Mask sizes - new equipment frontier

[meisburger]

When I was a boy in the sixties you could go to a diving store and one whole wall would be covered with masks, all different styles and shapes and sizes. A US Divers tri-view with purge might be too wide, but a USD yellow oval might fit perfectly. Lots of different manufacturers made different shaped masks, and somewhere yours was waiting. All this diversity was required, because rubber was not perfectly flexible.

Fast forward to now. Consolidation in the industry means fewer manufacturers, while the advent of extremely flexible silicon means perfect fit is no longer as important as it once was. To fit as many faces as possible every manufaturer has adopted the one-size fits all philosophy, gearing their mask to a universal "average" face. Usually the only concession to size will be a "youth" model.

Too bad. Just because a mask seals, doesn't mean it fits well. My Big Eyes fit fairly well on my face, but has a nose pocket so large that it tends to float me face up at the surface. My wife, who is Asian, can't get a mask that fits very well because her face is just not "average" (European).

Why not mask sizes? How about Big Eyes, extra wide with button nose? Or how about "horse face with extra nose"? Of course, it would make the masks more expensive, but I dive enough that I would be willing to pay for that dream fit mask. Even better would be some process that would custom mold a skirt to the users face shape. I'd pay for that. Would you?

Tim

 

[jonnythan]

My shop is small and still has several dozen different masks, all of which fit differently. Cressi makes what amount to updated models of the Big Eyes, the Matrix and Lince, which are obviously sized to different faces (the Lince fits very small, the Matrix fits a bit bigger than the Big Eyes).

 

[meisburger]

My shop is small and still has several dozen different masks, all of which fit differently. Cressi makes what amount to updated models of the Big Eyes, the Matrix and Lince, which are obviously sized to different faces (the Lince fits very small, the Matrix fits a bit bigger than the Big Eyes).

Well, maybe I exaggerate when I say they are all sized the same. They are different, but I have the feeling the variation is less than it used to be. In any case, when I shop for masks I never find one that fits perfectly, although many seal. An old Technisub gives me a red mark on the forehead, where the frame is too close to the skirt. An old USD Hawaii is a bit wide in the lower cheek, meaning the pressure on other parts of the skirt is greater than it needs to be in other areas, and that when there is some external pressure like a quick turn of the head, this is the area that will leak. Although my nose is not small, every mask I own has a Jimmy Durante nose pocket much larger than necessary.

Maybe I just have an odd size head, but I think it would be nice to have a custom fit mask.

 

[Shiprekd]

I'm like you Meis, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. My face is thin and I have a helluva time getting a mask to even seal properly other than cinching it tight and the infamous red marks showing their ugly details. If there were a way to have a "face-formed" mask, I would definately pay what it's worth.

Unfortunately we don't have any cressi dealers around here to go try them on. I wouldn't buy a mask off the net for any amount of money because I know it wouldn't fit.. lol

 

[lissette]

My shop is small and still has several dozen different masks, all of which fit differently. Cressi makes what amount to updated models of the Big Eyes, the Matrix and Lince, which are obviously sized to different faces (the Lince fits very small, the Matrix fits a bit bigger than the Big Eyes).

I had a really difficult time finding a mask to fit me properly, either it was too big and wouldnt seal, or it would seal but because of it size it would sit on the hairline causing a possible leak. (I have long hair i put in two braids when i dive but sometimes stubborn curls escape!). I had no luck with the Aqualung range and Tusa while good and would seal ok, was just a little wide for comfort.

The Cressi Lince had just come into the divestore that day and was sitting in boxes still on the shopfloor.... they gave me one to try as a last try...and PERFECT! It was brilliant, i can see my waist when i look down now because it is so low profile, i can see to the sides better, it sits lower on my forehead so my hair doesnt get caught and because of the low volume it is effortless to clear!
It is amazing the difference a really, really well fitting mask can make!

 

[meisburger]

I'm like you Meis, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. My face is thin and I have a helluva time getting a mask to even seal properly other than cinching it tight and the infamous red marks showing their ugly details. If there were a way to have a "face-formed" mask, I would definately pay what it's worth.

Unfortunately we don't have any cressi dealers around here to go try them on. I wouldn't buy a mask off the net for any amount of money because I know it wouldn't fit.. lol

I know how you feel. I bought my current mask and my wife's mask off the net because we had already tried them at a dive show in Singapore. Would have bought them there, but the company rep wasn't selling (!). What I really want is a manufacturer (are you listening Scott) to develop a process for making a physical or virtual mold of my face using clay or perhaps digital laser measurement so that I can have a custom fit skirt. Thats the only way to achieve the lowest volume and best possible visibility in a mask.

 

[aquaoren]

When I was a boy in the sixties you could go to a diving store and one whole wall would be covered with masks, all different styles and shapes and sizes. A US Divers tri-view with purge might be too wide, but a USD yellow oval might fit perfectly. Lots of different manufacturers made different shaped masks, and somewhere yours was waiting. All this diversity was required, because rubber was not perfectly flexible.

Fast forward to now. Consolidation in the industry means fewer manufacturers, while the advent of extremely flexible silicon means perfect fit is no longer as important as it once was. To fit as many faces as possible every manufaturer has adopted the one-size fits all philosophy, gearing their mask to a universal "average" face. Usually the only concession to size will be a "youth" model.

Too bad. Just because a mask seals, doesn't mean it fits well. My Big Eyes fit fairly well on my face, but has a nose pocket so large that it tends to float me face up at the surface. My wife, who is Asian, can't get a mask that fits very well because her face is just not "average" (European).

Why not mask sizes? How about Big Eyes, extra wide with button nose? Or how about "horse face with extra nose"? Of course, it would make the masks more expensive, but I dive enough that I would be willing to pay for that dream fit mask. Even better would be some process that would custom mold a skirt to the users face shape. I'd pay for that. Would you?

Tim

Answering your question whether I'd pay more for a custom mask is a clear NO.
I had never the trouble of finding a mask that would fit me well. They somehow all fit and seal well. IMHO, with all the different companies there are so many masks (Eventhough many come from the same sources and are only renamed) that it is rather hard not to find a well fitting mask for the average face.
I may would have a different opinion if I would have trouble finding a fitting mask though.

 

[meisburger]

Its great if you can find a mask that fits perfectly. I still have not....

 

[a878bob]

The more I dive, the more important a well fitting mask becomes. I also have never found just the right mask. Yeah!! I'd pay!!

 

[Shiprekd]

[p][/p]Liss - Sounds like I have to check out the Lince just to see what it's like - now to just find an lds that carries Cressi.. Kudos to you for sharing the experience.

A soft clay type of mold would probably do the trick. There are kits out there that you can pour silicone over your feet or body parts to make a form. It would just be getting a manufacturer to actually tool up for something as custom as that. The attachment part could be pretty universal to its offered frames, it would be just trying to mold the seal. I would buy a spare replacement seal or two knowing I wouldn't have to buy another mask

I would definately pay the extra. If I'm willing to drop $3-8 hundred on a reg, bcd, or a comp, then a major piece like a mask at even $2-3 hundred is not out of the question.