The IG-Interceptor RIB Extreme Purpose Intereiction Craft is an interesting mobility solution that combines a rigid inflatable boat with tracked “landing gear” to self-deploy the boat into the water.
Featuring a carbon fiber hull it can reach surface speeds of 50 knots once in the water.
Finning is the process of generating propulsion. In that sense, it is probably the most basic of all the diving skills, and one that most of us are already able to do when we first start diving.
In particular, a better finning technique, choosing the right technique for the right circumstances, can increase your dive’s efficiency.
This will decrease your air consumption, reduce physical fatigue, and extending your dives. Picking the right finning technique will also decrease the amount of silt you turn up. I am going to talk about four types of SCUBAPRO fins. The Jet fin, the Seawing Nova Gorilla, The Seawing Nova, and the Go Sport fins. The Jet Fin is the most wildly used fin in the world by profession divers, the SeaWing Nova, the SeaWing Nova Gorillas (a stiffer version of the Seawing Nova that is great for people that who are strong kickers). The Go Sport fin is new to our line and is a tremendous all-around fin for diving, surface swimming like OTB and River and Stream crossing. Lastly are the Twin Jet fins, again a SCUBAPRO iconic fin; it is used by strong kickers that like to use a flutter kick type stroke.
There are three main fin kicks that any diver should know. These are flutter kicks, frog kicks, and bent-knee cave diver kicks.
Flutter kicks
The flutter kick is the basic finning technique that most divers use. This technique is similar to the leg part of freestyle swimming.
Watch 90 percent of all divers, and you’ll see them use flutter kicks. In the early days of diving, it was the only technique taught. The reason for its popularity is quite simply that it is the strongest of all the kicking techniques, and it generates a lot of propulsion. Back in the early days of diving, before the invention of the BCD, speed was the primary way of maintaining buoyancy. The advantage of this kick is the forcefulness of it. It is excellent for moving at high speed or when fighting a current. The legs’ vertical up-down movement also means it is beneficial for wall diving, mainly when diving by a wall covered in corals. There’s less risk of kicking something on the side of you like your dive buddy, coral or the finning’s backwash, stirring up sediment. The disadvantages of this kick are related to the advantages. The forcefulness of the kick means that it is relatively strenuous and increases air consumption because of it. The vertical movement can steer up a lot of silt; this is bad for many reasons. If you are on a combat swimmer operation, the trail of silt can give you away. Second, it will make it hard for anyone following you to see their gauges and find the target. (unless you are using the SCUBAPRO HUD dive computer) (shameless plug, but it is excellent for low visibility). In confined spaces like close to the target around the piers or in a cave, it can cause a blackout and make it very hard to see what you are doing.
A fast, powerful technique is useful when fighting a current, for short bursts of speed. The best fins for this are the SCUBAPRO SeaWing Nova Gorillas, The Go Sports, and the Jet fans.
Frog kick
The frog kick looks very similar to the leg portion of the breaststroke from swimming. A large and wide kick that utilizes the leg’s full strength is a good, general technique for open-water diving, either in the water column or close to the bottom. Because the movement and propulsion aren’t continuous, good buoyancy technique is required, though.
The movement here is horizontal, or close to it, meaning that there is minimal disturbance of the bottom when swimming close to the bottom, which will maintain the visibility for any divers that come after you. However, the kick’s width means that the kick isn’t recommended for caves or when diving close to a wall.
This kick, combined with good buoyancy, will quickly become your go-to technique once you get used to it, and will likely decrease your air consumption significantly. The more adequately trimmed your position in the water, and the more you take advantage of the gliding phase before initiating the next kick, the more you’ll reduce your energy (and air) consumption.
The powerful kick that can be extremely efficient, especially if you master the kick-and-glide aspect. Suitable for open-water diving in mild currents, in the water column, or close to the bottom. Not advisable in stronger currents or close to walls.
The best fins for this are the Jet fins.
Bent-Knee Cave Diver Kick
With the complicated name, this technique is the go-to technique for technical divers and is the one that causes the least disturbance of the environment. The bent knees mean that the movement is minimal, with the entire kick coming only from a small movement in the hips, combined with a kick of the ankles. This means that propulsion is limited, compared to the two kicks above, but it also decreases strain and air consumption.
The small movement means that it works well in cramped areas, such as inside wrecks and caves, and, when executed correctly, can minimize the amount of silt kicked up to almost nothing. For this reason, it is also the recommended technique for diving close a very silty bottom, like in a confined space, close to piers or around ships.
The slow movement also means that this technique helps you slow down, making it useful for muck dives or other nature dives where you’ll be looking for small animal life. Because it is a very low-propulsion kick, this technique has its limitation when swimming against a current, though. This is a minimal-impact kick that is ideal for cramped environments and close to very silty bottoms, as well as helping you slow down during your dives and maximize your available air. The Jet Fin is the best fin this, and with some practice, the Go Sport is good also.
Lastly, the SeaWing Nova Gorillas come in OD Green or Orange, but they can be special ordered in all black. You can also order the SeaWing Nova in all black. Special orders require a minimum of 24 per size, but we can work to get you want you need.
Contact ecrazz@clannfive.com for more information.
S&S Precision teamed with Watershed to introduce their Dry Bags which feature welded seams and YKK Aquaseal zippers.
They feature PALS compatibility at the front and can accept an internal 3 Mag Insert. Additionally, they’ve integrated an oral inflate/deflate valve with cover.
There are two versions, one with PALS attachment and the other compatible with the PlateFrame. Other choices are size (6″x7″ or 8″x10″) and Black or MultiCam color.
www.sandsprecision.com/modular-flotation/dry-bag
The Department of Defense made the following announcement:
Patriot3 Inc., Fredericksburg, Virginia (H92240-22-D-0008), was awarded a $10,000,000 maximum ceiling value, single award, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with an ordering period of up to five years for the acquisition of Patriot3 Inc. Jet Boots Dive Propulsion System(s) (JBDPS), JBDPS parts, and JBDPS repair/maintenance and training. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $110,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The majority of the work will be performed in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by fiscal 2027. This is a sole source contract under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation 6-302-1. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.
The system uses low noise brushless motors and Lithium-Ion Batteries to achieve powerful propulsion at very low total system weight.
The Colorado-based manufacturer of lightweight and packable inflatable packrafts, Kokopelli, has returned its full Kevlar X-Series Packrafts. Available again with a re-launch of the Nirvana Self-Bailing X and Rogue-Lite X.
Designed as packrafts, the X-Series boats offer the best of both worlds, being stronger than their TPU constructed packrafts and lighter than the PVC ones while adding the DuPont Kevlar used for the flooring into the sidewalls for increased durability, rigidity and strength.
Kokopelli has also included Leafield D7 valves, used on most commercial whitewater rafts, and an automatic pressure relief valve to ensure proper PSI remains ideal regardless of the water conditions.
Consumers can add TiZip storage, allowing inner pontoon access to keep essential gear dry for multi-day trips. The Rogue-Lite X compresses down to the size of a paper towel roll, while the Nirvana Self-Bailing X can roll into the size of a sleeping bag with a class I-IV rating on rivers.
“The X-series boats truly elevate packrafts to a whole new level. Never before has there been such a perfect mix of durability, packability and performance in a lightweight package,” said Kokopelli General
Manager Jeff Popp. With these boats, you get similar durability to a hard-shell kayak at a fraction of the weight. The added ability to pack it and take it places you’d never be able to take a kayak is icing on the cake.”
The D7 valves on these boats also include a lifetime warranty, while the TiZip zipper includes a one-year warranty.
“As a whitewater kayaker, this is the closest performance to a traditional hard shell I’ve ever experienced, and I can put it in my backpack,” said Zach Patterson of Kokopelli.
For more product information, go here.
HMS Conqueror was a nuclear-powered attack submarine and one of the Royal Navy’s most powerful ships in the 1980s. As part of the Falkland Islands Re-taken operation, she sank the Argentine Navy light cruiser ARA General Belgrano. It was only the second submarine torpedo sinking since WWII.
After returning to the U.K., the Conqueror would be tasked to steal a secret sonar array from a Soviet Navy ship. It was code-named Operation Barmaid, and the nuclear-powered sub would be fitted with a special pair of remote-controlled heavy steel cutting blades and television cameras, so they could sneak up on a Russian spy trawler towing a sonar array and just cut it off and then float away.
During the Cold war, the U.S. and the U.K. had a significant advantage over the Soviets regarding submarine warfare. We had two different types of SONAR, Active and passive. Active sonar sends out pings, which travel through the ocean before returning to the ship that sent them. Active sonar pings and machinery noise are detected by passive sonar. Passive sonar is challenging to use effectively due to the ship’s noise, particularly the propeller noise. A mile or more behind a boat, passive sonars are used. The easiest way to put it active SONAR is to put pings out and wait to hear if it bounces off anything. Passive is when you drag a cable behind you that has a bunch of microphones(hydrophones) on it, and you listen.
They noticed that Russian submarines were becoming quieter and faster in the late 1970s and feared that they were not making enough progress in naval technology. Because the array itself made no noise, learning about it required sitting in front of one and dismantling it. So, the U.S. and U.K. decided to steal one to see if the one the Soviets had was anything like the one they used. The plan was to sneak up behind the towed ship, a Polish intelligence vessel, and use the pincers to free the array.
It was a complicated plan. First, the Conqueror, led by Captain Christopher Wreford-Brown, had to intercept a Soviet intelligence ship in international waters. Detected would have meant immediate, lethal retribution to cut through a three-inch-thick steel cable.
Second, the sub had to operate while both ships were moving. Third, the submarine had to avoid the passive SONAR array and remove it from the trawler without being seen.
The submarine was ordered to steal a two-mile string of hydrophones from a Polish-flagged spy trawler near Russian waters. Known as AGIs (Auxiliary General Intelligence), these trawlers were common during the Cold War, often disguised as fishing trawlers. But most had no fishing nets.
They used American-made pincers to make it look like it had snagged and been torn off accidentally; it would make a lot of small compression-type cuts and not just one straight throw cut again so it would look like it was ripped off and not cut. The Conqueror had to enter the ship’s blind spot and cut the cable just yards from the vessel and its propeller.
It was on station for a while during the cutting phase, all nonessential equipment was turned off, and all hands were not allowed to move from their assigned stations. Once the cable was cut, the sub started to sink from the extra weight of the cable, and the crew had to allow this to happen until they could get away from the trawler. Once they were far enough away, the Conqueror crew sent out divers to retrieve the cable after being sent to the U.S. for analysis.
According to Stuart Prebble’s book Secrets of the Conqueror, one minor miscalculation could have spelled disaster for the entire operation.
‘The control room was tense,’ said one crew member. We expected to be discovered at any time and were prepared to flee.’
The Conqueror had twice attempted to cut the cable from the boat before succeeding in August 1982. It did not take the U.S. long to realize that the cable was made to the specification as the ones used by the U.S. and U.K. It is believed that John Walker, who spied on the U.S. for the Russians from 1967-1985, was the person that gave them the information.
During the summer of 1918, as World War One ended, the Austrian Navy suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the Royal Italian Navy, which was based in Genoa. The most powerful ships of the Austrian Navy withdrew to the Adriatic Sea port of Pola to avoid capture. Enemy ships could not enter the harbor because of floating booms and barricades designed to encircle and destroy their targets. The Italian Navy attempted several attacks on the Austrian fleet at Pola. Still, it could not penetrate the sophisticated harbor defenses in any of them.
Raffaele Paolucci was an Italian Naval surgeon who devised a plan to infiltrate the harbor at Pola and destroy the largest ships of the Austrian fleet. He was killed during the operation. Even though the sheltered enemy fleet appeared impenetrable to conventional attack, Lieutenant Paolucci had the idea that he might be able to reach the Austrian ships by simply swimming to them with explosives in his possession.
“If I could be dropped off near the entrance to the harbor, a swim of three kilometers would enable me to reach my destination,” Paolucci concluded after consulting charts depicting the Pola estuary.”
Paolucci began training to swim alone into the harbor at Pola while keeping his plans a secret from his friends and family. Evenings and weekends were spent swimming in the lagoons of Venice, building up his endurance to the point where he could comfortably swim five miles without stopping. To simulate the weight of an explosive charge he planned to carry with him to destroy the enemy ships, Paolucci began dragging a 300-pound barrel of water behind him as his stamina grew.
Paolucci presented his plan to his commanding officers in May, confident in his ability to carry out his vision for the military. He was informed of the apparent dangers associated with such a venture. Still, he was instructed to continue with his training.
Paolucci was introduced to Major Raffaele Rossetti in July, who impressed him. In his investigation, Paolucci discovered that Rossetti had designed and built an entirely new type of aquatic weapon. This manned torpedo was ideal for the mission for which he had been preparing himself.
An unexploded German torpedo shell that had washed up on the Italian coast had inspired Rossetti to design and build a sleek submersible craft that could be pulled through the water like a horse, using the long, slender shell as a frame. Rossetti’s rebuilt torpedo was about 20 feet long, weighed one and a half tons, and could propel a pair of riders through the water at a top speed of two miles per hour. It was filled with compressed air that drove two small, silent propellers, powered by compressed air. Located at the front end of the apparatus were two detachable watertight canisters with a capacity of 400 pounds of TNT, each of which could be detached and transported separately. The craft’s position in the water could be changed by adjusting a series of control valves that Rossetti had devised.
Swimming and guiding the torpedo were practiced in the Italian naval shipyard in Venice, where Rossetti and Paolucci worked. Paolucci later wrote, “We had to be in the water clinging to the machine, which moved slowly; we had to steer it with our bodies, and in some cases were forced to drag the apparatus ourselves…we habituated ourselves to remaining in the water for six or seven hours at a stretch with our clothes on, and to passing unnoticed beneath the eyes of the sentries posted along Venice dockyard’s perimeter.”
An Italian navy motorboat brought the two men and their hybrid watercraft to within a few miles of the entrance to the harbor at Pola on the night of 31 October 1918. Rossetti and Paolucci slipped into the water, mounted their torpedoes, and set out to sabotage the Austrian fleet, which was utterly unaware of what they were getting themselves into.
Rossetti and Paolucci submerged the torpedo by riding the incoming tide until only their heads were visible above the water’s surface. They left for Pola at 10:13 p.m. on a Friday. Assuming everything went according to plan, Rossetti estimated that it would take no more than five hours to deliver the explosives to the Austrian ships and return to the waiting Italian motorboat, which was safely anchored away from the sight of Austrian patrol boats.
Rossetti turned off the air valve driving the torpedo’s twin propellers on their way into the harbor, preventing them from being sucked into it. The torpedo was carefully guided up to the first of the barriers that guarded the outer harbor by the two men who had guided it up. The enemy’s searchlights swept across the water, threatening to reveal them to the public. The searchlights passed over them despite their repeated appearances without disclosing their location.
When Rossetti and Paolucci arrived at the outermost barricade at 10:30 a.m., they discovered that it was constructed of “numerous empty metal cylinders, each approximately three yards in length, between which were suspended heavy steel cables.” “….. In the meantime, the two men lifted and pushed their boat over the obstacle, fearful that the sound of metal scraping against metal would alert Austrian guards on the other side of the water. Their efforts went largely unnoticed. “After a great deal of effort,” Paolucci wrote, “we were able to get past the obstruction when I felt myself being seized by the arm.” After a moment’s thought, I realized Rossetti was pointing to a dark shape that appeared to be moving toward us.” They were completely unaware of the presence of an Austrian U-boat, which was gliding past them and out into the Adriatic Sea without using its lights and with only its conning tower above the water.
The two men steered the torpedo slowly toward the seawall that protected Pola’s inner harbor after restarting the torpedo’s motor. While Rossetti waited in the shadow of the seawall, Paolucci swam ahead to find the quickest way into the port. Rossetti was a little late. Instead, he encountered another stumbling block in the form of a gate constructed of heavy timbers studded with long steel spikes.
Paolucci returned to Rossetti’s boat and informed him of his discovery. Rossetti decided to proceed with the mission. It was now against the tide, and the two men had to fight against it to drag the massive torpedo up to the submerged gate. As the tide receded, Rossetti and Paolucci struggled to make their way past the nets and into the harbor where the anchored Austrian battleships were anchored. Paolucci wrote, “our endeavors proved successful.” It was 3:00 a.m. now, and the sun was shining brightly.
The dreadnought SMS Viribus Unitis, the largest ship in the fleet, was chosen as the primary target because it was closest to the shore. Rossetti and Paolucci were swimming through sleet and hail when they noticed the sky beginning to brighten with dawn. Just as they were about to reach the side of the Viribus Unitis, the torpedo began to sink unpredictably.
While Paolucci was frantically trying to keep the torpedo afloat, Rossetti discovered an intake valve that had been accidentally opened, allowing air to escape from the cylinder and sinking the ship. After closing the valve, the two men took a few moments to relax in the shadow of the Austrian flagship. According to Paolucci, “this was unquestionably the worst of all our trying moments.”
They reached the Viribus Unitis at 4:45 a.m. after making their way down a long line of Austrian battleships that stretched for miles. Rossetti detaches one of the TNT canisters from the front of the torpedo and attaches it to the hull of the Viribus Unitis, which was then launched. Rossetti set a timer for 6:30 p.m. when he planned to detonate the 400-pound charge of TNT.
As Rossetti and Paolucci pushed off from the side of the Viribus Unitis, a sentry on the flagship noticed them and alerted the authorities.
The Italians attempted to navigate towards the shore, hoping to find refuge. A boat from the Viribus Unitis was dispatched to capture them as soon as they were discovered. After quickly arming the second canister of explosives, Paolucci set it free in the ebbing tide of the river. As a result of flooding the torpedo’s air cylinder, the ship sank to the bottom.
A group of sailors from the Viribus Unitis apprehended the Italian officers and transported them back to the ship. They were shocked to discover that the Austrian fleet had mutinied during the previous night and that the Austrian admiral had transferred command of the Viribus Unitis to a Yugoslavian captain named Ianko Vukovic. Having been ordered ashore, all German and Austrian crew members were escorted off the ship, leaving the fleet in the care of neutral Yugoslav sailors.
It was 6:00 a.m. at the time. Because Rossetti was aware that the TNT would detonate in half an hour, he informed Captain Vukovic that his ship was in “serious and imminent danger.” “Save your men,” says the captain. Captain Vukovic demanded an explanation calmly. “I’m not going to tell you when, but the ship will be blown up in a short time,” Rossetti said.
Vukovic didn’t waste any time, yelling in German, “Men of the Viribus Unitis, save yourselves and everyone else you can!” “The Italians have smuggled bombs aboard the vessel!” When the Yugoslavian crew members learned of this, they panicked and abandoned the ship. As Paolucci described it, “we heard doors open and shut quickly, we saw half-naked men rushing about madly and clambering up the steps of our batteries, and we heard the noise of bodies splashing into the sea.”
Rossetti took advantage of the sudden panic and inquired of Captain Vukovic about the possibility of saving themselves. Vukovic agreed with me. Rossetti and Paolucci dashed to the side of the ship and jumped overboard. They were captured. They were quickly apprehended by a group of enraged Yugoslavian sailors in a small boat, who took them back to the Viribus Unitis, where they were imprisoned. “We were under the impression that they intended for us to perish on the doomed ship,” Paolucci wrote. The time was 6:20 p.m.
Once again, Rossetti and Paolucci found themselves surrounded by a threatening mob of sailors when they returned to the ship’s deck for the second time. They were yelling at us, claiming that we had deceived them, and others demanded to know where the bombs were hidden. Rossetti rose to his feet and demanded that he and Paolucci be treated relatively as prisoners of war, which was granted. Vukovic ordered his men not to harm the Italians, and they followed his orders.
There was no explosion at 6:30 p.m. when the time came. Neither Rossetti nor Paolucci said anything to one another, as if they were wondering what had gone wrong. Captain Vukovic was still attempting to restore order on the ship’s deck when a storm hit the ship. Crewmen who had abandoned the Viribus Unitis rowed in lifeboats all around the ship, unsure whether to flee to safety or return to the ship as the ship sank.
The TNT charge exploded at 6:44 p.m. local time. When the delayed explosion occurred, Rossetti and Paolucci were taken aback by how quiet it was, describing it as “a dull noise…a deep roaring, not loud or terrible, but rather light.” Instantaneously, however, a massive column of water rose into the air at the ship’s bow and splashed down on the ship’s forward deck. In the aftermath of the explosion, Rossetti and Paolucci requested permission to abandon the ship once more out of shock. Captain Vukovic shook their hands and pointed to a rope they could use to escape into the water, motioning for one of the lifeboats to come and pick them up from the water.
When Rossetti and Paolucci were dragged onto the small boat, they turned to watch the Viribus Unitis sinking into the water. In his book, “The Viribus Unitis,” Paolucci describes how the ship began to heel over more and more until the water reached the level of the deck and the ship capsized utterly. I noticed that the massive turret guns were being tossed around like toys. Towards the keel, I noticed a man crawling until he reached the top of the ship. It was Captain Vukovic who made the announcement. He died a short time later after being struck in the head by a wooden beam while attempting to save his life by swimming to shore after having extricated himself from the whirlpool of water.” Rossetti and Paolucci were transported as prisoners of war to an Austrian hospital ship for their recovery. There, they discovered that the second canister of explosives, which had been set free by Paolucci just before they were apprehended, had exploded against the hull of an Austrian ship named Wien, causing it to capsize and sink.
Italy and Austria signed a peace treaty three days later, on 4 November 1918, bringing the war to an end. The following day, the Italian fleet seized control of Pola, allowing Rossetti and Paolucci to be released from captivity. The two gentlemen were presented with gold medals in recognition of their bravery. Rossetti received a reward from the Italian government of 650,000 lire as compensation for his services. “A war adversary who, in dying, left me with an ineradicable example of generous humanity,” he said of Captain Vukovic’s widow when he presented the reward. Widows and mothers of other war victims received the funds used to establish a trust fund for them.
Diving with a full-face mask is a great way to protect the face from the water. You may not want the water to touch you for various reasons. The most important reason is if you are in contaminated water or simply chilly, and no one likes cold water on the face. Most masks have a mouthpiece that allows the diver to breathe and speak while wearing the mask. This enables you to communicate while underwater. The direct connection of the full-face masks (FFMs) to the second stage regulator allows for this, rather than biting into the regulator mouthpiece.
Like just about everything, there are benefits and some drawbacks to diving with an FFM. While full-face masks come in various forms, many of them have a larger field of view than standard masks. This gives you a better peripheral for keeping track of your swim/ dive buddy and allows you to view more of the environment during your dive. There is less chance of the mask fogging with the air coming in. There is less chance of you losing your mask from, say, someone was kicking it off in a confined space.
Most FFM can be equipped with a built-in microphone, allowing divers to communicate with one another and the surface. For this reason, professional divers have been using them for years.
The integrated regulator is one of the most considerable positives and can be one of the biggest negatives of diving with an FFM. Because the regulator is built into your mask, it’s less likely to be pulled out of the diver’s mouth.
If your mask comes off abruptly, the regulator comes off with it, making mask retrieval something that could freak some people out if not practiced a lot. The mask is kept from traveling too far by hoses attached to the regulator, but if a diver panics after losing both his mask and regulator, it can cause an emergency. This is why anyone interested in diving an FFM should take a course on using it. One of the main drills in this training is mask removal and replacement and switching to your backup regulator.
If you decide to attempt diving with an FFM, make sure you practice your basic skills, like mask cleaning and retrieval, so that you can switch back and forth.
The diver’s whole face is protected from the water by the FFM. The mask also has a mouthpiece that allows the diver to speak and breathe normally while wearing it. Instead of biting into the regulator mouthpiece with your teeth, the FFM connects directly to the second stage regulator. As you might anticipate, breathing through an FFM is more pleasant than a regular mask and regulator.
Some of the disadvantages are compared to ordinary dive masks. FFMs are notably larger and heavier. Although straps can be tied around the head to prevent the mask from falling off and cutting off your air supply, they are theoretically easier to use. The seals that encircle the entire face are also airtight, lowering the risk of water seeping during a dive. Some people have a more challenging time equalizing when using an FFM. FFM has levers around the nose or a cushioned pocket that allows you to pinch your nose to equalize pressure like you would with a standard mask. There are depth limitations for FFM, so make sure the one you are using/buying can meet what you would like it to do. This could be a pro or a con, you can’t use all FFM on rebreathers only some of them are certified for that use. The Interspiro is used worldwide by the military on rebreathers as is the Dräger FFM.
The biggest advantage is that the mask’s airtightness permits communication devices. This allows the diver to talk to each other and the surface with the right communications set up.
Due to the additional materials required in their manufacture, FFM can be more expensive than half-mask models, making it much more important to know what you’re getting when you buy one.
There are two main types of FFM. One that comes with a regulator like the Ocean Technology Systems (OTS) Guardian, and you add your regulator to, like the SCUBAPRO FFM and the OTS Spectrum.
So how do you choose the right FFM to use? If you are in the military or on a Public Safety Dive team, you will have the mask selected for you. The two most popular groups are the OTS Guardian and the Interspiro AGA. Consider what kind of diving you’ll be undertaking with the mask before starting your search for full-face scuba masks online or in stores.
For easy cold-water diving, all you need is some minimal protection from the water splashing on your face. Full-face dive masks with communications functions, such as those used for underwater weddings, are available if you want to communicate underwater. There are basic underwater transceiver units and more advanced communication systems available.
Look for brands that have received a lot of positive feedback.
Skimping on quality is never a wise idea when choosing equipment that could save your life. Rather than a third-party copycat brand that has never been formally tested for product efficiency, it’s best to invest in a product that has been developed through time and is also guaranteed to last years of use.
Fortunately, today’s market has a lot of great brands producing high-quality full-face diving masks. A few of the brands available include SCUBAPRO, Ocean Technology Systems (OTS), Interspiro, and Ocean Reef.
The sizes of masks are not standard. As a result, you must try them on to make sure they’re comfortable. Make sure when you try it on that you also try it on while wearing a hood, move your head like you would if you were underwater. Also, check to make sure you can clear your ears. Do this by gently pushing upwards on the chin; you may also verify the mask’s snugness. There are different size nose pieces, so make sure you have one in there that fits your nose. Most public safety dive team dive in very low visibility water. A FFM used together with a SCUBAPRO Heads Up Dive Computer are truly one of the best combinations in diving in any situation. It gives you the ability to see your gauges no matter what the visibility. Just about alll the masks shown have a SCUBAPRO HUD on them.
Before you buy an FFM, you should take a class. Honestly, if you have been diving for a while, you will have no problem with this, but there is a class for everything in today’s world, and if you learn one thing, it is worth taking.
Overall, the FFM is a great tool to have in your toolbox.
