Buy This Mask If You Like - We Did

There are a great many masks available for the snorkeller to buy and unsurprisingly, a great deal of advice about which one is best. This leaves the first time buyer with a problem – which one should they buy? Obviously there is no point putting too much stock in the advertising blurb that manufacturers put out – they’re always going to say that their masks are the best and are very unlikely to point out any flaws - at least not deliberately. There is also no point in reading all those “top ten” lists that you find in diving magazines and review websites. These lists seem to appear with such depressing regularity that it’s almost impossible for any mask not to have appeared in one or another – or all of them for that matter. How these lists are compiled is also a little bewildering. We saw one list that led with this description: The Sprite’s cool design cues — bright-white skirt and floral accents — will appeal to women who like to add a bit of flash to their kit

OK so it’s white with little flowers on it and some women might like that –some men might too – but why in, Neptune’s sodden backside, does that make it a “top ten” top tip? You could, alternatively, visit your local diving store and ask the Brad (see sport diving needs a hero) behind the counter what they suggest. However this is probably not a good idea as the conversation tends to go like this:

Buyer: “Hello I’d like to but a mask please, what do you recommend”?
Brad: “What are you going to do with it”?
Buyer: “Err…. I was going to put it on my face – at least that’s what you’re meant to do right”?
Brad: “I meant what type of diving are you going to do – what are the conditions, what depth and all that”?
Buyer: “Actually, I was just going to do a bit of snorkelling”?
Brad: “Snorkelling”?
Buyer: “Yes”.
Brad: “Snorkelling”?
Buyer: “Yes – snorkelling”
Brad with deep despairing sigh and a wave of the hand: “The cheap stuff is over there in the bin marked discount”.

Of course some diving stores have picked up on this sporting discrimination and realised that “selling stuff” sometimes means being nice to the people with the money, such as this store in Chiswick, London. So faced with all these obstacles to actually buying a decent Mask what can you do? Well the Dangerous Snorkelling Club has come up with an idea.

We’re not going to tell what to buy, what we are going to do is tell you what we bought and why. So let’s start with that mask. We use two masks the first is the Mares Liquid Skin. Here’s what the manufacturer says:

 

The most important innovation since the introduction of silicone masks. LiquidSkin, Mares Bi-silicone and exclusive technology, uses two different types of silicone: a firmer portion for support structure and a softer portion for contact with your face. It is 45% softer for unparalleled comfort and 270% more elastic for a perfect fit.

See what we mean about advertising “blurb”! Now we presume that by being 45% softer they mean it’s 45% softer than normal silicon and likewise it is 270% more elastic than normal silicon as well, either that or they are just plucking stuff out of the air. In our opinion the field of vision is excellent and it has a very soft seal, which makes it feel like you're wearing a fluffy bunny on your face. As for elasticity – it’s as flexible as an Olympic gymnast and will fit snugly into the smallest of spaces in your luggage and at less than 200 grams, it’s as damaging to your weight allowance as a pair of woolly socks. The biggest selling point though, as far as we are concerned, is the looks. The Liquid Skin has the head-turning looks of Aston Martin, Ray-Ban and a supermodels cleavage all rolled into one. Not bad for a mask that retails at around £35. Of course the Mares Liquid Skin is a mask more suited to SCUBA or freediving so if we are not going to dive below a few metres we use our second choice mask which is the Beuchat Super Compensator. Here’s the technical stuff:

 Update of the Beuchat Compensator mask, the first mask with an angled window and finger wells, invented in 1958. Inclined oval single lens to extend the vertical field of vision, Black rubber skirt and internal finger wells for equalisation. Black rubber double safety strap. Brass rim. Aluminium buckles.

Most diving experts will tell you that masks that use rubber don’t last as long as those that use silicon and that is very true. However with a little bit of care this mask can outlast any silicon competitor within its price range. The field of vision allowed by it’s single inclined lens is unsurpassed and the retro (sixties James Bond) looks hark back to a day when diving truly was the domain of pioneers. The Super Compensator has finger wells that allow for equalisation which means that you can use this mask for prolonged dives at depth or short breath-hold dives. However it is really best used for snorkelling where it’s field of vision comes into its own. The Beuchat weighs in at 256 grams which means it’s a lot heavier than most masks and its single lens design lacks the flexibility of virtually all other masks, but at around £20, it’s price, field of view and overall looks far outweigh any of its flaws. In fact we all love this mask more than the Mares and certainly more than anything else we seen on the market.

So there you have it, these are the masks we liked enough to buy and use. What else can we say other than to point out that regardless of what mask catches your attention, remember that everyone’s face is slightly different in size and shape so keep in mind the golden rules when buying a mask.
Make sure it fits, Make sure it fits and finally make sure it fits. Yes we know that we said that three times but it is so fundamental that we thought it was worth mentioning again and again and again.

 Coming soon in DSC equipment: What’s the flipping issue with fins – winding up Brad.