The best full face masks

[Diesel298]

i was more commenting about the materal there made of its is prone to getting stiff and crackin over time as oppsoed to the nice soft durable silicone materali used on more expensive masks..
but as stated. bang for your buck its hard to complain about

 

[Boater Dan]

Our Team utilizes demand AGA's and I have my personal Positive Pressure AGA. I prefer the positive pressure. It could be my imagination, but I like the Positive Pressure mask better. I feel it breathes slightly better. Definitely spring for the Ambient Breathing Valve. It makes it much better on the surface and saves air.

Dan

 

[BigJetDriver]

Positive pressure systems have there merits, usually in surface supoplied or PSD applications, but I would not rush to use or recommend one in a recreational situation.

And to be honest I have never seen any advantage with a positive pressure system over a FFM with a good, properly adjusted demand regulator.

AGA's are sort of the AL 80 of FFM masks. Everybody seems to like them and has them but they are none the less a lot less than perfect. They are well suited to public safetey diving but often leave a lot to be desired for a recreational diver who could otherwise find a less expensive mask that does what they need it to do much better than an AGA.

Personally, I prefer the Kirby Morgan/Oceanic/JMC M48 Super Mask

http://www.oceantechnologysystems.com/mk48.shtml

It allows you to remove the lower part of the mask to breathe off a buddy's octo, your octo or a deco bottle without having to remove the entire mask and use a regular backup mask as you would need to do with an AGA or similar mask. If you are diving a FFM and it is not an M48, you need to have a separate face mask along and be able to switch underwater in the event you need to share gas.

You can also get a rebreather pod for the M48 and connect it directly to a rebreather if you go that route.

The reason the AGA is the AL80 of the Public Safety Diving world it that it is what it is...the BEST all around mask for the job, bar none, in terms of general fit, function, reliabililty, and toughness for the tough job at hand.

As for not seeing an advantadge with the positive pressure system, I guess you just have to do PSD work to know. There are good reasons that Gary recommends it. Same here.

As for the M-48 "oral sex" mask, a lot of folks seem to find it restricts the visual field, and a lot comment that it is uncomfortable. You are right that you "can" get the RB pod for it, but you will play Hell searching for it and pay a lot to get it, if and when you find a source.

Just my ppO2's worth. YMMV.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I could be reading this wrong, but Taliesin is asking about FFM's in the PSD forum but is not a PSD diver - so whether the AGA is the best mask for the (PSD) job or not is irrelevant.

He is asking about an FFM for recreational diving and he can spend less and do better than a positve pressure AGA for recrational diving. And since he indicates in his profile that he still has the "technical bug", an M48 is much better suited to his needs if he goes into technical diving with gas switches, etc. You can do it in an AGA - sort of - but you have to choose to use the FFM on your bottom gas or for your deco gas and switch to a backup mask for the other. Alternatively you can use a gas switching block, but that makes me nervous if it is connected to both high percentage O2 deco mixes and bottom mixes as the potential to inadvertantly switch at depth is too great.

I will agree a positive pressure AGA breathes easier than the demand version, but that's due to the quality of the demand second stage in the AGA. Another FFM mask, like an M48, with a better second stage will reduce or eliminate the difference in inhalation effort without the excessive gas usage.

Like I said, the AGA is the AL80 of the PSD world and that unfortunately gives it a lot more status than it deserves in the rest of the diving world.

 

[BigJetDriver]

I could be reading this wrong, but Taliesin is asking about FFM's in the PSD forum but is not a PSD diver - so whether the AGA is the best mask for the (PSD) job or not is irrelevant.

Like I said, the AGA is the AL80 of the PSD world and that unfortunately gives it a lot more status than it deserves in the rest of the diving world.

Well, DA, you ARE reading it wrong. Taliesin came to the Public Safety Diving forum because, as he said:

Hey, you guys are the pros & I'm sure a lot of you go the "full face" route, so I thought I'd get your opinions before I headed that direction.

Obviously, you come to our forum, and ask us what we use in our jobs, and the answer you get (largely) is the Divator Mark II, colloquially known as the "AGA" because of it's history. So no, the answer is not in any sense irrelevant. If he had not wanted the opinion of the pro's, he would have gone to the General Scuba forum.

As I said before, the AGA has earned its place among professionals in the PSD world by being a damn fine mask. If fits a lot of people well. Because of the airflow pattern, you cannot fog it up, not that that matters much in PSD work, because we normally can't see a damn thing anyway! It is rugged, is in such general use that spares are readily available when it does need repair, and works well with comms.

I cannot argue with your contention that there are cheaper FFM's on the market, and they seem to work well enough in most cases for recreational use. That is one approach.

I also cannot argue with your dislike of switch-blocks for gas switching in technical dives. Setting the switch to the wrong position seems to be an all-too easy mistake to make, and the result is almost inevitably fatal.

Still, as I said, the M-48 "oral sex" mask is not cheap by any means, and quite a few people find it clunky and uncomfortable. Its use is not necessary for gas switching. That can be done as easily with commercial large-bore locking quick disconnects, thereby offering a more positive control over the "switch" while remaining on your FFM. Truly it is a case of "Chaque au a son gout, monsieur!"

Still, you may well be right, both the AGA and the M-48 may well be overkill for Taliesin's needs, and he might well be served by a lesser, but much cheaper unit. I will reiterate my advice and that of the others here who suggest that the man to steer him right will be John Hott of Ocean Technology Systems.

Here: www.oceantechnologysystems.com

Truly, as the Brits would say, it's a case of "Horses for courses." Or as Mr. Natural used to put it: "Get the right tool for the job, Kids!" :doctor:

Just my ppO2's worth, YMMV!

 

[teamheatwave]

I'd like to toss one more into the mix - very similar to the AGA's are the Poseidon Atmosphere FFM. It does offer both demand and positive pressure and comes with the Jetstream regulators.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I'd like to toss one more into the mix - very similar to the AGA's are the Poseidon Atmosphere FFM. It does offer both demand and positive pressure and comes with the Jetstream regulators.

Might want to check this thread on the Poseidon Atmosphere - at least one customer is very unhappy.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=134712

 

[BigJetDriver]

Good memory there, DA! Evidently the Poseidon version is weak. As two of the folks say on that thread, the servo is a weak-link piece. I haven't tried it myself, and certainly won't bother now!

 

[Taliesin]

Thanks-a-bunch, guys! You've given me quite a few options to test out & I'll do just that. Just to clarify my original thought process... I asked you guys what you liked because you earn your living underwater, would probably want to be comfortable while you do it, and probably use FFMs more than any other diving group.

I am just a rec diver these days, but I'm shootin' for the "spoiled dilletant" gear package.

Just so I don't miss anything in my quest to tech-up, is there a holy grail of FFMs out there that you guys might drool over, but might not have mentioned already because of its obscene price tag? If not, I think I'm good to go!

All the input has been MUCH appreciated!...and if I haven't said it already... Thanks for doing what you do -- some of us civilians appreciate it!

Taliesin

 

[PWCPD Diver]

The reason the AGA is the AL80 of the Public Safety Diving world it that it is what it is...the BEST all around mask for the job, bar none, in terms of general fit, function, reliabililty, and toughness for the tough job at hand.

As for not seeing an advantadge with the positive pressure system, I guess you just have to do PSD work to know. There are good reasons that Gary recommends it. Same here.

As for the M-48 "oral sex" mask, a lot of folks seem to find it restricts the visual field, and a lot comment that it is uncomfortable. You are right that you "can" get the RB pod for it, but you will play Hell searching for it and pay a lot to get it, if and when you find a source.

Just my ppO2's worth. YMMV.

X2