Mask recommendation?

[Fishstab]

First time out spearfishing today and had a blast, what became obvious very quickly is my cheap scuba mask isn’t up to the job, it continuously fogs up. Tried my mates cressi mask and it remained crystal clear the whole time.

Im going to look at getting a decent mask, there’s a lot of choice around the ~£25 mark and they all seem much of a muchness to look at. Is there any brands which are particularly good/ i should avoid?

 

[Fishstab]

Been looking at an Omer Alien which seems pretty cheap but reasonable quality. Just need something with a reputation for not fogging!

 

[amplificus]

From my limited experience, fogging depends on the care/treatment of the inner glass surface. A local dive shop told me that from the manufacturer, there is normally a light silicone or oil coating due to the manufacturing processes that needs to be removed. They explained that you could use a lighter to carefully burn it away, or rub toothpaste on it to sorta "grind" it off. It wont harm the glass, but should be abrasive enough to get that layer off. I saw a huge improvement on my new mask when I did the toothpaste method. Give it a shot!

 

[Fishstab]

Well ended up being impatient and just bought the same one I borrowed from my mate, it’s a Cressi nano and currently £20 on Amazon

 

[Mr. X]

Omer Alien has a reputation for fogging. But you can sometimes get black or brown ones for under £20, which makes it worth consideration. Also, the design has changed a little since I bought mine. I think it may just need more cleaning than normal, which I suspect may be the case for your current mask.

I would suggest using a lighter to carefully and thoroughly burn off any residual silicone from the glass. See YouTube for details/examples.

I would then scrub the inside of the lens clean with plain, cheap, abrasive toothpaste, e.g. basic white Colgate.

For Omer Alien, might be worth repeating the 2 steps above. And perhaps again.

I had much less trouble with my Seacsub X-combat. But my current mask, the Technisub Aqualung Micromask, seems popular and highly rated by spearos. If you can get it for £32 or less including shipping (e.g. Amazon), I would recommend getting it. It's a very good mask but in truth there seems very little between spearo masks, the improvements are small, incremental rather than revolutionary not game changing. Also, it's not perfect, I find it a little small for my face but it seals well, doesn't fog excessively and is comfortable enough.

Mask boxes: my two cheapest masks came with the best mask boxes: strong white flexible plastic boxes with good lids that close positively. The Omer came without a plastic mask box , so price should be less that masks that do. I don't like the glossy, brittle mask box that the Technisub Aqualung Micromask came in, it's harder to hold, close and pack and feels brittle - but it's a lot better than no mask box and has done the job do far.

Cressi Nano seems well regarded. Much like the Technisub I think. £20 sounds like a very good price

 

[Andrew the fish]

You can defog any mask with cleaning and coating, so don’t worry about that. Most important feature is a good seal at lowest tention on the strap, mask has to fit. Lower volume is good feature perhaps, but if you are not going deeper than 60 feet volume is irrelevant too. I prefer four-window ones, because they give me peripheral vision which is nonexistent with single window mask. For spearfishing bigger field of view is next right after a good fit. My latest mask has prescription lenses and this was a game changer, I can put up with slight leak or narrower field of view in exchange for clarity.

 

[jamesjim11]

cressi nano is the best mask on the market, well done !

 

[perceval]

fogging is not because it's a bad mask.

To not have fogging, you have to take out the protective layer the masks ship with (Google" diving mask lighter flame").

After that, you have to clean the glass every time you want to dive. If there's any dust or oily film, it will fog right away again.

And like someone mentioned, it has to fit YOUR face.
You can buy the best rated mask, the most expensive mask, the mask your diving idol uses, but if it doesn't fit you, it's absolutely worthless to you.

 

[spoolin01]

First time out spearfishing today and had a blast, what became obvious very quickly is my cheap scuba mask isn’t up to the job, it continuously fogs up. Tried my mates cressi mask and it remained crystal clear the whole time.

Im going to look at getting a decent mask, there’s a lot of choice around the ~£25 mark and they all seem much of a muchness to look at. Is there any brands which are particularly good/ i should avoid?

I like my Oceanic Shadow for its black skirt and low-ish volume, but mask preference and fit becomes a pretty personal thing. Masks with separate lenses often bother the bridge of my nose for instance. The fogging problem is probably not the mask brand or model, just the mask glass isn't clean enough on the inside. That is especially the case when the mask is new - there's some kind of chemical left there from manufacture. There are a variety of ways to clean a mask - I like mild abrasive like some toothpastes have, or Soft Scrub. I've even used jeweler's rouge and a Dremel buffer. Strong alkali solutions like Drano (the sodium hydroxide version) can also be good glass cleaners. Don't get those on your skin or eyes! There are other methods too. It can take a couple of rounds of cleaning to do the job. Even after that, I find I have to use a mask de-fog product pretty much every dive session for the best results.

 

[marco15499]

Cressi Nano is a great mask, but it will fog if you don't treat it before taking it to the sea.

What I do and works for me:

1. Burn the glasses inside and out with a lighter.
2. Let it cool and wash them with dishwaher soap.
3: Repeat 1 & 2
4. Rub it inside and outside with Toothpaste and wash it with hot water.
5. Repeat step 4
6. Before EVERY dive, spit into the mask when it is still dry, rub very well and clear with water.

If fog reappears, repeat steps 4 and 5.

Step 6 must be done every time you take off the mask.

 

[Fishstab]

Well as a follow up to this the nano was great, but for some reason the last 2 sessions it’s been leaking under my nose which slowly fills the nose pocket. It doesn’t impact my vis terribly as it seems to stay in the nose pocket only and not really fill the mask.

I can’t work out why it’s happening, I try and be pretty clean shaven before heading out and the first 8-10 sessions I did the mask was fine.

my friend who had the same mask said his had started doing the same, he actually recently lost his though and replaced it with a cheaper cressi model which he said doesn’t do it.

has anyone got any idea what could cause this? Seemed a really good fit to my face to start, but now when I’m sat on the bottom I’m just thinking about how it doesn’t feel pleasant having a nose full of water

 

[marco15499]

Maybe you're wearing it too tight? Or the hood is "biten" between the mask and your face?

Finding the right mask can be tricky for some people.

 

[DiveHacker]

Have you already played with the strap? I find my mask leaks as you describe, and if I play with where the strap sits on the back of my head I can usually solve it. It is annoying though.

I went into the shop recently and they had an epsealon mask and I really liked it. The sea wolf. I do not need a mask and i am still thinking about buying it. It will def be my next mask.

 

[diver278]

All of the above ideas work great and I have done them to my mask but I also learned that if you wet your face before putting on your mask it stops that heat difference. So you rinse the toothpaste in cold water before you put on your mask on your warm face and it will cause fog.

 

[Fishstab]

Maybe you're wearing it too tight? Or the hood is "biten" between the mask and your face?

Finding the right mask can be tricky for some people.

Yup played around a lot with the tension and it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Also I make sure it’s not overlapping my hood anywhere, although it’s definitely under my nose where the water is coling

Have you already played with the strap? I find my mask leaks as you describe, and if I play with where the strap sits on the back of my head I can usually solve it. It is annoying though.

I went into the shop recently and they had an epsealon mask and I really liked it. The sea wolf. I do not need a mask and i am still thinking about buying it. It will def be my next mask.

Yeah played with all sorts and just can’t seem to get it right! So strange how it was good for loads of dives but now has started leaking. it’s almost as if the silicone has lost its flex around the nose pocket or something but I know that can’t be true.

 

[popgun pete]

When trying a mask on you should be able to hold it in front of you and push your face done onto the mask and breathe in slightly. A mask that fits will stick onto your face and lift up off your hands until you breathe out when it will fall off. Any mask that does not will probably leak. Some people can wear a wide range of masks, some may only find one or two as of course it depends on the shape of your face. After using a toothpaste rub with your finger on a dampened mask's inner faceplate (make sure it is glass and not plastic or you will abrade it) every time you don the mask swirl some water around in it, tip the water out, spit in the mask and swirl it around with a small amount of water and then put the mask on. Doing this masks never fog unless the water is very cold and your face is hot. Prior to putting on your mask submerge your head to wet it which cools you down and then put on the mask. Over many decades this has been the ritual of many divers when entering the water. When you exit don't put your mask up on your forehead, push it down and have it dangle around your neck, otherwise your hair may leave body oil on the faceplate if you stick the mask up on your head. That is what the pros do as your dive mask is not a hat.

 

[J Campbell]

"every time you don the mask swirl some water around in it, tip the water out, spit in the mask and swirl it around with a small amount of water and then put the mask on " Yep, I do this too. I rub the spit around with my finger to be sure it coats well. And yes, adding a liitle water to the spit is necessary to thin the spit out, otherwise the spit can be so viscous that it blurs the mask itself.

 

[Leander]

Instead of spit and rub, you can also lick the lenses. It looks stupid, but it works even if the lenses are already wet. It works even under water if you would be on scuba.

As for the leaking, because you mentioned that it doesn't fill the mask but seems to be limited to a certain amount: it could be the water film left on your face and on the inside of the mask after you did the spit-rub-rinse, which then slowly makes its way to the lowest part of the mask, the nose pocket.

 

[J Campbell]

"you can also lick the lenses. It looks stupid" LOL

 

[Leander]

But it works! It really does! (Aand it really does look stupid! )