OTS Spectrum reviews ?

[Akimbo]

It would sure be slick if the ABV were at the top of a snorkel. It would make a FFM much easier to use on long surface swims. Cressi had a pretty crude one for their FFM in the 1960 made from soldered Copper plumbing parts and Chrome plated. The "valve" was little more than a cap held on the top of the tube with rubber that look suspiciously like an innertube.

 

[CapsFan22]

I'm curious about the visibility of the Spectrum:

1) vs a traditional mask?

2) vs the Guardian

The guardian looks to have more of a wrap-around lens while the Spectrum looks more like a traditional single lens mask. Is there an appreciable increase of peripheral vision over a traditional mask (I currently dive with a dual-lens mask), and is there an appreciable decrease vs the guardian?

 

[Resqdivemedic]

I think the visibility is better than a traditional mask and about equal to the Guardian. There is some decrease in peripheral vision vs. the Guardian but my opinion is it doesn't really affect the overall view through the mask.

 

[CapsFan22]

I think the visibility is better than a traditional mask and about equal to the Guardian. There is some decrease in peripheral vision vs. the Guardian but my opinion is it doesn't really affect the overall view through the mask.

Perfect, thanks for the response. Hopefully, I will be in one of these soon. The Spectrum is drawing me in.

 

[Resqdivemedic]

I liked it as soon as I tried it on in the shop. I got the tinted lenses, less glare at the surface.

 

[ScubaSteve85]

As someone who has always struggled with mask leak around my smile lines, the fit is fantastic and field of view is great. I've only gotten it wet once so far in the shallow end of the pool and I struggled with the regulator breathing smoothly, but I'm going to try to get it out on a real dive next week and hopefully it will be better. Definitely need to work on some mask clearing drills as well, but I was impressed that I was still able to get a breath even when I intentionally flooded the mask.

 

[CapsFan22]

@ScubaSteve85

How did the mask work for you out of the pool?

 

[Takimbe]

any update on the ABV?

 

[ScubaSteve85]

@ScubaSteve85

How did the mask work for you out of the pool?

Interesting question! It worked out pretty well but overall I'm not sure that FFM diving is right for me.

The good:

• No Leaks! Even when I intentionally flooded the mask, clearing it was super easy.
• Breathing through my nose was a very cool feeling. I can see using less air on a FFM once you're used to it due to the ability to breathe more naturally.

The bad:

• Fogged like crazy. The reason I intentionally flooded the mask several times was to try to clear out the fogged lens. I cleaned the glass prior to use and use an anti-fog agent, but it was still a big problem.
• Even when the glass was clear, I found visibility significantly reduced due to a narrow field of view. The spectrum sits too far off the face to provide an acceptable field of course view for my purposes.
• Another air pocket. I don't think I realized the impact of having a large airpocket on your face. It through off my trim a bit, but it also resulted in the mask wanting to float off my face. Maybe I didn't tighten the straps correctly, but the mask kept wanting to float up over my chin.

Overall, I was impressed with the build quality and really wanted to love this mask, but I just don't think FFM diving is for me. I would love to try a Guardian at some point in the future because I think it would address the issues with fogging and field of view, but right now that's not in my budget. I'm not saying the Spectrum isn't right for anybody, it just wasn't right for me. If anybody is interested in trying it, PM me as I will likely be selling mine.

 

[Mike126]

I'm curious about the fit of the nose pocket. I have a larger face and a higher bridge. Usually I can’t wear single lens masks like Atomics etc.

Is their sufficient room for the larger faces/noses?