Taking two mask down.

[bigman241]

Back last year when we where looking at scuba diving and end up butting it off again. I read on scubaboard that some carry a extra mask hooked to there bc incase the first floats away or breaks. Do any of you do this. Seems to me when does the extra stuff stop extra mask extra knife extra snorkel. What then extra bc. I know i am new but just wonder if a extra mask is worth the space and trouble

[WV Diver]

I wear a spare mask backwards around my neck when diving a FFM. This is because if something happens to my primary regulator ( part of the FFM) and I have to remove it to go to my octo I then will need a mask.

I have not yet started carrying a spare for solo diving with a standard regulator.

[Tassie Diver]

I carry my spare mask in a Dive-Rite mask pocket. It is attached to my the waist belt on my Transpac.

Cheers

TD

[fisheater]

If I'm diving solo, I carry a spare.

[hoova-scuba]

Do you guys suggest carying a quality mask or just something cheap that will let you see?

[mm_dm]

That part is up to you. If you lose your mask, your backup will become your primary...at least for awhile. I have a few that I've collected over time and carry the one as a spare that crams into my side pocket the easiest.

[Scuba Pete]

Originally Posted by bigman241

Back last year when we where looking at scuba diving and end up butting it off again. I read on scubaboard that some carry a extra mask hooked to there bc incase the first floats away or breaks. Do any of you do this. Seems to me when does the extra stuff stop extra mask extra knife extra snorkel. What then extra bc. I know i am new but just wonder if a extra mask is worth the space and trouble

Lets see here. IMO a spare mask is not necessary, i would imagine the people that carry them are either diving solo, or some kind of technical diving. The only time I carry an extra mask is into a cave. I don't wear a snorkel anymore. I would carry one if i were diving where i may have a surface swim in waves. I dive in quarry where i am not really worried about a leisurely floating surface swim. Remember in recreational diving you should be able to head to the surface in the event something bad happens. This is why recreational divers don't wear doubles or side mount with a redundant lift device. In the case of an emergency you have your buddy as redundant everything and you head to the surface. The issue comes into play when you dive outside of typical recreational diving. Solo, Decompression, overhead environments. When you either don't have a buddy for redundancy or you can not head directly for the surface because of an overhead or a perceived overhead environment (decompression). That is when you need to carry the redundant gear. Having said that, anyone can carry redundant gear no matter what kind of diving they are doing. Does having it make a dive safer? I dont think so. Would you rather have it with you and not need it, than to not have it with you and need it? I would. So, I take every dive differently. It depends on how i feel on what gear I want to bring with me. Sometimes I dont really feel like wearing my backup bottom timer and depth gauge. It really depends on the diver and the dive they are doing more so than a general rule.

[DivingCRNA]

Solo or tec=extra mask for me. I do both.

[fisheater]

Most of us who carry two masks, I'm willing to bet, have purchased them at different times and both are quality masks.

In my case, my primary mask is a prescription Atomic SubFrame. I purchased that when my eyes got old enough that I needed glasses for distances. My backup mask is my original Cressi BigEyes. Both are quality masks and both fit me perfectly.

If I lose a mask, I want one that will work for me. I don't want to pay a bunch for a backup prescription mask, figuring that I can muddle through with the backup should that become necessary. However, when (if?) my eyes get worse and I need a new prescription, my current primary will become my backup.

[CompuDude]

Diving wet, I don't usually bother carrying a spare, but when I'm diving wet that usually means I'm on an easy recreational dive, usually a shore dive or in excellent warm water conditions.

Diving dry, I always have a spare mask in my drysuit's thigh pocket. Never needed (IRL) it outside of tech training, but I've loaned it out a couple of times when friends had a mask failure (broken strap, etc.) at the beginning of a dive.

My primary mask is prescription, but my spare is not, so I can loan it without worrying. If I have to exit on my spare the world is not crystal clear, that's fine. I'm merely nearsighted (and not excessively) so I can still see my gauges fine, which is sufficient.