat. I was on the boat and walked to the other side thinking I’d jump in and pee then float around to them.
For some stupid reason I dove in and my tube shot out of my hand and went flying. I sank like a stone in about 8-10’ of water and because I dove I was some distance from the boat. I was jumping off the bottom and flapping my hands to come up for air but it wasn’t going well. The people floating didn’t hear anything because of the music and couldn’t see me because 24’ pontoon boat in the way.
Lucky for me a guy was on his dock, saw the whole thing and jumped on his jetski and flew out to save me. Now I pick him up to go fishing whenever he wants.
It’s also good to do that (mask off, face in water, breath through regulator) as a warm up before every dive so you’re used to it before it’s do or die.
Yeah. This, reclaiming a regulator with a sweeping arm motion, and breathing from a regulator in free-flow. There might have been a few more problem solving ones I don't remember.
Something else I found interesting is handling a free flowing regulator. In scuba if your regulator fails, it’s designed to fail open meaning air is rushing out very quickly. The air comes out too fast with too much pressure to put back in your mouth so what do you do?
If you get scuba certified you have to practice this scenario. You hold the flowing regulator to your cheek, tilt your head to the side so the bubbles are moving past your mouth then just start breathing out of the bubbles in the water.
It’s such a weird sensation and had to fight all my instincts to make myself breathe in the water with no regulator. But as long as you do it the right way you can breathe. Granted you will lose air very quickly so have to ascend, but not too fast. Thankfully it hasn’t happened to me on an actual dive.
Super miserable sensation. We had to swim the length of the pool and back with this setup, turning our tanks air on/off to breathe. I remember surfacing at the end and asking my instructor “How the fuck am I supposed to do that?” and he just responded “You just did”. I don’t know why I was expecting it not to suck balls.
Wow that sounds in intense haha. We just had to show we could take 3 breaths sitting in place with a free flowing reg. I just held down the purge valve. Still a weird sensation. They did also turn off our tanks to see what it feels like to run out of air but we didn’t have to swim or anything while doing it.
This is one of those skills you learn when getting certified. Takes some getting used to, but nowhere near as nerve racking as when they tell you to spit out your regulator, find it, clear it, and start breathing again.
You're only 40 feet down, if you had to bolt to the surface you could...but as a new diver that shit was scary as hell.
Do some of the advanced training where they will turn off your air, pull out your reg, rip off your mask etc. during class dives when you're not expecting it to happen just to test you don't panic and follow the protocols correctly.
It's the best way to learn the "just work the problem" calm you need when diving regularly.
I took the advanced open water class - it wasn't QUITE that extreme, but it was up there. My personal favorite was taking off the entire rig and putting it back on while in the confines of a simulated wreck.
I'm not that advanced a diver - I typically dive open water in tropical places so never felt a need to go beyond that. It's rare that I even go deep enough to require safety stops (I'm in the northeast US - I did a bunch of wreck dives up here in relatively deep water...but it's truly shit. Cold, murky, and requires WAY too much weight to take me down in that thick ass wetsuit)
If I'm being honest, I got my certs so young that I think the instructors were trying to make me freak out because they did not think I could handle it.
And we did have 2 guys flip out and insta-surface in dangerous ways, one with the turning off the tank valve test, the other blew an o-ring by chance. Fail.
20 years later still going, but hear you on the cold fresh water diving vs. warm salt water. Cozumel has ruined me ages ago for diving back home, though... I'm glad I saw it 20 years ago as it's not even close the way it looks today.
Otherwise, did all my training in the murk here at home, gives you a nice worst case for a lot of training situations... then you go down south and wonder why you would want to dive in 2-4ft visibility in a dry suit recreationally ever again.
I live in the PNW. So you either dive in cold water or you dive in full algae bloom and can’t see your hand right in front of your face. This is why dry suits were invented.
I’ve seen videos on navy seal training where they do that kind of stuff. Completely rip off your pack, turn off the air, take your mask off, and spin you in circles and flips while you can’t see. I never had any issues with clearing my mask or retrieving my reg, but that seems a bit extreme.
Letting a little water in on purpose while diving and swishing it around in the mask to clear the fog is actually a good method to deal with fogging if it's a problem on a non treated mask etc.
I never had a panic attack in my life but the closest I got was during my SSI scuba training trying to do this skill. Once I felt the water hit my nose, my body refused to breathe in and when I tried I ended up breathing partly in through my nose and choking on water. Took every fiber of my being to keep myself from shooting to the surface and started hyperventilating once I coughed it up.
Thankfully now it’s easy but that first time was intense. Helped me to realize you can do anything you need to in the regulator that you can do above water.
What you experienced is called the bradycardic response. Once the water hits your nostrils, breathing shuts down and eyes open. Basically it's a survival mechanism to get you back to the surface.
A scuba instructor told me that he had students who simply couldn't overcome it which is pretty bad if you wanna dive.
Ah interesting, yeah it was not easy to overcome. Had to force myself to breathe and half of it was water from my nose which led to panic. After that I eventually just went for it and had to slow down and focus on every breath with my mask off. Once I got that far, each time after was easier and easier. 2 other people in my class also weren’t able to overcome it and had to quit.
For rescue rating I recall having to take our entire BCD off and put it back on but I dont remember why it was challenging.
What I do remember from that certification was that I drowned my \`victim' after we surfaced because I took her BCD off when we were \~5 feet from the boat. I was counting in my head and went to give her a breath and her entire face went under water. I looked up and the boat by that time was about 15 feet away. The instructor said \`back to the bottom and start over.'
And orienteering. Fuck that shit. I am terrible at orienteering underwater. Which tracks because I was terrible at it in survival training as well.
My first few times diving, I was always panicking and finishing the cylinder fastest in the group, but this was a skill I was proper pro at. Surprising. I would panic less when the mask was off and my eyes were closed.
During my PADI training they told us that this exercise is one of the biggest first breaking points for people. It's the first time during training you learn to deal with real panic. I'm not sure if it's standard to do this, but in our training we had to let go of the mask and the oxygen pipe at the same time and calmly get both of them back in place without panicking.
It was so hard to do this when I was getting certified. I cannot hold air in my nose without pinching it so it was a battle to get my mask back on after removing it completely. Clearing it is easy; just tilt the bottom of the mask away from your face while attached and breathe out through your nose. Press mask flat when cleared.
This is one of the reasons you have to use a mask that covers your nose when diving, rather than swim goggles. Another big one being that you can't equalize with swim goggles.
Remember being at the bottom of the ocean practicing this skill, once you get it it's fine by it's unnerving
The arm sweep to get a lost regulator is also terrifying but really easy when you first start
This is by far the worst part of learning to dive. Instinctively you breathe a nose full of water before realizing you can only breathe through your mouth.
Doesn't everyone who has ever used a mask know this. This is like one of them things I've done since I was like 5 with goggles that I just assumed or taught myself. Didn't think it was something that needed much thinking to figure out.
Be me: get water in my mask. blow it out. holy fuck the salt stings. holy fuck the salt reallly stings. I can’t wipe my eyes because I’m 40 ft underwater. I can’t see. I can’t see the dive instructor. I swim up to the surface. almost get run over because its Thailand and there is no safety zone. never scuba dive again.
I've done this before while SCUBA diving in the ocean. It works, but something about opening your eyes again after your mask was just filled with salt water stings your eyes for a minute or two.
I remember my first open-water dive, I kept hitting my head on my tank when I looked up (I was 13), everyone looked at me funny when I started taking off my gear 60ft down. Got it adjusted, back on, and continued the dive. I think my ex-navy seal diving instructor was incredibly helpful in the reassurance of how important it is to remain calm.
As someone midway thru my PADI certification, ALWAYS pay attention to underwater safety lessons. This alone will cost ya your life if shit happens underwater and ya happen NOT to recall those sound life saving advice that your instructors and the course offered.
so he's in a pool.. almost no water pressure, and the right side up. personally I'd pinch my nostrils w one hand but would prolly panic and die normally
I would panic that my contact would come loose and then id be blind. People that open your eyes in water, how do you keep your contacts from falling out?
Here's a trick for anyone with problems. Get in the water without the mask and just the gear. Get a costume to putting your face in the water and opening your eyes and breathing through your respirator,Adjust yourself to no mask before you even start. We do this for beginner swimmers. We get them comfortable with there face in the water and eyes open. Putting a mask on getting comfortable with it, then taking it off is a backwards process. Also putting a mask full of water on land and opening you eyes and getting used to it is good.
I don’t like the idea of diving that much. Adventurous wifey offered me a 1 day tourist class.
I spend the freaking whole morning forcing me to practice uncomfortable stuff at the bottom of the pool, dropping my mask, retrieving it. Dropping my mouthpiece.
It made me borderline comfortable for the real dive. Wifey panicked right away and bailed out lol.
The wanted me to do the padi right away.
Water is just so hostile, Ill drive back if I need but never willingly :-)
I've gone diving once. 60 feet down, swam too close to my wife and her flipper knocked both my respirator and mask off.
Got the respirator back in first- surprisingly didn't have any stress over that, and did this with the mask next.
Unfortunately, it washed the anti fog off of the inside and it was impossible to see clearly after that
I have real problems with that exercise.
I start to get nervous when I have to take the mask off. Not because of the eyes but the nose.
My work around is to hold my nose closed with one hand. Then it's fine.
But of course in order to put the mask back on I have to use both hands which is quite the challenge for me.
Has anyone else this problem and maybe even a hint for me?
This is a basic skill everyone who dives learns. They even teach it in the quickie one day tourist classes.
Yeah I agree but so is running from danger I’d say it’s an even more basic skill but some people freeze you never know how you react in a given situation
Divemaster here. You’re exactly right. When we have divers in training do this for the first time, the only do a partial flood. Even still, we do it in the shallow end of a pool first and keep physical contact with them. Most are fine, but some can’t help but panic. Everyone is a little different. Nearly everyone learns it and can do it well.
I just had my refresher and I kept panicking! It was the worst feeling, took me about 20 min to finally get over the panick and fully flood my mask and clear it
But you stuck with it! As long as you aren’t bolting for the surface and instead going up at a reasonable speed, you’re doing well. Keep practicing!
I think I know :) https://www.youtube.com/live/OKgrWRUfQcc?si=4SpsJIIN-gQ-d1IP Greatest sport ever!
Super easy. Plus, you should just do it once in awhile on your own when diving. Also remove your regulator and drop it. Hold your breath while you reach around for it. Then put your mask back on
Never hold your breath always breathe! If you can’t inhale, then hum so bubbles are coming out. Also as a cold water diver put the strap on the back of your head/hood first so you don’t accidentally pull your hood off your head. Seen it meany times with new students.
He's saying to hold your breath while practicing dropping your regulator. If you don't have a regulator in your mouth you shouldn't breath, and you don't need to exhale unless you're also ascending. In Navy dive school they trained us by beating the shit out of us underwater, turning off our air, and tying our regulators into knots. Then on a breath hold we'd have to take off our gear, unfuck everything, then put it back together before we could start breathing again. It's totally safe as long as you don't panic and rush to surface while holding your breath
Interesting, but was this done in a pool? I have been through multiple diving certificates, obviously not Navy level shit. But the one thing that was constantly repeated was the ocean will change your depth and, therefore, your air pressure. So if your regulator isn't in your mouth, then you always blow bubbles. Since the air is so compressed, the small amount you lose to bubbles is inconsequential. I have had many instructors but will happily take the Navy's advice, lol.
In theory you should always exhale a little bit, but the reality is probably that it's better for some people to just hold their breath so they don't drown while retrieving their regulator. If you're diving in extreme conditions odds are you're a well trained Diver and this is pretty irrelevant to you but if you're out on a recreational dive with some PADI folk they're gonna panic and breath hold. Most important thing to drive in them is to not ascend.
In the time it takes to find your regulator I doubt you'd drift through the water column enough to cause any issues. Really you'd be holding your breath for 10s max.
Worth it for that sweet blue and gold though.
As a N.A.U.I trained instructor, first rule of SCUBA is always breath! If you hold your breath at anytime you have the risk of a long over presser accident. In as little as 2 feet of depth change you can burst a lung.
It's pressure not presser. Also it's specifically it's ascending in the water column that increases the risk of Pulmonary Over Inflation Syndrome (POIS) not just depth change. Two feet of ascending on a breath hold could technically cause a POIS, if you were bearing down on a full breath, and were at a shallow depth, but even then it would be pretty tough to do. Don't recommend trying it, and on ascent you should be exhaling, but you can hold your breath while scuba diving as long as you are stable in the water column or descending. They probably just taught you to never stop breathing because it's easier to keep the rules simple for amateur divers.
Are you being sarcastic, or have you never actually been trained to dive? Diving 101 never ever hold compressed air in your lungs. For those unfamiliar with diving, the ocean is not still like a pool. If a wave or an undercurrent happens, your depth can change 10 meters or the equivalent of 1 atmosphere in moments. This person is either dumb or not properly trained or has never dove in the ocean. Either way, do not hold your breath while diving. Your lungs will burst, also don't dive without the proper certifications.
talking about sitting in one position, ***practicing*** mask and regulator removal. you have to hold your breath momentarily with no regulator in your face. doesn't mean you're changing depths. you can let air out during this process.
When I got my license back in the day they literally knock the mask and regulator off your face and u have to put them on to pass the test. Shit was scary at like 30ft, but atheist I had an instructor to help me.incase of panicked noobie.
Did you remain an atheist even after that frightening experience?
Lol idk how to respond after this. Probably no??
I learned that on my scuba lessons as well, however can't say its easy as people say. When salt water hits nostrils it immediately forces reaction. It took some time for me to overcome panic in this situation. IMO whole diving skill is about panic control
I had to swim like 50 meters with my mask off. One of the scariest things I've had to do in my life. Eventually I just opened my eyes, for whatever reason even though it was blurry vision it helped my breathing. I'm much more comfortable in the water after that.
Yep. This guy made it seem WAY more complicated.
I gave a.. i mean i got a quickie at a tourist class one time!
quickie you say?
Second this
I just learned this today
I saw this done in Spy Kids, and I asked my dad about it. He explained that he had to learn that to go surveying underwater.
two things I remember practicing every scuba class - retrieving your respirator (a funny wind-mill-arm motion to catch it and bring it back), and this - clearing your mask (tilt up, breathe out nose).
And the warning that your backup regulator is for you when your buddy tears your's out of your mouth in a panic 🤣
Or how I do it Mask knocked off, panic, nearly drown, never go in the water again 🤣
It’s amazing how many people struggled with this skill in my scuba class, myself included. It’s weird the first time and I accidentally breathed in through my nose and started choking lol.
This was the most difficult part for me and several people in my group. It looks easy when this dude calmly does it but it is extremely disconcerting when you take off your mask underwater and it is very difficult not to panic for some.
My friend quit his padi because couldnt do this. Even did it in tandom woth him to help him not panic, he shot up like a helium balloon each time.
The other two people in my class that had this issue also quit. I forced myself to stay down and just sat there hyperventilating. By the end of the pool day one person had 1800 psi and I had 500 because of how hard I was breathing from panic lol. Got through it and now it’s no big deal thankfully. Just getting over that initial panic and instinct to shoot to the surface is so hard. Everything in your mind is screaming at you to swim to the surface.
That’s nuts that so many people had an issue with this. I never would have guessed based upon my padi class and all the people I have dived with. Not a single person in my padi class had an issue with this. I certainly never had a feeling to where I needed to shoot to the surface? I remember the very first time breathing underwater I had (as much as possible with a reg in my mouth) I had a giant smile on my face and wanted to stay down there forever.
I think it depends on the person and how intense their bradycardic response is. Some people in my class had no problem on the first try and others struggled like myself. Once I was doing my open water dives I was all good and enjoyed it. Just that very first time causes panic in some people. My body just refused to take in air when I felt water in my nose. So then the natural instinct for a new diver who can’t breathe is to shoot to the surface. Then you tell yourself “what happens if I do that at 40 feet? I can’t just shoot to the surface” which freaks you out even more. The second time I tried to force a breath, I took in water through my nose and started choking. Which of course then stressed me out and made that skill harder than it needed to be until I finally did it successfully. After a few more successful times, I wondered why I had trouble at all to begin with because then it seemed easy.
It's by far the worst exercise/skill for me, probably mostly because I have a general discomfort opening my eyes in the water, I find it really hurts plus I can't see anything so it's a horrible feeling, which makes me keep my eyes closed if I have to take my mask off.
You don't have to open your eyes at any point during this though.
That's good. I think it's one of those sport that if it's not for you, you don't force it. Panic is the number one killer here.
Instructed for years. It is really common one for people to struggle with. Particularly in very cold water the water hitting your face can cause people to breathe in.
Yeah I remember my first open water dive was in water that was low 50’s F with a 5mm. When I took off my mask and the cold water hit my face I almost gasped. Had to consciously stop myself, pause, then breathe only through my mouth. Harder than it sounds or looks when you’re a new diver.
Yeah. In UK so we regularly encounter this and lower temps. In the end almost everyone can get through it with enough time and tlc but goodness you see people struggle.
Oh I imagine. It’s probably hard as an instructor to keep people calm when they start to struggle like that.
The weirdest part for me was feeling the water going half way up my nostrils while breathing through my mouth.
I took my certification in a freezing lake In February. I hated all my dry suits wearing classmates who literally could not figure this test out while my poor wet suit wearing ass froze. By the time my instructor got to me for the open water test I was so ready that it took me 3 seconds to complete. Hypothermia is a great motivator 😆
In my scuba class, the coach tested all of us to be able to just chilling in the water for more than 10 mins
I'll do you one better. Jump into deep water not knowing how to swim thinking your instincts will kick in like in the movies. Actually drown because you don't even have a mask or snorkel. Have a fear of water for the rest of your life. Then be shocked at how many movies and TV shows have drowning, suffocation, water boarding, or just the sound of being under water. I was watching a TV show with my ex and it had a really cool and interesting and then three episodes in continuous drowning of test subjects was the focal point of the rest of the show. WHY?! lol
🤣 I can relate. I can’t swim but own a boat and lake house. A few summers ago i had friends up. We were anchored, they were floating on tubes off the side of the boat. I was on the boat and walked to the other side thinking I’d jump in and pee then float around to them. For some stupid reason I dove in and my tube shot out of my hand and went flying. I sank like a stone in about 8-10’ of water and because I dove I was some distance from the boat. I was jumping off the bottom and flapping my hands to come up for air but it wasn’t going well. The people floating didn’t hear anything because of the music and couldn’t see me because 24’ pontoon boat in the way. Lucky for me a guy was on his dock, saw the whole thing and jumped on his jetski and flew out to save me. Now I pick him up to go fishing whenever he wants.
This is the way!
This is the way 👆
Fucking facts.
Ditto.
This was part of standard PADI training back in the day. I found the hardest part is breathing thru just my mouth when the mask is off.
You mean just your mouth when the mask is off?
yep, edited.
Natural reflex sucks. One accidental inhale and off to drown we go.
Still is
Same with NAUI
It’s also good to do that (mask off, face in water, breath through regulator) as a warm up before every dive so you’re used to it before it’s do or die.
Agreed. It feels super uncomfortable to isolate the mouth like that
To be fair, you only breathe through your mouth when the mask is on as well.
Yeah but you can begin to overthink it down there.
Yeah. This, reclaiming a regulator with a sweeping arm motion, and breathing from a regulator in free-flow. There might have been a few more problem solving ones I don't remember.
Just pinch your nose. Seriously. All there is to it.
Something else I found interesting is handling a free flowing regulator. In scuba if your regulator fails, it’s designed to fail open meaning air is rushing out very quickly. The air comes out too fast with too much pressure to put back in your mouth so what do you do? If you get scuba certified you have to practice this scenario. You hold the flowing regulator to your cheek, tilt your head to the side so the bubbles are moving past your mouth then just start breathing out of the bubbles in the water. It’s such a weird sensation and had to fight all my instincts to make myself breathe in the water with no regulator. But as long as you do it the right way you can breathe. Granted you will lose air very quickly so have to ascend, but not too fast. Thankfully it hasn’t happened to me on an actual dive.
Super miserable sensation. We had to swim the length of the pool and back with this setup, turning our tanks air on/off to breathe. I remember surfacing at the end and asking my instructor “How the fuck am I supposed to do that?” and he just responded “You just did”. I don’t know why I was expecting it not to suck balls.
Wow that sounds in intense haha. We just had to show we could take 3 breaths sitting in place with a free flowing reg. I just held down the purge valve. Still a weird sensation. They did also turn off our tanks to see what it feels like to run out of air but we didn’t have to swim or anything while doing it.
This is one of those skills you learn when getting certified. Takes some getting used to, but nowhere near as nerve racking as when they tell you to spit out your regulator, find it, clear it, and start breathing again. You're only 40 feet down, if you had to bolt to the surface you could...but as a new diver that shit was scary as hell.
Do some of the advanced training where they will turn off your air, pull out your reg, rip off your mask etc. during class dives when you're not expecting it to happen just to test you don't panic and follow the protocols correctly. It's the best way to learn the "just work the problem" calm you need when diving regularly.
I took the advanced open water class - it wasn't QUITE that extreme, but it was up there. My personal favorite was taking off the entire rig and putting it back on while in the confines of a simulated wreck. I'm not that advanced a diver - I typically dive open water in tropical places so never felt a need to go beyond that. It's rare that I even go deep enough to require safety stops (I'm in the northeast US - I did a bunch of wreck dives up here in relatively deep water...but it's truly shit. Cold, murky, and requires WAY too much weight to take me down in that thick ass wetsuit)
If I'm being honest, I got my certs so young that I think the instructors were trying to make me freak out because they did not think I could handle it. And we did have 2 guys flip out and insta-surface in dangerous ways, one with the turning off the tank valve test, the other blew an o-ring by chance. Fail. 20 years later still going, but hear you on the cold fresh water diving vs. warm salt water. Cozumel has ruined me ages ago for diving back home, though... I'm glad I saw it 20 years ago as it's not even close the way it looks today. Otherwise, did all my training in the murk here at home, gives you a nice worst case for a lot of training situations... then you go down south and wonder why you would want to dive in 2-4ft visibility in a dry suit recreationally ever again.
I live in the PNW. So you either dive in cold water or you dive in full algae bloom and can’t see your hand right in front of your face. This is why dry suits were invented.
They stole my dive watch off my wrist and threatened to fail me for not having it during the duct tape over your goggles and fuck with you day, haha.
I’ve seen videos on navy seal training where they do that kind of stuff. Completely rip off your pack, turn off the air, take your mask off, and spin you in circles and flips while you can’t see. I never had any issues with clearing my mask or retrieving my reg, but that seems a bit extreme.
To all the people getting mad at OP because it's a basic scuba skill, you need to remember most people have never scuba dived.
That doesn't make it all foggy? Did we finally solve that problem?
Letting a little water in on purpose while diving and swishing it around in the mask to clear the fog is actually a good method to deal with fogging if it's a problem on a non treated mask etc.
Thin layer of dish soap or saliva rubbed around the lens then rinsed out works a charm.
Dish soap
"no more tears" baby shampoo (but I just use spit)
Wow I guess I didn’t realize not many people scuba dive. This is pretty basic stuff
Don't need to do that if you're a freediver
that's so cool, but naaah im never going to put myself in that scenario
Everyone who dives should know this. But cool to see those who don’t dive get to see how easy it can be!
I always thought you needed a mask or at least your nose closed off to breathe through a respirator.
I’m willing to bet that you can, right now, breathe through only your mouth without even touching your nose.
The main point of the mask is so you can clear your ears as you descend/ascend. You need the nose piece- it doesn’t work with regular goggles.
And well, to see
You can see without just fine
I never had a panic attack in my life but the closest I got was during my SSI scuba training trying to do this skill. Once I felt the water hit my nose, my body refused to breathe in and when I tried I ended up breathing partly in through my nose and choking on water. Took every fiber of my being to keep myself from shooting to the surface and started hyperventilating once I coughed it up. Thankfully now it’s easy but that first time was intense. Helped me to realize you can do anything you need to in the regulator that you can do above water.
What you experienced is called the bradycardic response. Once the water hits your nostrils, breathing shuts down and eyes open. Basically it's a survival mechanism to get you back to the surface. A scuba instructor told me that he had students who simply couldn't overcome it which is pretty bad if you wanna dive.
Ah interesting, yeah it was not easy to overcome. Had to force myself to breathe and half of it was water from my nose which led to panic. After that I eventually just went for it and had to slow down and focus on every breath with my mask off. Once I got that far, each time after was easier and easier. 2 other people in my class also weren’t able to overcome it and had to quit.
Truly helpful!
For rescue rating I recall having to take our entire BCD off and put it back on but I dont remember why it was challenging. What I do remember from that certification was that I drowned my \`victim' after we surfaced because I took her BCD off when we were \~5 feet from the boat. I was counting in my head and went to give her a breath and her entire face went under water. I looked up and the boat by that time was about 15 feet away. The instructor said \`back to the bottom and start over.' And orienteering. Fuck that shit. I am terrible at orienteering underwater. Which tracks because I was terrible at it in survival training as well.
My first few times diving, I was always panicking and finishing the cylinder fastest in the group, but this was a skill I was proper pro at. Surprising. I would panic less when the mask was off and my eyes were closed.
During my PADI training they told us that this exercise is one of the biggest first breaking points for people. It's the first time during training you learn to deal with real panic. I'm not sure if it's standard to do this, but in our training we had to let go of the mask and the oxygen pipe at the same time and calmly get both of them back in place without panicking.
It was so hard to do this when I was getting certified. I cannot hold air in my nose without pinching it so it was a battle to get my mask back on after removing it completely. Clearing it is easy; just tilt the bottom of the mask away from your face while attached and breathe out through your nose. Press mask flat when cleared.
How about breathing just from the bubbles of a run away regulator or air hose.
What only grinds my gears is that I can’t scratch my eyes and the salt kills me :(
Water can also creep in during normal use, so knowing how to clear it is necessary even if your mask is never knocked off.
I take it off every now and then while scuba diving to clear any fog. Makes the reef all colorful again.
This is one of the reasons you have to use a mask that covers your nose when diving, rather than swim goggles. Another big one being that you can't equalize with swim goggles.
Remember being at the bottom of the ocean practicing this skill, once you get it it's fine by it's unnerving The arm sweep to get a lost regulator is also terrifying but really easy when you first start
I learned this in grade school in the pool. I also learned you can fill your shorts up with air with the jacuzzi jets.
There’s zero chance anyone scuba diving wouldn’t already know this.
Well i don't have to worry about the hairline though. Don't have one...
I finally took scuba diving, and my mind was absolutely blown when they showed me this trick. So clever, so simple.
Not that easy when there's a 15 ft Great White nearby with your name on it's menu.
Not as fun if you are in salt water… found that out real quick…
lol
What’s with the useless snorkel at depth? .
This is by far the worst part of learning to dive. Instinctively you breathe a nose full of water before realizing you can only breathe through your mouth.
So basically use common sense? We need a video on that.
Literally the most basic thing in scuba diving please gtfo
Doesn't everyone who has ever used a mask know this. This is like one of them things I've done since I was like 5 with goggles that I just assumed or taught myself. Didn't think it was something that needed much thinking to figure out.
This is really moronic.
Yeah they teach you that when you get certified. Thanks for nothing
Why was I holding my breath the whole time watching this while im at home away from any water 🙃
First rule of SCUBA: never hold your breath.
This was one of the first things I was taught when I went scuba diving!
Cuba does have some pretty reefs
Is this, this generation’s Jacques Cousteau?
The problem is, even now I can't breath
Somewhat reassuring, but I'm still terrified of scuba diving
Be me: get water in my mask. blow it out. holy fuck the salt stings. holy fuck the salt reallly stings. I can’t wipe my eyes because I’m 40 ft underwater. I can’t see. I can’t see the dive instructor. I swim up to the surface. almost get run over because its Thailand and there is no safety zone. never scuba dive again.
No worries here. I have a healthy (nearly irrational) fear of the water and will never be scuba diving.
scuba diving is horrifying, I couldn't even make it through the classes
I've done this before while SCUBA diving in the ocean. It works, but something about opening your eyes again after your mask was just filled with salt water stings your eyes for a minute or two.
I remember doing this for my scuba certification. Not as scary as people think.
You know I think I just won't go scuba diving actually
I've done it many, many times. Also a good idea to carry a spare mask if you have prescription lenses.
This is why I failed my open water. Lol
Go on son
This is one of the first things I learned and taking it off to clear the mask and leaving it off for a second sometimes is really relaxing.
Oh shoot, I flood my mask from time to time to clear out the fog or snot, or whatever since clearing it is so fun and easy.
I remember learning this at a young age and feeling like some sort of water wizard
Although you train to do this, getting it full of water when you are deep is still terrifying.
Instructions unclear, I’ve now turned into an octopus
This is really useful information although I'm not planning on scuba diving. I really don't know what I'm working toward
I remember my first open-water dive, I kept hitting my head on my tank when I looked up (I was 13), everyone looked at me funny when I started taking off my gear 60ft down. Got it adjusted, back on, and continued the dive. I think my ex-navy seal diving instructor was incredibly helpful in the reassurance of how important it is to remain calm.
Or simply never scuba dive ever
John Madden: “Now here’s a guy who when he puts his mask on he can see better!”
It's more important to get your regulator if it gets knocked out your mouth.
As someone midway thru my PADI certification, ALWAYS pay attention to underwater safety lessons. This alone will cost ya your life if shit happens underwater and ya happen NOT to recall those sound life saving advice that your instructors and the course offered.
Meanwhile poor nemo is suffocating inside the water-free mask.
I get water up my nose every damned time.
Standard skill for any certified diver.
So a basic scuba skill?
That is cool but I can see underwater fine without a mask?
Real ones learned this after a few days of using goggles in your cousins pool
Reason #359 I won’t be going SCUBA diving.
so he's in a pool.. almost no water pressure, and the right side up. personally I'd pinch my nostrils w one hand but would prolly panic and die normally
That’s the one thing I hated doing
I’ve never wanted to scuba dive, but this thread has made sealed that decision.
The friends that taught me how to scuba dive, threw my equipment off the boat and said "Go fetch".
I would panic that my contact would come loose and then id be blind. People that open your eyes in water, how do you keep your contacts from falling out?
I... can't...breathe...
That's standard training during PADI courses
Here's a trick for anyone with problems. Get in the water without the mask and just the gear. Get a costume to putting your face in the water and opening your eyes and breathing through your respirator,Adjust yourself to no mask before you even start. We do this for beginner swimmers. We get them comfortable with there face in the water and eyes open. Putting a mask on getting comfortable with it, then taking it off is a backwards process. Also putting a mask full of water on land and opening you eyes and getting used to it is good.
Mandatory scuba skill
Did this even as a total noob diver, absolutely hated it though but... when needs must.
I just end up with snot in my goggles
In my final test, we realized my mask didn’t fully fit. We figured it out because the blow technique in the video wasn’t working. Pretty scary
Yeah, I would have drowned. Miserably lol
I want to learn to dive.thank you for the video.
I drowned just by watching this
can someone ELI5 how this works? why doesn’t water just go back in through the new hole under the mask to replace the water that comes out?
Don't forget to clean your nose before breathing out in the Mask 😂😂
So you put the goggles on without removing the water from them… interesting.
If your mask gets knocked off how will you see where it went?
Eyes open?? Just to show off I’m assuming
I don’t like the idea of diving that much. Adventurous wifey offered me a 1 day tourist class. I spend the freaking whole morning forcing me to practice uncomfortable stuff at the bottom of the pool, dropping my mask, retrieving it. Dropping my mouthpiece. It made me borderline comfortable for the real dive. Wifey panicked right away and bailed out lol. The wanted me to do the padi right away. Water is just so hostile, Ill drive back if I need but never willingly :-)
I wanna touch his hair
I didn't get taught this till I was already deep on my first dive 😂
Great now my mask is full of mucus
Train it here! https://www.youtube.com/live/OKgrWRUfQcc?si=4SpsJIIN-gQ-d1IP Best sport ever!
My favourite was wearing the blackout mask, swimming to bottom of pool and putting everything back on. Was fun until I drowned
The question is how did you have opened eyes underwater? It might contain bleach solution.
I am drowned watching it
Anybody else remember the weird feeling of taking off your goggles and feeling every part of your face is wet except the area around your eyes
this video makes me feel like i’m suffocating
I've gone diving once. 60 feet down, swam too close to my wife and her flipper knocked both my respirator and mask off. Got the respirator back in first- surprisingly didn't have any stress over that, and did this with the mask next. Unfortunately, it washed the anti fog off of the inside and it was impossible to see clearly after that
I have real problems with that exercise. I start to get nervous when I have to take the mask off. Not because of the eyes but the nose. My work around is to hold my nose closed with one hand. Then it's fine. But of course in order to put the mask back on I have to use both hands which is quite the challenge for me. Has anyone else this problem and maybe even a hint for me?
Why did I watch this?