Oval mask for smaller (woman's) face?

[David Wilson]

Search for So Dive scuba masks. Original French rubber masks still being made (was/is Sommap I believe). Less than 15 bucks. Buttery soft rubber, not silicone. There are several vintage styles. I have a few myself. Don't know if it's okay to post the vendor's site so I'll leave it to you to do the search.

Squish is right about the quality and availability of the seven rubber-skirted vintage-style mask models made by Sommap in France. You can view them at Vintage masks - SOMMAP Aquatic Sports Diving masks - SOMMAP and Vintage masks - SOMMAP Aquatic Sports Diving masks - SOMMAP.

A further couple of rubber-skirted oval masks, the Super Compensator and Senior Securit, are also still manufactured in France by Beuchat, which has been in the diving equipment business for decades and was the original creator of the Jet fin. Georges Beuchat invented the compensator mask with French patents going back to 1959; see Dispositif régulateur de pression pour masque de plongée, Dispositif régulateur de pression pour masque de plongée and Dispositif de montage de soupape dévacuation sur masque de plongée.

 

[aquacat8]

Nice!

 

[aquacat8]

Not sure how comfortable equalizing the second one would be!

 

[Squish]

Not sure how comfortable equalizing the second one would be!

With this style mask you can either press the mask to your face and blow through your nose so the air doesn't escape from the mask, or you close off your nostrils by pressing the bottom of the mask to your nostrils.

A breeze!

 

[aquacat8]

I don't think I have the right nose shape to clear by pressing my nose to the bottom, the "divider" part of the nose would hit first preventing the nostrils from sealing... by the way in thunder ball when Bond is on land he's wearing the second type but when he's underwater his mask has magically turned into the first type LOL

 

[Squish]

I don't think I have the right nose shape to clear by pressing my nose to the bottom, the "divider" part of the nose would hit first preventing the nostrils from sealing... by the way in thunder ball when Bond is on land he's wearing the second type but when he's underwater his mask has magically turned into the first type LOL

That's the reason why Bond is a GOD.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Aquacat,

This video clip shows Lotte Hass in the 1940s and 1950s breath-hold diving with her husband, Hans Hass. She wore an oval mask exclusively, and also wore a nose clip under the mask to help equalize. I have used this technique, getting nose clips normally used for swimming. (I would go into the pool after a swimming or diving event, and simply pick them off the bottom of the pool.) This technique works, and will allow hands-free equalization with the first type of mask above. These nose clips are not so tight that you cannot equalize the mask too. This is another way that early divers used to equalize with the oval masks that did not have the nose indents to squeeze the nose with the fingers. You can see Hans Hass with the nose clips in the photo on this page:
WildFilmHistory - Hans Hass filming underwater
You can just barely see both wearing nose clips in this photo:
WildFilmHistory - Hans and Lotte Hass while filming for Unternehmen Xarifa

SeaRat

 

[Squish]

Great idea!
Do they still make those things?
As a kid, I saw other kids wearing them in the local pool. I thought it was silly.
Now some 40 years later I think it's cool.
Must be excess nitrogen on the brain.

 

[dmaziuk]

Do they still make those things?

Swim Nose Clips at SwimOutlet.com