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PSA: a greenhorn asked me why I spit in my mask before every dive, and I had to actually stop and think about it
Was gearing up on a barge off Port Fourchon last week and the new kid watched me hawk a loogie into my mask and rub it around like it was nothing. He goes, so is that like a good luck thing or does it actually do something, and I opened my mouth to joke about tradition and just stood there. Turns out I've been doing it for 11 years because the old hand who trained me did it, and I never once questioned whether spit beats plain water or that $8 defog gel in my bag. I wiped it out, used the gel, and had the clearest run of the month, 40 minutes at 60 feet with zero fog. So now I gotta ask, is there anybody here who actually swears spit works better, or did we all just inherit the habit from some guy in 1985?
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taylor_moore20h ago
The line about standing there with your mouth open after 11 years hit me hard because that was me too, except I was on the other side of it. I used to be the guy who swore by spit, would've argued with anybody who told me to use gel, mostly because my first dive instructor drilled it into us like it was gospel. Then one trip I ran out of spit patience and grabbed my buddy's defog bottle just to shut him up, and I couldn't believe how much clearer it was. I fought it for a while, told myself it was a fluke, but after a few more dives I had to admit I'd just been copying some old habit without ever testing it. Spit works okay if you're in a pinch, but it's never gonna beat actual defog and you already proved that yourself with the 40 minute run. Funny how much of what we do down there is just hand me down ritual dressed up as technique.
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