Mares ESA mask - any good ?

[Bossers]

Does anyone have or has had a Mares ESA mask, is it any good ? I have heard it is big & can be hard to clear. what do you think ?

 

[Stone]

Do a search on Mares "and" ESA.

I own one, but it is now a spare. My ESA with a clear skirt let in too much light. The frames around the windows are failure points.
It is expensive.

Now I use a Cressi Big Eyes with a black skirt. It was half the price, low volume, and still has excellent vision characteristics.

 

[Bossers]

Thanks Stone, I was thinking of the ESA because I need corrective lenses which don't seem to be available for the big eyes. but thanks for the info - good point

 

[redacted]

But unless you have a real good reason to spend that much money on that mask, I suggest you look elsewhere. I bought mine because my wife/buddy had a tendency to park herself above & behind me (we're over that now). It made it easier to keep track of her. But of the 3 mask failures I have seen, 2 involved ESA's.

 

[Bossers]

Thanks awap, it is expensive ! but i see your reason for going down the route i was about to, I am getting the impression that I am not going to hear much good stuff about this mask. When you say mask failures - what do you mean, leaks or something worse ?

 

[redacted]

One was a cracked frame & big leak. The other lost a lens. I've been lucky with mine, but alway have an extra mask in my save-a-dive kit.

 

[Diver Lori]

My buddy went through 3 ESA's in a very short period of time. All failures...lens falling out, frame cracking, etc. MARES takes them back "no questions asked" so obviously they know there is a problem.

 

[Lemonade]

Paid $68 for it new about a year ago. Paid another $30 for the corrective lenses.

A hundred bucks for a mask with Rx lenses.... not too bad of a deal, I think.

Two weeks ago on a dive boat someone asked me whether I liked the mask.
“Yeah, what’s not to like?”
And then I was told all the ESA "lens fall out" stories… I guess, I’ve been lucky. Now I'm kinda waiting for it to come apart, but so far no signs of any trouble.



PS Mine is with a black skirt. And yes, it is big, which, in my opinion, is a drawback, but it doesn't make it hard to clear.

 

[jplacson]

I've heard a lot of 'leak' stories as well involving the Esa... but I have a friend who FOUND one on a dive... she now uses it most of the time, no leaks so far.

The only reason I didn't get one was that I have a small face, and the mask looks huge against my face!!! :lol:

I currently use a Mares X-Vision, with a low-volume Mares Vedra as a back-up (this was my old mask)

Another good option is the Mares Lirica... although I don't own one, I've heard it actually gives much better vision than the X-Vision... they didn't have any in stock when I was on the market for a new mask, hence the X-Vision.