Full Face Mask Scuba Diving Part 3 (Certification) 

Thank you for the kind words!

Csev thanks for your question. Our answer may not be something you want to hear but constant and repetitive practice with your instructor is the best way. With our students who have difficulty we spend a lot of time in the shallows at first doing partial mask clears over and over until it becomes second nature. We then do full floods and mask removals until they master those also. We have also seen some students who have a hard time blowing out their nose when they have a regulator in. So we practice with them in the pool to get that corrected. It’s crucial you work with a patient instructor who take their time to make sure you get comfortable to master each skill.

Justin, theoretically yes you could do both classes at same time but a few things to consider..... 1. You may find trying to learn both dry suit and full face mask at same time to be very task loaded. This would sometimes juts be a little more than some diver’s could handle at first. 2. In the PADI world, as instructors we cannot give you credit for doing two things at the same time during the same dive. Therefor, if you wore a dry suit and a FFM during a dive we would complete skills only for one of those two items. Both Josh and I recommend perfecting dry suit skills first, since buoyancy characteristics are quite different, and then pursue FFM training. Thanks for an excellent question and thanks for watching Everything Scuba!

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that will largely depend on what you like/dislike and if you're willing to accept the risks and negatives of FFM diving. This will be revealed to you when you do full face mask certification. From what I heard getting FFM certification isn't always strictly necessary in US, but I still would highly encourage to do it anyway so that you have demonstrated to an instructor that you are capable and aware of how to utilize one with all the benefits, safety measures and risks taken into account. I myself as of writing this am a certified FFM diver whom started with Ocean Reef FFM's, and I've also heard a lot of great things about the OTS Guardian, which is readily available in most diving shops in USA. I have face fitted one before but haven't actually taken a scubadive with it yet. Also keep in mind that an OTS Guardian is an expensive piece of professional grade hardware. A fair few diving shops however will most likely let you rent one if you're FFM certified, or ask around for instructors that do FFM certification, in which case they might supply you with one but this also usually comes with a pricetag to match. Also lastly... If you ever consider buying an FFM, consult with experienced FFM divers, buy from reputable brands like OTS, Ocean Reef, Interspiro, etc... and AVOID buying unbranded, cheap mass production "full face scuba masks" you find on online chinese wholesale stores at ALL costs because these cheap things more often than not end up being a death trap!

Why would it be different from a normal mask?

He didn't pre loosen the straps before removal of his backup mask. Maybe also simulate troubleshooting the FFM, checking its flow, and verifying the Ambient Air Valve is CLOSED before attempting the donning & clearing. I've seen several untrained FFM Divers bolt to the surface rather than check the ambient valve and purge.