Caution Dont Buy a Scuba Diving Mask Until You Read This
Monday, July 13th, 2009When you’re snorkeling and you get water in your mask you simply raise your head out of the water, lift the mask and let the water drain. While diving, you cannot raise your head. You need to secure the mask at your forehead and exhale from your nose to clear the mask. Because you need to clear the mask with your exhaled breath the volume of air between the mask and your face is crucial. 
For an experienced diver this is likely not to be an issue but a new diver may find it disconcerting to be forced to breathe out several times to clear the water from the mask. We are happy with the Tilos Excel Scuba Mask, and the Oceanic Shadow Scuba Mask in this regard. These masks are easy to clear and the soft and smooth silicone make it easy to place pressure on your nose for a valsalva maneuver.
Most masks come with either a clear silicone skirt or a black skirt. The clear skirted silicone mask may eventually yellow with exposure particularly if you leave it in daylight. The same chemical process happens to the black skirt but you cannot see it. The choice of black or clear skirt can depend on which side of the camera you are on. If you are taking photographs or video the black skirt will reduce glare and make it better to see the things in the view finder. Wide ranging masks will be the largest volume but will also give the widest field of vision.
The dimensions of the glass isn’t the only indicator of volume. Typically the more glass you have the more you can see. With the wide ranging you aren’t looking out the side window but you’ll see movement and be in a position to turn to the movement. A mask with a great amount of glass surface can be relatively small volume because the glass is near to the face and not extended by side panels.
Then there are the frameless masks. These masks are the super premium of the group as they leave unfettered your field of vision. The two we most recommend are the Tilos Excel Scuba Mask and Oceanic Shadow Mask.
Quoting Scuba Diving Magazine: The Tilos Excel was the big surprise of this review. It had one of the widest fields of view and a budget-friendly price . With a wide bottom and teardrop shapes below the eyes, the lens favors downward viewing, great for finding belts and buckles on a BC. The top narrows at the churches but has high eyebrows that help when looking up. It all adds up to a mixed vertical range of 75 degrees, the same vertical field of view as the two Atomic masks in this review. Bonus : The upper and lower corners of the mask have a tread-like texture that helps wet hands grip the mask when donning and doffing.
For experienced divers who dive in very cold water or the general public safety divers who wants to communicate underwater there are full face masks. These come in several different styles but will generally have ports to add communication gear.
When deciding how to select a scuba mask you should consider fit, skirt – clear or black, volume of air behind the mask (low or large volume), field of vision, and naturally color. At K2 Scuba we strongly suggest you try on masks at a retailer that will take care of you, in real life or by telephone to fit the mask to you. It is by miles the most important criteria for selecting a mask- it is an essential part of you scuba diving equipment.
A poorly fitting mask will flood and raise stress in your diving experience. Call us, we are here for you and your scuba mask fitment needs.
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