oval mask question

[David Wilson]

Just to let people know who are thinking about getting an Oceanways Pacific oval mask (...) I looked and saw that the mask is made in China Oh well. For $40 bucks the likelyhood that it was American made was pretty slim.

I have a pair of blue Oceanways Professional fins with "Made in USA" embossed on the underside of the blade. I believe they were manufactured, like Scubapro fins, at the Pacific Mouldings plant in Corona, CA. I assumed, I know now wrongly, that Oceanways would have their masks made there too. Still, I would imagine that the masks were made in China to Oceanways' specifications for the American market, in the same way as IPods are made there to Apple's specifications.

 

[adriano210]

i use to have an old Russian military mask made with black rubber, it was one off the best ever piece of Russian design i ever had, no problem with equalization at all, no problem with seal. it has a stainless steal band with screw around the windscreen, but after 5 years (and another 30 in service) rubber brake, so now im using a apeks mask as the oval mask in shops now use to have a size for kids - i don't need a toy mask,

 

[knowone]

Carn the Pies.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I began diving with an oval mask made by Voit or Healthways and was thrilled when they came out with the Pinocchio. I thought the molded nose piece was much easier to equalize than shoving the oval mask up against my nose plus I got better side vision. It always seemed like the oval mask was leaking and the Pinocchio never leaked. But, when I made a fairly deep free dive (around 80 feet) with the Pinocchio it nearly sucked my eyes out and I had no air left in my lungs to equalize the mask. After a lot of consideration I bought a Cressi low-volume mask and have used it ever since (30 years, perhaps). I had to sacrifice some peripheral vision for the low air volume but I don't want to have to carry seperate masks for scuba and free diving. As for now, the only reason I personally would use an oval mask would be for a Sea Hunt costume. Perhaps some oval masks are/were better than others and I'm sure I had the cheapest one but I've never looked back.

 

[Akimbo]

JamesNon92007, it appears that most of the world market agrees with you, but I still miss the Voit 50 Fathom.

 

[oldmossback]

I have a Oceanway's pacific mask, in very lite green silicone......had 3, now two...........I ran thru the styles in the last 43 years, first was Cressi round, I still have but it's too old now for diving, then I aquired a Vido, ugly thing but I needed corrective lens and this provided me this.......ever thought about diving with bionoculars? That is what it was like.........then in Okinawa I ordered a Deluxe Pinocchio with 72mm corrective lens from Leanard Maggorie in NY and dove that until the late 70's when I tried the Tekna trivue..........at that time I was diving with soft contact lens.....much much better for my viewing pleasure..........still the nose frame was a pig and bothered me until I found the Oceanways at one of the LDS's here in Fort Worth........that was in the mid eighties.....for me was like a plate glass window to the sea......been diving with nothing else since..........except occasionally I use the Pinocchio for fun some times..........

But now diving with just one eye, I need the clear straight forward vision of a oval.......

Oh, the secret of using a round or oval I was told many many years ago was the same that of fighter pilots, turn your head like a screw and look..........

 

[Scuba.com]

The IST Classic Round Mask is available in all black or in a clear silicone.
IST Classic Round Dive Mask m27 with reviews at scuba.com
http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-32/029018/IST-Classic-Round-Dive-Mask.html

 

[Nemrod]

That mask is designed for Asian faces and is too shallow for most people of Euro descent.

N

 

[Paladin]

That mask is designed for Asian faces and is too shallow for most people of Euro descent.

N

I have two of those masks in black rubber and they work fine for me.

 

[Nemrod]

For me my nose is plastered against the glass. N