Speaking of masks...

....does anyone have useful suggestions for a mask that won't conduct?
I may have asked this question a year or two ago, but the problem
persists. I get sweaty, I take a hit to the head (foil), I get an
on-target light.

I used to wear a cheap club mask, but replaced it with a better, but
still non-FIE, in the hope that the problem might go away. It didn't.
I've tried a fresh coat of marine enamel over the mesh in the hope of
providing some degree of insulation. No joy. I tried liberally coating
the inside with duct tape. Messy, but not entirely effective.

Friday last, we tried a couple of experiments. I pushed my mask back
so I could see out from under, and someone touched their foil to the
mask. Red light. So that eliminates direct contact between mask and
lame. We tried pressing a foil directly to my forehead. No red light,
but from the sensation I think I melted all my fillings. I don't if
this last happens with others or not, but I doubt it.

The question comes down in the end to, would an FIE mask perform any
differently from the mask I use at the moment? Or would I just be
wasting my money? I'm really loth to pay out good money for something
that's not going to solve the problem, and I don't expect whoever I
bought from would be too happy to return my money if it didn't work.

Maybe there's another solution. Is there something I could treat the
current mask with that would render it non-conductive, maybe? Or maybe
I should just take up sabre..

Robert Smith
(ironically, proprietor of http://members.shaw.ca/ubik/thread/ ..)

I have the same problem. I unfortunately sweat buckets. By the end of
seeding pools, I'm usually soaked. The cheap masks are definitely not the
way to go. IME (in my experience), the bib soaks up sweat like a sponge. I
could be wrong, but when you sweat, you sweat electrolytes, so
theoretically, your sweat could be more conductive than water ( I'm
obviously not an electrician or biochemist).

I bought an Allstart FIE compliant with the comfort plus in it. It has
helped alot. The important part for me is the lining, the bib doesn't soak
up as much sweat and is virtually dry even after de's. The padding for mine
is also removable which helps drying. And since it contacts the mask with
glued on velcro, there aren't as many rivets to rust out. I've only had
mine a few months, and I'm switching between a cheap one I have for club
practice and the FIE one. I'm giving high quality, insulated masks two
enthusiastic thumbs up. I paid about $180 US for it as opposed to $53 US
for the BG mask, but so far it has been worth it.

I had the same problem with gloves, I prefer thinner gloves for the tactile
feedback. The glove would get moist with sweat, and create one giant
circuit. I changed to a washable padded glove (after buying all new
bodycords and a new lame), and the problem disappeared.

If you're interesed, I can probably look up exactly who and what mask I
bought. I know it was an Allstart FIE with removable padding.

Todd