General Info – Page 10 – Dive To Escape

Your mask is the window that you see the underwater world through, Having a mask with a slow leak that you have to keep clearing, lenses that continually fog up during a dive, and a strap that constantly pulls your hair when you put it on or worse yet breaks right before your dive, causing you to cancel your dive. Knowing what to look for in a quality mask that fits you properly will help you avoid all these issues allowing you more time to focus on other things. A properly fitted mask will quickly become one of if not your most favourite pieces of equipment. The best way to find a mask that will fit you properly is to place the mask on your face without putting the strap over your head. Then, with the mask placed on your face without the strap, breathe in through your nose if that mask forms a seal where you can let go of it while you inhale through your nose, causing a vacuum and sucking the mask to your face. Next, with the mask on using a mirror, make sure the mask forms a good seal around the creases of your eyes. Again, there should be a good seal, with a substantial portion of the skirt creating a seal. Then the mask has the right fit for you. That is the main thing to look for in a properly fitted mask. Let’s take a closer look at all the other factors affecting a properly fitted mask. Hopefully, this will lead you to have a perfectly fitted mask that you love and maybe save you some money on the way. Parts of a dive mask Frame Framed masks are slightly bigger than unframed but more robust, and I think they last longer. If a framed mask fits you perfectly, I recommend selecting that one for your regular mask. Choose a frameless mask as your secondary mask for storage in a side pocket, and the smaller size will make it easier to store. If you need prescription lenses with your dive mask, a framed mask will be the best option for you. The Frame disassembles, and a dive shop technician can install prescription lenses. Frameless masks the lens and the skirt are fused. Lens single, our double The type of lens will be up to you if you plan on growing into photography. Having double lenses may help you look through a viewfinder or help to ad prescriptions to the dive mask. A single-lens make gives you a larger field of view which may be necessary. When you place a mask on your face and inhale, check the mask’s seal on your face, note the field of view of that mask. Look up and down, reach your hand out to your side and move it toward your center line and note when you can start to see it. Then just compare it to other masks you try. Comparing helps you have a subjective way of evaluating which mask you prefer, single or double lens. Skirts black or clear silicon The skirt should always be low volume, and I‘ll be honest, I have only ever seen low-volume masks being sold in dive shops. There are a few reasons for a low volume mask; one is having a low volume of air in your make it easier to clear if it fills with water with a single breath, another reason for having a low volume mask is that it’s easy to equalize when you feel it squeeze as you go deeper. As for the colour of the skirt, I would recommend black only because you won’t run into any glare reflecting through the skirt and reflecting off the lens. One of the first masks I ever bought is a transparent skirt, and I can say that has only ever been an issue a couple of times on the surface in a tropical setting. So if you plan on diving technical or DIR in the future, only use a black skirt that seems to be the standard. Finally, the skirt should be soft silicone or soft rubber. It should not be ordinary plastic. The soft silicone will form a better seal around your face and prevent leaks; also, silicone is more comfortable against your skin over a long dive, and there is less chance of having a skin reaction from the soft silicon. Facial hair should also be considered. I am not ordinarily clean-shaven, so it’s essential to have a mask that forms a good seal despite a five o’clock shadow. So plan to have your normal facial hair situation the day you go to the dive shop to fit a mask. Silicon, Velcro or Buckle Most masks will come with a provided silicon strap, these straps are generally an excellent start for a mask, and if you like the way it works for you, there may be no reason to assessors or change it to one of the alternatives. The positive of the silicon strap is that it is provided, you generally can find a comfortable fit for you, and they are readily available. The main reason to replace a silicone strap is that it will fail at the least opportune time. Therefore, it is essential to have a spare mask strap if you own your gear or are diving regularly (more than 12 times throughout the year). One other good reason to replace the silicone strap is that it isn’t comfortable. If you have long hair, the silicone strap will pull on your hair and tangle, and it also may make it difficult to find a comfortable length on the trap if it is pulling on your hair. Some other options for mask straps one can get velcro straps with a neoprene pad which I am currently using; these are very comfortable and easy to adjust. However, once the velcro wears out, they loosen during a dive and require replacing but are not likely to have a complete failure like a silicon strap. One other option available is a nylons strap with a neoprene pad and quick-adjust buckles. I have no experience with these, but they seem like they could be another practical solution to a durable, comfortable adjustable mask strap. Link to Dans Dive Shop Velco Neoprene mask stap Link to Nylon Buckle Neoprene mask strap 1) Single-lens Framed mask with a transparent skirt 2) Double lens Framed mask with black skirt low volume 3) Single-lens Framed mask large volume mask 4) Single-lens Low volume mask with a black skirt 5) single-lens low volume frameless mask with a black skirt. New Mask When you get your new mask home and before your first dive test, rinse your mask out with water over a sink; if you notice your mask is fogging up, you need to take care of that before going on your dive or the whole dive will be you filling and clearing your mask because you can’t see through the fog in the mask. As i know it, there are only two ways to fix this problem. 1. Grab your new mask remove all the stickers on the lens, and dab the inside of the lens on the side you look through with your favourite brand of toothpaste and rub in it vigorously with your fingers and rinse it out well you don’t want mint water in your eye on your next time you dive, don’t ask how i know this. You may have to do this more than once, but if the fogginess gets better each time, you are on your way. 2. This is the quickest and most effective way to fix the fog issue of a new mask. The problem is that it can be scary if you just spent your hard-earned money, and now I will ask you to take a lighter to it, but that’s what I am going to do. Grab a standard cigarette lighter, not a torch or anything fancy a stander lighter will do, and I want you to run the flame along with the lens for 1-3 seconds. Be mindful to keep away from the skirt, so you don’t affect it in any way. When the flame touches the lens on the side you would be looking through if you were using the mask, you will see something like a film wick away from the flame, and the less will have some black soot on it from the flame. Now clean the lens with the toothpaste-like i mentioned in the first suggestion above. Once rinsed, your mask should be good to use on your first dive, providing you with a clear view of the underwater world. As you can see if you read this far, there are a few things that you should do to have a well-fitting mask. Make sure you have a good seal for your face.Have a low volume, silicone skirt pulse or minus a black skirt A functional, comfortable strap. Here are three suggestions for a mask that I think you can’t go wrong for quality and durability but how a mask fits is still the most important thing to look for. https://www.amazon.com/Hollis-205-4500-07-M1-Frameless-Mask/dp/B00361V0RW/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=dive+mask&qid=1637907406&sr=8-11 https://www.amazon.com/Dive-Rite-UltraClear-Frameless-Black/dp/B00VFEKAIM/ref=sr_1_56?keywords=dive+mask&qid=1637907475&sr=8-56 https://www.amazon.com/Scubapro-Spectra-Window-Silver-Black/dp/B001P4B2BG/ref=sr_1_30?keywords=dive+mask&qid=1637907475&sr=8-30 Everything after that single or double lens fame or frameless is really up to you. Make sure you go to a dive shop you are comfortable with or at least has a large selection this way, you can try on a bunch of different masks that will fit your face perfectly and give you as many choices of the frame or frameless and single or double lens. If you become a regular diver escaping life through your diving, you may find that you will have more than one mask in your dive kit. Still, your dive mask will quickly become your favourite piece of equipment because it allows you to see and the function it provides when fitted and working correctly.