what is the difference in masks

[OUTDOORAMN69US]

I may catch alot of flack about this, but I don't know, I am new to the sport of diving what is the difference between the masks you see in a dive shop $55+ and the masks you see in sporting good stores $20+ are they jsut as good as the other masks, I am looking at a cayman Inc. Maui 1 mask at $20.00

 

[Big-t-2538]

There are 2 main things to worry about...


1 - The mask must have tempered glass or the glass that is in the sea-vision masks or it will not hold up to the underwater pressure


2- the mask must fit correctly. Hold one up to your face, slighly inhale through your nose. Take your hands away (but not too far as the mask may fall and break) and if it stays, it fits

 

[jonnythan]

A diving mask has tempered glass lenses that don't break or scratch easily. It also has a 100% silicone skirt, instead of plastic, to ensure a good fit and may be sealed slighly better than the cheapo sporting goods masks.

Go to your LDS and find a proper diving mask that fits. If you get one that doesn't fit you perfectly the first time, you'll wonder why you have so much mask trouble. You'll then be ready to spend $300 on one that fits. The upshot is that after this exercise you'll appreciate a good mask, but you'll be down the cost of the cheapo mask AND the good mask.

If you're feeling like an a**, say "thanks for your time" then go home and buy the $55 mask from Leisurepro for $25. Otherwise, just plunk down the $55 for the mask. One way or another, you'll end up at a dive shop trying on masks. You'll be spending orders of magnitude more money for other dive gear, so it really won't matter

 

[Diver0001]

Big-t-2538 once bubbled...
There are 2 main things to worry about...


1 - The mask must have tempered glass or the glass that is in the sea-vision masks or it will not hold up to the underwater pressure

You're forgetting that you equalize as you descend and the pressure in the mask is the same as the pressure outside, give or take. In fact you could make mask lenses out of just about anything and take them to any depth you want.

The tempered glass is to make it scratch resistant.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

OUTDOORAMN69US once bubbled...
I may catch alot of flack about this, but I don't know, I am new to the sport of diving what is the difference between the masks you see in a dive shop $55+ and the masks you see in sporting good stores $20+ are they jsut as good as the other masks, I am looking at a cayman Inc. Maui 1 mask at $20.00

I don't konw the mask you mentioned. I would watch for fit, as big T said, and look for a suppel double "skirt" as Jonnythan said.

The material of the lenses will probably be plastic or untempered glass. This means a shorter life span or more work to protect it from getting bumped around.

Also, compare the peripheral vision and volume (size of the air pocket inside the mask). A good diving mask will give you a good peripheral vision, which cheap masks often don't. And a good diving mask won't have too big of an volume. When you're snorkelling you dno't really notice the air in the mask that much but when you're diving a big air pocket can cause the mask to push up against the underside of your nose, which is uncomfortable. Also the bigger the air space, the harder it is to clear.

R..

 

[roakey]

Big-t-2538 once bubbled...
1 - The mask must have tempered glass or the glass that is in the sea-vision masks or it will not hold up to the underwater pressure

A NAUI-DM eh? Wow. An OW student should know what's wrong with this statement.

The cheap masks are often made out of less supple materials that don't conform to your face as well as more expensive models. Also cheaper materials are used, and many times that means that they don't hold up to UV very well.

So if you were to find one that fit and worked well for you, it'll probably fall apart in a year or two of use and you'll have replace it. Do this more than once or twice and you'll be spending more money than if you bought a good one in the first place, which will last many years with some basic care.

Roak

 

[pt40fathoms]

Glass under pressure?????????

Oh well, I suppose if you sit on it, maybe.

As for the difference, it has been properly pointed out previously here that the better masks will have a pure silicon skirt. That’s the part that is not glass, and sits next to your skin. Silicon will make and hold a seal against your skin better than the cheaper masks that are made of composite plastics that may contain *some* silicon. This is important if you plan on being able to see under water in comfort, or spend most of you time clearing water out of your ill fitting mask. Which brings me to the most important part of choosing a mask. Other than making sure it is of good quality, fit and not price should be your deciding factor. In short, if a $60.00 mask fits perfectly and a $110.00 mask looks sexier but does not fit as well. Buy the $60.00 mask. This is the one item that price should never be the deciding factor, only fit!

As for the suggestion of trying on masks at the LDS and then buying it online. Please ignore this bit of ill conceived advice. It may sound great on paper, but you will only be flushing any relationship you may have with the LDS. In diving, building relationships and friendships with other divers is only one of the many reasons to help support your LDS. Besides if people did start following this "advice" soon they will have to figure out how to get air fills online as well! It costs money to have a real store with people who get paid a wage to staff it and help customers choose the right gear. The online outlets have none of that.

 

[Lord Morbius]

Firstly you need to understand what exactly makes a good mask, then you need to understand what makes good marketing... A good mask satiffies a number of criteria - in order of importance, watertight fit, good visibility, convenient and durable design. This is not rocket science and ninety nine percent of masks meet all these needs. Manufacturers know this, but they have to come up with a way of getting you to pay more for a mask so they reduce the efficiency of some masks, say by making it of a higher volume design or even making it look less sporty ( a large percentage of buys are based on image) this means they can charge you more money for a better mask design although to make all the masks `better` would cost nothing as the same materials and processes are often used throughout the range, in fact it actually costs more to make the worst ones because they require more rubber and more machinery to mould the different designs, but without this they could'nt charge a small fortune for the better ones - sneaky eh? Also... common sense plays a part, people have been scuba diving for half a century, if they managed to get by quite happily in thos days then you can justify a bit of skepticism when you are told that you cannot survive without the all new super duper techno-gimmickery that patented new research has just made possible. In summary then - if it fits well, looks reasonably robust, and you can live with the pink illuminous strap then it will do the job fine - no matter what it costs!!!

 

[Charlie99]

Diver0001 once bubbled...
The tempered glass is to make it scratch resistant.

While tempered glass is about 4 times the strength of annealed glass, I was under the impression that the most common reason for use of tempered glass is that the internal pressure/stress caused by heat treatment will cause it to shatter into many small pieces rather than large, sharp chunks.

 

[ScubaToneDog]

Charlie99 once bubbled...
While tempered glass is about 4 times the strength of annealed glass, I was under the impression that the most common reason for use of tempered glass is that the internal pressure/stress caused by heat treatment will cause it to shatter into many small pieces rather than large, sharp chunks.

You are correct sir. Some manufactures also use a scratch resistant coating that acts as a safety film keeping the glass from going anywhere. Kinda like windshields in cars.

I dont think it possible, but if you took a mask down deep enough to shatter it from the pressure, then Id hate to see the black and blue mark from the skirt and the broken blood vessels on your face...ouch!