A Tribe Called K2 Buhl-oog!

When you’re snorkeling and you get water in your mask you simply raise your head out of the water, lift the mask and let the water drain. While diving, you cannot raise your head. You need to secure the mask at your forehead and exhale from your nose to clear the mask. Because you need to clear the mask with your exhaled breath the volume of air between the mask and your face is crucial.

For an experienced diver this is likely not to be an issue but a new diver may find it disconcerting to be forced to breathe out several times to clear the water from the mask. We are happy with the Tilos Excel Scuba Mask, and the Oceanic Shadow Scuba Mask in this regard.  These masks are easy to clear and the soft and smooth silicone make it easy to place pressure on your nose for a valsalva maneuver.

Most masks come with either a clear silicone skirt or a black skirt. The clear skirted silicone mask may eventually yellow with exposure particularly if you leave it in daylight. The same chemical process happens to the black skirt but you cannot see it. The choice of black or clear skirt can depend on which side of the camera you are on. If you are taking photographs or video the black skirt will reduce glare and make it better to see the things in the view finder. Wide ranging masks will be the largest volume but will also give the widest field of vision. 

The dimensions of the glass isn’t the only indicator of volume. Typically the more glass you have the more you can see. With the wide ranging you aren’t looking out the side window but you’ll see movement and be in a position to turn to the movement. A mask with a great amount of glass surface can be relatively small volume because the glass is near to the face and not extended by side panels.

Then there are the frameless masks. These masks are the super premium of the group as they leave unfettered your field of vision. The two we most recommend are the Tilos Excel Scuba Mask and Oceanic Shadow Mask.

Quoting Scuba Diving Magazine: The Tilos Excel was the big surprise of this review. It had one of the widest fields of view and a budget-friendly price . With a wide bottom and teardrop shapes below the eyes, the lens favors downward viewing, great for finding belts and buckles on a BC. The top narrows at the churches but has high eyebrows that help when looking up. It all adds up to a mixed vertical range of 75 degrees, the same vertical field of view as the two Atomic masks in this review. Bonus : The upper and lower corners of the mask have a tread-like texture that helps wet hands grip the mask when donning and doffing.

For experienced divers who dive in very cold water or the general public safety divers who wants to communicate underwater there are full face masks. These come in several different styles but will generally have ports to add communication gear.

When deciding how to select a scuba mask you should consider fit, skirt – clear or black, volume of air behind the mask (low or large volume), field of vision, and naturally color. At K2 Scuba we strongly suggest you try on masks at a retailer that will take care of you, in real life or by telephone to fit the mask to you. It is by miles the most important criteria for selecting a mask- it is an essential part of you scuba diving equipment.

A poorly fitting mask will flood and raise stress in your diving experience. Call us, we are here for you and your scuba mask fitment needs.

We will keep the lights on!

We started diving a long time ago. The word diving is related to swimming underwater, and the word scuba is an abbreviation for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus" and it has become acceptable to refer to scuba diving equipment as "equipment", “rig”, or "apparatus". So, we understand the word Scuba Diving as swimming underwater with special equipment.

When selecting a scuba mask it is essential that it fits your face well to ensure that it is both comfortable and leak free. Without a good seal against the face you may spend much of your time clearing the mask of water, while an uncomfortable mask detracts from your diving experience ? both lead to enjoying your dives less but because they distract you from your environment they are also potentially unsafe.

When it comes to choosing  scuba wetsuits, the thickness of the neoprene material, which is measured in millimeters, makes a difference in getting too hot or too cold, in addition to durability. Short wetsuits that cover the torso have short sleeves and leggings and are more comfortable in warmer and shallower water.

Other terms to grasp are that "steamer" wetsuits are full suits that cover all but your head, feet and hands, while a "farmer John" suit has no sleeves and often is worn with a jacket. Dry suits have attached booties and watertight seals round the wrists and neck so you can wear thermal underclothes with them for heat.

Most scuba diving regulators are sufficient for no less than 40% nitrox without any alteration. If you want a higher o2 content then you would like to go for a nitrox diving regulator – these are usually green to distinguish them and have been properly cleaned. One other consideration is that you can’t use Nitrox with titanium diving regulators. So, the gas divers use from the tank is compressed normal air. Air is created of 78.084% of nitrogen, 20.946% of oxygen and 1% of other gases that have virtually no effect when respiring compressed air. Nitrogen under high pressure can temporally effect our nervous system and meddle with signal transmissions, causing at bigger depths ( 30 to 40 meters / one hundred to 133 feet or more ) the condition known as nitrogen narcosis, which has similar effects as being under the influence of alcohol ( loss of decision making capacity, loss of focus, reduced judgment, multi tasking and coordination ). The simplest way to avoid nitrogen narcosis is for a diver to control the depth of dives.

If narcosis does occur, the effects disappear just about right away on rising to a more shallow depth. Under stress nitrogen softens into body tissues and starts to accumulate. To circumvent the bends divers must minimize the water pressure slowly on the body at the end of the each dive.

This may allow the gases besieged in the bloodstream to steadily break solution and leave the body.

This is done by rising slowly and making safety stops or decompression stops using dive Computers or decompression tables for guidance. As you can see while scuba diving, divers are limited in time and depth thanks to the nitrogen in the air. For those divers that transcend 40 meters / 133 feet and for divers who require to spend lots of time under water, a different mixture of gases, training and equipment are required. The depth limit for recreational diving is between 30 to 40 meters / one hundred to 133 feet, but it also depends on the training and the gases used while underwater. Nuno Gomes ( S. A. ) now holds the world record for the deepest dive using scuba diving equipment.

The dive of 318 meters / 1044 feet beat the previous record set by the late John Bennet of 308 meters / 1016 feet ( confirmed ). The above records were set using ‘recreational’ SCUBA. What’s critical to remember that being underwater has bounds and dangers that pro divers are prepared to take. Dives between 5 to twenty meters / sixteen to 66 feet can show you the amazing world that was once explored by Cousteau. These depths have the advantage of that provides divers with better light, colours and sea life. Also in shallow dives you can breathe less air from the tank, making your dive longer and safer.

Dive Safe out there, will you?

Removing and replacing a scuba mask is the skill that most new divers worry about. However with a few simple steps you can master this skill.
Mask clearing
Before you learn to remove and replace your mask completely you should practice clearing the mask until you are comfortable with this skill.  Remember - when clearing scuba masks start breathing out before you tilt your head up to prevent water going up your nose.
The magic snorkel
To prepare in advance for the mask removal you can practice at home with a snorkel. Fill a basin with COLD water and place your face in the water. Breathe thru the snorkel to become comfortable with having your face in water whilst still breathing.  Each time you do it try and stay an additional couple of breaths till you’re employed up to 30 seconds.
Practice in your comfort zone
When you’re able to practice at your next scuba diving session demand to practice (heck you are paying for it-the instructor WORKS FOR YOU)  in the shallow end first before going into the deeper water. When you do have to do the mask removal, try and take things slow and focus on your respiring when you’re twitchy. If you need to, throw the panic signal  up sign and your instructor will bring you to the surface.

Mask removal and replace – step by step

1. Fill your mask with water by breaking the seal
2. Take a moment to breathe and become comfortable with having your face covered by water.
3. Remove the mask strap and take the mask away from your face.
4. DO NOT LET GO OF THE MASK!
5. Make sure your snorkel is clear and to the side of the mask.
6. Place your thumb in the nose pocket and guide it back to your face.
7. Place the mask strap over your head and confirm it’s not twisted.
8. Feel round the skirt of the mask to make certain nothing is caught in it, hood or hair, also to make certain it isn’t tucked up.
9. Clear the mask as you’ve been practicing before.

Remember the point of the practice sessions are to build your confidence, if things are not going well ask to take five and come back to the skill later. When you master a new scuba diving ability there’s always a great sense of accomplishment. Guaranteeing you are assured with mask clearing, practice with the magic snorkel at home and taking things slowly in the pool session will help you remove and replace your mask simply and with confidence.
Good luck!

Hello World!

We are K2 Scuba Dive Center and www.K2Scuba.com on the web.  This is our first wading in to the the glitterati that is the Internet Blog and we are tickled to bring you the sales and promotions of the major manufacturers we carry.  We are authorized dealers of Oceanic, Dive Rite, Pinnacle, Xcel and TUSA (to name a few of the many).

What that means to you?  if it breaks, we fix it  (full manufacturer warranties)

If it doesnt fit, we replace it (look at the Perfect Fit Guarantee here)

. . . and on Oceanic and Pinnacle, play with it for 30 days and it you dont like it, return it!

OK, on with the main part of the show!

Oceanic has done mad price drops on its best selling high end computers.  If you were waiting for a good time to buy, NOW IS THE TIME!

On the DataMask Complete (transmitter, software, USB cable) Regular price $1,500.00, it is now $1,195.95 Save $300.00

On the VT3 Complete (transmitter, software, USB cable) Reg price $1,000.00, it is now $799.97 Save $200.00

and on the Atom 2.0 Complete (transmitter, software, USB cable) Reg price !1,000.00, it is now $799.97 Save $200.00

Come to where you are treated like a friend as well as serviced like a customer!

At K2 we endeavor to earn your business, on friend at a time!