Personal equipment report: Masks

Well, I've been basically ordered to get on with this blog. Can you believe that?? As an act of rebellion my first report will not be on trips but rather the equipment I use and my opinions and comparisons. Let's not forget that even as a dive pro, I am still a consumer when it comes to my equipment. I paid cold hard cash for all my gear so I expect to get bang for buck as well. Unfortunately, I am a very different type of consumer than other divers. You'll begin to see a pattern soon enough. For the record, I don't get paid to wear any brand of gear, I am definitely not sponsored either. I buy all my own gear.

Face Masks
Let's begin with masks. What are you looking for in a mask? It's simple enough. You'll need to see underwater. In the great spirit of compromise, you either get a big field of vision or low volume. Having a big lens on your mask means having greater peripheral vision. It also means the mask will be bigger and therefore have a larger volume. All this means, simplified, is that should you need to clear the mask of water, there's more water to clear. I wear big masks with big lens. Mask clears don't bother me in the least but then again, mask clears for regular everyday diving hardly ever happen. Most dives you'll probably never need to clear your mask. With proper fit and plenty of spit, you'll be fine. However, if you're still going to freak out if water gets into your mask, then by all means get a low volume mask. There's no guarantee a careless diver isn't going to kick your mask off accidently and remain blissfully unaware of what's just happened. I don't like oblivious divers but for the record, my wife hates you buggers!

I should say, those clever people in the R&D departments have been creating masks which have good visual range and (not but!) are reasonably low volume. They're getting better at it too model after model.

I use a low volume mask when I conduct training. This is because I'm not a big guy (and don't have big lungs) and I don't want new students to be under the impression that it takes more effort than 'simple' and 'childishly easy' to clear a mask. I have taught both children and adults. Children are so much easier to teach although strangely enough, all my young students all come from the same school. It's like my own little personal farm. But anyway, back to masks. So for training, I use a Low-Volume-Mask, a TUSA Platina. I have a Big-Ass-Mask (all the better to see you with m'dear), a TUSA Visualator which I used immediately after getting certified up until recently when I bought my Very-Cool-Mask which is a TUSA Visio Pro.

The other big difference you are going to notice is the colour of the silicone skirting. It's either black or it's going to be clear. What's the diff? Not much in my opinion. Clear skirting allows light to enter the mask from the sides as well while black skirting has light entering the mask only from the lens. It's mostly preference. One is not really a lot better than the other and compromise is minimal. I prefer black skirting. Every mask I own has black skirting. True, it may be like looking down a tunnel but black skirting doesn't yellow with age and use like clear does. Clear masks seem to help those who feel claustrophobic wearing face masks. Others like the apparently brighter effect. I successfully converted my wife from clear to black. I bought her a TUSA Concero. A mask she has been happily using since and she sees absolutely no reason to change. She previously used two other masks but wasn't entirely satisfied with either. One was too low volume and therefore too restrictive visually and the other didn't fit exactly. Also, the fact the Concero matches the colour of her fins helped I'm sure! It fits very well which I suppose should be the number one criteria. I should be using a mask with clear skirting for training though. I realise this. This is simply so students can see the exhalation from my nose during mask clearing demos. And the boogers and snot too!

The Platina was my first mask. It's got two things going for it, it's low volume and it has dual piece lenses. Having a mask comprising of two lens pieces quite often means that better manufacturers also provide corrective lenses for the mask. I've even heard of bifocal lenses for masks. Single window lenses don't have corrective lens options.

I bought my Visualator when I noticed as a new student diver that it was a bit difficult to read my SPG when it was clipped to the BC. I have since educated myself and gained a whole lot of comfort being underwater but never mind. The point is that the Visualator has a very large single piece lens. Peripheral vision is very good, great but sometimes it takes an additional breath to clear it fully from being completely flooded.

Lastly, there's my new Visio Pro which is basically plain showing off as it's flashy and the latest and greatest. Its R&D triumph is its lens. It filters out 100% of UV light and lets in 10% more light than other masks. I've held it up next to other masks to light and it does appear a bit brighter than the others but really, is it necessary? I had not ever really noticed any real difference in underwater vision wearing this one compared to my other masks. I bought it because it's still got a large field of vision and is lower volume than my Visualator. Bottom line though, I bought it because it's flash. There, I said it. It looks awesome and I love it.

Does the local TUSA dealer love me? Heck yes. Anyway, I find TUSA masks to be very comfortable and a high quality product. Also, being designed in Japan probably does make it easier to fit smaller Asian faces. At least that's the myth and I suspect, one that TUSA themselves would be happy to cultivate in this region. I happily repeat this whether it's true or not. Regardless of brand, choosing a mask should balance your needs where volume and field of vision are concerned. Number one though, is that the mask must fit! How do you know if it fits? It's in your PADI Open Water Diver Manual too. Put the mask to your face without using the strap. Make sure your hair is not caught in the skirt. You won't need to be diving for very long to realise that water will follow even one strand of hair into your mask. Take a short suck with your nose and hold your breath. The mask, if it fits, will stay on your face without losing suction. Wait a little while to check if air is slowly re-entering the mask. If it does, choose another mask. The shop guy will be happy to assist you. If the flash mask doesn't fit you, you have my sympathies. Choose another one or get real good at mask clears!