Best Scuba Diving Mask 2021 How to choose a Dive Mask

Equipment | Gear | Mask

How to Choose the Best Scuba Diving Mask & How to defog your Dive Mask

Best Scuba Diving Mask 2021 How to choose a Dive Mask

Equipment, Gear, Mask

What is the best Scuba Diving Mask?

The Best Scuba Diving Mask is the Mask that keeps the water out of your eyes. They have been designed to withstand the pressure underwater.

The glass

The glass of a scuba diving mask must be “Tempered Glass” to resist the higher pressure. If it does break, it will break in small pieces that won’t cut, like car glass. But to be honest, in 5 years I have never seen glass breaking. To be sure the lens is made of tempered glass the word “Tempered” or the letter “T” must be inscribed on the glass.

The skirt

The skirt of the mask must include the nose. We can’t scuba dive with swimming goggles. This is so you can equalize the pressure in the air space formed by the mask. Failure to equalize this pressure can cause a mask squeeze.

The skirt should be made of silicone. There are a few reasons for this, the comfort, dryness and the seal on your face. Today most of the skirts are made of silicone, or even “Crystal silicon” which is more comfortable, more silky, more …. Cheaper rubber masks will feel harder on your face, are more likely to let water in and will not last as long. An underskirt gives better adhesion to your face and prevents small drops of water leaking into the mask when you smile for example.

What is the Best Dive Mask for Scuba Diving?

The Best Dive Mask for Scuba Diving is the one that fits your face well. Everyone has a different face, so the right mask for you isn’t necessarily the best mask for me. The only way to find the best mask for you is to try them on. It should be comfortable and give you a good field of vision.

The Best Dive Mask for Scuba Diving for me is the Aqualung Micro Mask. But it might not be the best mask for you as I assume you have a different face to me.

To have the optimal field of vision you have to remember that the mask with the biggest glass is not necessarily going to give you the widest field of vision. We also have to consider the distance the glass is from your eyes. A larger single glass lens can give you a narrower field of vision than two smaller lenses that are closer to your eyes.

Thinking about this, I choose a really low profile mask, as I prefer a small lens close to my eyes. This means there is less refraction (magnification) of objects underwater, it’s much easier to clear water from a low volume mask than a bigger one and it gives me a wide field of view, but still with small glass lenses.

About the debate between transparent or opaque skirt. For me, there is no question. The skirt must be opaque, and this is for one simple reason. Transparent skirts let light in at the side, the reflection on the glass can be very annoying. I already have this problem with my reading glasses, I don’t want to have this glare in my mask when I scuba dive. So for me, the transparent skirt doesn’t even exist.

How do I choose a Diving Mask?

Choosing your first scuba diving mask for your scuba equipment can be a difficult process. You find yourself in front of a wall with 100’s of masks that can seem all the same. This is why today, I have decided to explain how to choose the right mask for you.

To start you have to know that I have spent more time in a scuba diving shop trying on masks and looking at all the new gadgets, than in clothes shops trying on the latest fashions.

These are the 5 steps I use to try on masks:

  1. Be sure your face is dry, without makeup (facials cream and other facial product prevent a good seal of the skirt on your face).
  2. Put the mask on your face making sure all my hair is out of the way.
  3. Breath in slowly with your nose until you feel a little pressure where the skirt sticks to your face. This step is to do with or without the strap, I do it without, my husband does it with because of his beard. If you use the strap be careful that it’s not to tight or to lose.
  4. While holding your breath (to keep the mask stuck to your face), look around you (up-down-left-right) as much as you can. Try with a regulator or snorkel. When looking around ask yourself, Can I feel the mask moving? Is the skirt sealed properly? Do I feel air coming in? Do I feel discomfort?
  5. Repeat the steps 1 to 4 with as many different masks as possible. It is really important to try a range of masks, different brands, and styles, to find the best mask for your face. Imagine we are in a scuba diving shop, in front of a shelf full of masks, by following the above steps we should be left with a few masks that are suitable, maybe more.

How much does a Scuba Mask cost?

A Scuba Mask costs about $30 – $150

What is a low volume Dive Mask?

A low volume dive mask is a mask that rests closer to the face. The internal volume of the mask is lower when compared with a standard mask. As it has a lower volume it reduces the pressure on the face. As the glass rests closer to the face the field of vision is often better.

What is a frame-less Dive Mask?

A frame-less dive mask is a mask that has been designed without a hard plastic frame. They are more flexible which means that they can flex to fit your face better, fold up and go in your pocket and they are less likely to break if you sit on them.

What is a Polarized Dive Mask?

Polarized dive masks are dive masks that have a tint on the outside so they look like cool sunglasses. The disadvantage is that other divers can not see your eyes.

If a diver is panicking the correct response is to make physical contact with the panicking diver. Then you get them to look into your eyes. Your calm reassuring eyes take away the panic. Of course, if you are wearing a polarized mask that does not happen, instead of seeing your calming and reassuring eyes they see themselves in a mirror panicking which inevitably cascades the panic.

So if you want to look cool great. I would rather be safe than looking cool because being safe is the coolest thing you can do whilst scuba diving.

How do you defog a Scuba Diving Mask?

This is a difficult subject, as each mask is different but whichever mask you buy, all-new masks need a treatment inside the glass to take off a silicon layer that is left on during fabrication in the factory. There are different ways to take this layer. The best scuba diving mask defog techniques are as follows.

1) Burn the inside of the glass:

Take a lighter, pass the flame on the inside of the glass. Be careful to not burn the skirt. You will see the layer burning off. Once the glass is all burnt, you’ll see black marks on the lens, wait for it to cool down and wipe off the black char.

2) Toothpaste:

Choose a simple toothpaste, put a small dab on the inside of the lens, rub it around to cover the all-glass evenly. Let the toothpaste dry, generally, I leave it overnight or until I need to use the mask again. It could be a few days or weeks, but months should be fine. When I need to use it I clean it with fresh water and take off all the residue, remember that if it gets in your eyes it can sting, but it does give you minty fresh eyes.

3) Other solutions:

I read somewhere while preparing this article, that you can buy an “industrial” product to take of this silicone layer. As I never used it, and as I don’t want to miss lead you, I decided to not speak any more about this.

If you want, like my husband, you can burn your mask before each dive, or toothpaste it after each day of diving to prevent the fog from forming.

But always remember before each dive use your saliva or “anti-fog” product. Similar to the toothpaste, spit or spray “anti-fog” product on the inside of the lens. Rub it so it covers the whole glass. Rinse it with water before diving. This leaves a protective layer on the glass that prevents fog forming.

Whatever you decide to do, remember that all masks, environments, and people are different. My husband and I use the same mask, his mask seams to fog more than mine does. This is why he started to burn it before each dive. For my part, I burn my mask every 6 months, or when I dive with husband and see him doing it. For the same reason, you will never really know how a mask fogs before buying it and using it.

How do I look after my Diving Mask?

After diving it’s important to clean your mask with fresh water. Salt and other contaminants that dry on the mask will cause damage over time. Pay particular attention to the silicone skirt, buckle and strap as these areas will wear and split if not cared for properly.

It’s time for you to go and find the mask for you, like a professional, in your local scuba diving shop.

The Best Scuba Diving Mask

If you want to know which mask my husband and myself choose. We fell in love with the “Micro-mask” from “Aqualung”. We have sworn by this mask for the last 4 years. It’s really low volume give us a really good field of view, and clearing it when water gets in is easy. We love it so much we have a back up one untouched in his box just in case. The best scuba diving mask is….