Mouthpiece Retaining Head-strap
- Thread starter Paul Haynes
- Start date
w ripley
New Member
Anyone finding the Draeger mouthpiece to be hard on your lips?
I used one last week (four 3-hr dives) and the inside of my mouth, just under my lower lip, has actually lost some skin from the rubbing. Obviously for the last dives my mouth was sore & I consciously tried to keep the pressure of the mouthpiece off my lower lip.
Found it worked fine for holding the reg in my mouth. Also, ended liking both mask & Draeger straps outside my hood, on top of each other.
I used one last week (four 3-hr dives) and the inside of my mouth, just under my lower lip, has actually lost some skin from the rubbing. Obviously for the last dives my mouth was sore & I consciously tried to keep the pressure of the mouthpiece off my lower lip.
Found it worked fine for holding the reg in my mouth. Also, ended liking both mask & Draeger straps outside my hood, on top of each other.
paulraymaekers
Active Member
make sure your mask is not to tight: I noticed if my mask is very tight, it pushes on the drager mouthpiece, pushes it down, and makes it not comfortable
giving the mask strap a bit more slag solves this all
paul
w ripley
New Member
Thanks, I'll give it a try. Never thought about the mask.
Paul Haynes
CCRX Supporter
Cheers mate. Hopefully it will help contribute to rebreather diving safety. See you at the next Oztek.
Rgds
Paul
Being a relative newcomer to CCR, (only since the beginning of this year), I have become an avid reader of all the threads on CCR. This thread, where real world experiences and numerous discussions have identified issues; are really beneficial to "newbies" like myself . Now need to rush out and either make or purchase a gag strap.
Paul Haynes
CCRX Supporter
Hi Paul, delighted to read you have taken onboard the potential safety offered by a Mouthpiece Retaining Strap (MRS). As I repeatedly state, there is no guarantee, however with consideration to the fact that in over 90% of cases studied by DAN, the actual cause of death in CCR fatalities is drowning. Therefore the use of a MRS is about delaying the onset of asphyxiation from fluid aspiration for as long as possible, thus increasing the probability of surviving loss of consciousness underwater when using a rebreather.
I'm presently trying to put together a paper on the subject drawing on a number of sources, one of which is a study into French Military rebreather accidents. The military report concludes that gas toxicities are frequently encountered by French military divers using rebreathers, but the very low incidence of fatalities in over 30 years can be explained by the strict application of the following diving safety protocols:
(1) Systematic linking of divers in pairs, so that a diver can find his buddy regardless of diving conditions (particularly if visibility is poor) and can lend assistance in the event of rescue.
(2) Using a strap to hold the mouthpiece in position, along with a lip guard, so that an unconscious diver can still breathe without risk of drowning. The rescuer can then concentrate on the quality of assistance and respecting the diving parameters for regaining the surface.
The report gives no weighting to either of these factors and it is unclear which played the larger role in the survival of the 51 out of 54 divers who experienced gas toxicity and loss of consciousness. However protecting the airway from water aspiration following LoC and effecting rescue at the earliest opportunity are cited as key factors to a survival outcome and therefore in my opinion have relevance to the sport rebreather industry / community and its efforts to reduce rebreather fatalities.
Safe diving.
Paul
I'm presently trying to put together a paper on the subject drawing on a number of sources, one of which is a study into French Military rebreather accidents. The military report concludes that gas toxicities are frequently encountered by French military divers using rebreathers, but the very low incidence of fatalities in over 30 years can be explained by the strict application of the following diving safety protocols:
(1) Systematic linking of divers in pairs, so that a diver can find his buddy regardless of diving conditions (particularly if visibility is poor) and can lend assistance in the event of rescue.
(2) Using a strap to hold the mouthpiece in position, along with a lip guard, so that an unconscious diver can still breathe without risk of drowning. The rescuer can then concentrate on the quality of assistance and respecting the diving parameters for regaining the surface.
The report gives no weighting to either of these factors and it is unclear which played the larger role in the survival of the 51 out of 54 divers who experienced gas toxicity and loss of consciousness. However protecting the airway from water aspiration following LoC and effecting rescue at the earliest opportunity are cited as key factors to a survival outcome and therefore in my opinion have relevance to the sport rebreather industry / community and its efforts to reduce rebreather fatalities.
Safe diving.
Paul
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Hi Paul
Thanks for this starting that thread and for the last piece of information.
Would you have a link about this French study?
Should we also start diving linked to each other?!
Jale
Thanks for this starting that thread and for the last piece of information.
Would you have a link about this French study?
Should we also start diving linked to each other?!
Jale
Jale, Your after "Descriptive Epidemiology of 153 Diving Injuries With Rebreathers Among French Military Divers From 1979 to 2009
by Gempp, Emmanuel, Louge, Pierre, Blatteau, Jean-Eric, Hugon, Michel".
Regards
Brad
Thanks a lot :cheers:
alexasigno
Member
Unfortunately you don't have much choice. It's the APD mask strap type one or the Draeger. I really don't like the mouthpiece on the Draeger but I'm thinking it's better than drowning.
humpbackdiving
Silent but deadly....
Alex, AP one is the best quality and dont think you can use it in anger(!) but at gbp16.00 cant complain...
and is fairly comfortable. I dont even find it awkward to put it on. it is now a muscle memory when kitting up. BUT I do notice if it is not on!
and is fairly comfortable. I dont even find it awkward to put it on. it is now a muscle memory when kitting up. BUT I do notice if it is not on!
alexasigno
Member
The AP one doesn't have a lip seal though, that's why I went for the Draeger. The ideal would be the Divex one which is fitted to their military CCRs but they won't sell them to the public.
What about getting an Aqualung Lip Seal and using it with the APD one? To be honest, i used the APD one with a golem shrimp, and it seemed to just pull it up into my mask which was a pain. I prefer the drager one, which just pulls the actual mouthpeice into your face rather than the whole assembly.
alexasigno
Member
Thanks for the hint. Haven't seen one of those before. I'm sure I could silicone it on so it doesn't leak between the mouthpiece and the shield. Will have to order one and have a play.
alexasigno
Member
The Draeger one shouldn't pull against your gums as the lip shield should stop it.
Ben Field
All IMVHO obviously...
I got a Draeger one, heart-stoppingly expensive for what it is but seems like it might last a long time, I wonder if the lip-pad could be reused when the bite piece finally dies, although I've never bitten through a mouthpiece yet (touch wood)
Anyone got a link/pic of the Divex one?
Anyone got a link/pic of the Divex one?