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DIVING MASKS
Go to any dive shop and one thing becomes painfully obvious, there are A LOT of masks to choose from! Every year dive gear corporations try to come up with new and novel features that look better, fit better, and yes even function better than last years models. One might be lead to believe that masks are there to just help you see underwater. While this is true there are several other factors to consider and many manufacturers have their own ideas on the best way to make sure you see everything once you are underwater.
Masks range from one lens to as many as eight. They come in all different colors, shapes, and sizes. Before trying on a mask keep the following in mind:
High Volume Masks:
The word volume is used to refer to the amount of volume held between your face and the lens of your mask. High volume masks tend to have windows to increase peripheral vision, but tend to work best for people snorkeling rather than people diving on scuba.
Low Volume Masks:
Low volume masks take a different approach to increasing peripheral vision. Instead of adding windows, most diving masks will try to get the lens of the mask as close to the divers face as possible. Not only does this reduce the amount of air required to clear your mask, but it also increases the peripheral vision. To demonstrate this point hold your hands to your face as if you were protecting yourself from the suns glare. Now pull your hands back towards the back of your head. As your hands move further and further back you will notice your ability to see things to the side of you increase. When testing a mask hold out your arms and bring them forward until you are able to see them. This is a great way to test that masks peripheral vision. To test the amount of downward vision you have look down and move your hands down from your chin until you are able to see your hands. This will help give you a good idea of whether or not your mask has enough downward vision to suit your diving needs.
Purge Masks:
Purge masks are similar to high volume masks in that while they are great for snorkeling, they are not as well suited to scuba diving. Purge masks tend to be high profile masks with one window far away from the divers face in order to accommodate the purge valve. This reduces your downward vision as well as your peripheral vision. If you do purchase a purge mask be sure to gently rinse your mask. This will avoid any damage from occurring to your mask and will also prevent the mask diaphragm from bending upon itself.
Fitting Your Mask
To properly fit your mask you can:
1) Gentle inhale through your nose to make sure you have a secure enough fit to prevent water seepage into your mask. The reasoning being in this method if you are able to obtain a proper amount of suction in your mask this way, when you have the added pressure of the water column and a mask strap the mask should fit as well.
2) With a buddy hold your mask to your face will looking upwards. Have your buddy look around the edges of the skirt to make sure water will not have a direct route inside your mask. This method works well for men with facial hair who must use food grade silicon lube or petroleum jelly to improve their fit around their mustache. Keep in mind the most common places for leeks occur around the eyes and temples near the hairline.
Clear skirt versus dark skirts???
Many liken the choice between dark and clear skirts to a life and death decision. In all reality clear versus dark skirts is a personal preference. However, you may want to keep in mind the following before you decide.
Clear skirt masks let more light in to your mask which is a good idea if you tend to be slightly claustrophobic or are apprehensive about being underwater. Clear skirts also tend to give you a greater amount of awareness around you throughout your dive. Even though the image to the side of you may not be in focus, you can still detect your buddies presence without directly turning towards your buddy. The disadvantages of a clear skirt mask are that they do tend to yellow. You should keep in mind the yellowing of the mask is only cosmetic and does not affect the performance of the mask. Further if you do plan to do any snorkeling at the surface with your mask, some clear skirt masks will cause a surface glare to appear inside your mask which will make it difficult for you to see much of anything at the surface. Keep in mind to check for glare when chosing a clear skirt mask.
Dark skirt masks tend to make the colors underwater appear to be more vivid as light outside the mask enters it. This feature also helps some photographers better judge the amount of ambient light around them. Additionally, unlike clear skirt masks, dark skirt masks do not yellow.
You have purchased your mask… now what!?
Before you use your mask you may need to remove the silicon layer on the lens(es) of your mask. To do this I recommend finding a tooth paste with grit in it to remove the thin layer on the mask lens. If you do not do this you will spend the vast majority of the dive flooding and clearing your mask to remove the haze that appears every time your buddy points at something cool to look at! While you are cleaning the inside of the lenses don’t forget to treat the outside of your mask lens as well. To treat your mask apply a small amount of toothpaste to the lens and vigorously rub it over the mask lens. Once done thoroughly rinse your mask out to remove any lingering scent of toothpaste! This should go a long way to prevent defogging!
A note of caution!!!!
Some masks contain a special inner coating that actually prevents fogging from occurring! Ask your local expert about your mask before you treat it in this manner!
Defog Versus Spit!
To preface this I realize half of the diving community will be up and arms in this one but here it goes anyways: use defog. The reason being is spit does not work for everyone. Not only is spitting in something you will be wearing on your face crude, it is also unsanitary (keep in mind your mouth is a live with bacteria that is better suited to your mouth than your face). Defog not only works for everyone (although I should say try and find the more paste like stuff as opposed to the liquid kind) but it is also sanitary. Not only will it bail you out if you forget to clean your mask, but it will not stink up your mask should you forget to wash it after using it.
Copyrighted by Ryan Jaeger & Matthew J. Wahlrab 2002 - 20032