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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Mar 25, 2018 5:09:12 GMT -8
On another forum, the subject of modern snorkel masks such as the EasyBreath above came up, which whetted my curiosity about their predecessors. The Healthways catalogue of 1958-1959 from the Vintage Double Hose website collection offered a twin-snorkel mask named "Sub-Marine": I know that Healthways used other manufacturers to make its products and I was wondering whether such outsourcing applied in this case. My first thought was that Cressi might have been the original equipment manufacturer, but none of Cressi's snorkel masks appear to match. I then chanced upon a double snorkel mask named "B7NW" in the 1956 Voit catalogue from the Vintage Double Hose collection: The Voit snorkel-mask was still being offered for sale a dozen years later in 1967: I was wondering whether you agree that there is enough of a resemblance, say, between the strap design of the two masks that suggests they are the same design although the snorkels inserted into the masks are differently designed? Is there any historical evidence of Healthways collaborating with another American manufacturer such as Voit? Or am I too quick to see a connection? DRW
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Post by nikeajax on Mar 25, 2018 8:18:16 GMT -8
DRW, at first I was thinking, "Say it ain't so Joe!" But it ain't--WHEW! It's just more of a monkey-do thing: it's also ported differently, the HW has its kicked out to the edges of the bezel. Thanks for sharing this with us I say look further north for its manufacturing though, I think it's French... Their Stabilizator mask was French, but I dismember who made it though... JB
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Post by cnotthoff on Mar 25, 2018 10:03:52 GMT -8
I got my VOIT twin-snorkel mask in blue from the basement sporting goods department of Holman's Department Store in downtown Pacific Grove. It was a strange beast and long gone. It didn't take me long to switch to diving it with those plugs in the snorkel holes.
It didn't work well for the same reason the big snorkel bore didn't work, too much tidal volume. On top of rebreathing a lot of exhaled breath, the plastic lens would easily fog. I was around 10 at the time, so may not have learned about the beauty of spit.
Good Dives, Charlie
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Post by nikeajax on Mar 25, 2018 12:14:00 GMT -8
Charlie, excellent input--thank you!
JB
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 25, 2018 13:27:45 GMT -8
Charlie, were you using this style mask as a full-face mask, or one covering only the nose and eyes?
John
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Post by cnotthoff on Mar 25, 2018 14:40:54 GMT -8
John,
You're asking me to hark back over 50 years. I don't ever recall putting the mask over my mouth, so that would be nose and eyes.
Our shop carries the Easy-Breath (many people asked for it). It uses check (mushroom) valves to direct the flow of air. You exhale through one pathway and inhale through another. This prevents both rebreathing exhalations and fogging of the lens.
It's not uncomfortable, but I'm not thinking of going back to the ping pong ball.
Good Dives, Charlie
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 25, 2018 15:37:40 GMT -8
Charlie, There was an article in Deeper Blue about these new Full-Face Snorkel Masks, and it was interesting. It talked about the potential for CO2 buildup, and stated that the HEAD FFM would not be as bad as other, "knockoff" masks made by companies who did not really design them well. They also did a controlled study of the CO2. which as an industrial hygienist I had been asking for through Facebook posts. Here is the article: www.deeperblue.com/head-mares-comment-recent-snorkeling-deaths-hawaiiI took their calculations, and then calculated them in parts per million CO2, rather than Bar. (1 Bar = 14.7 psig) In order to do this, I had to convert the Bar reading to a percentage, then I could use a different formula to calculate the parts per million (converting percentage in the air to ppm is not difficult). I then put together my own table, which included their findings with my calculations: After doing this, I then looked at the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Values, 2014 booklet, which gave me a ppm number for an 8-hour time-weighted average CO2 level that people in the workplace could tolerate without health problems. That number was 5000 ppm, with a "Short-Term Exposure Limit" of 30,000 ppm (a 15 minute limit). Note that these are extremely high levels, and are applicable only at surface pressures. But using these, and assuming that a snorkeler stays on the surface, the levels that the HEAD people found, even in the knockoff masks, is not dangerous. BUT, and this is a huge "BUT," their testing was according to European Standards for full-face diving masks. They did not test for a panicking diver who was hyperventilating with very short, low-volume breaths. I suspect that the results would be much, much different under these circumstances, and the knockoff masks would become dangerous. I have discouraged two people at the pool from getting these masks, as I feel that they have not yet been tested effectively to say that they are safe for all surface activities, let alone for free diving to depth. John
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Post by cnotthoff on Mar 25, 2018 16:26:42 GMT -8
From that article, it looks like the main factor in those drownings was that 10 out of 11 were over 50 years old. Guess I'm lucky to have survived the last 12 years.
We sell the Aqualung Smart Snorkel. I didn't see it evaluated in tests. I've only worn it out of the water, but found it comfortable and easy breathing. Certainly not the panache of my Voit, and not vintage.
Good Dives, Charlie
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Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Mar 26, 2018 7:22:29 GMT -8
DRW, at first I was thinking, "Say it ain't so Joe!" But it ain't--WHEW! It's just more of a monkey-do thing: it's also ported differently, the HW has its kicked out to the edges of the bezel. Thanks for sharing this with us I say look further north for its manufacturing though, I think it's French... Their Stabilizator mask was French, but I dismember who made it though... JB Thanks, JB, I just needed a fresh pair of eyes to stop me from jumping prematurely to conclusions. As for your suggestion of a possible French origin, it's certainly true that French diving equipment manufacturers Beuchat, Hurricane, Jopen Match, Marin, Squale, Tahiti and Watersports all marketed snorkel-masks as I've found pictures of them all. The one snag is that none of them as far as I am aware ever produced twin-snorkel masks, only single-snorkel masks. I'm wondering whether I should have another look at the Italian Cressi company, which did make twin-snorkel masks but used its "Gamma" hinge valves to regulate the air supply, not ball valves. This said, Cressi once made full-foot Rondine fins with extra straps for Healthways that I don't think were ever marketed in Europe. Perhaps the same applied to the Healthways Sub-Marine snorkel mask. Here's Cressi's most famous twin-snorkel mask, the Medusa G Due: It was marketed in the USA by US Divers towards the end of the fifties and at the beginning of the sixties: DRW
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Post by williaminfc on Mar 31, 2018 8:13:25 GMT -8
Hi Charlie:
How much do you want for the 1/2" post valve with the standard o-ring?
Thank you and JB for the reply.
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Post by nikeajax on Mar 31, 2018 17:58:25 GMT -8
William, you are most welcome! JB
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Post by SeaRat on Apr 29, 2018 18:13:18 GMT -8
Jaybird, First, do you recognize that mouthpiece?. Second, what do you think of the Healthways ScubaVision mask? My new underwater camera is taking some nice photos, but the subject of this photo leaves something to be desired; at least he's smiling! It's only a bit over a month until I can get into the Clackamas River, and try out the camera on actual aquatic critters. Right now, I'm still confined to the pool. John
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Post by nikeajax on May 4, 2018 14:11:50 GMT -8
Here's some gear you won't see every day: a pair of blue Cressi Rondine fins with a matching mask: More snaps to come Man do I ever love my HW-gear! JB
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Post by tomcatpc on May 4, 2018 14:48:39 GMT -8
Is that part of the "Diver Dick" stash you found? Mark
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Post by nikeajax on May 4, 2018 15:08:27 GMT -8
No, actually, I got it with some VERY non-scuba related items that I'll use to help illustrate my books that I'm working on. I was hesitant at first but my wife convinced my to get them... Now I'm going to make a regulator and tank to go with them: I think a Scuba Star will be the easiest to make...
JB
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