Mares X-Comfort mask
I didn’t give the X-Comfort mask a very good review on the first page of this thread, but I am starting to change my mind. I felt guilty that I might have slammed a good product, before I learned to appreciate its uniqueness.
I wore it and two other masks for about 45 minutes each at the pool the other day. When you first put the mask on, the field of vision is not impressive because the lenses are so far away from your face and it does not seem like it’s the low 85 cm3 that Mares claims. But the mask is designed like that so it will compress to the face as you go down, and thus not need as much equalization. Even at the 14.5 feet, deepest part of the pool, the field of vision greatly increased because of the compression, which brought the lenses in closer.
The other thing that is really noticeable is the comfort. When I first put it on I said yea, this is a comfortable mask, but I never had much problem with the comfort of other masks. But when comparing it with other masks while diving the comfort part really comes out. Wear it for 45 minutes and wear another mask for 45 minutes and then put it back on, and you will be shocked! I never knew what comfort was before this mask, and more comfort means more relaxation and more relaxation means longer breathholds and dives.
I bought it from Phil at
http://www.divesports.com and he said he believed it is made of DOW Silicone 6300, which is a really soft silicone that only comes in black. The confusing part of this is that DiveInn shows a picture of the X-Comfort in black, but claims it only comes in Yellow-Clear and Blue-Clear. The dive shops in the U.S. are saying the X-Comfort only comes in black and the X-Stream, which is an identical looking mask, doesn’t come in black. DiveInn sells the X-Stream in black as well as clear, yellow, and blue. At my request, Phil put both a X-Comfort and X-stream side by side and said the only difference is the X-Comfort has noticeably softer silicone. I choose to buy it from Phil and pay more than DiveInn, because I at least knew what I was getting even if it cost more (Mares masks are already on the high side).
I believe the mask will lose more than ½ of its volume from compression which means you could go a little more than 33’ and the inside would still be at ambient pressure. I’m not very sensitive to negative pressure to begin with, the only reason I equalize is the pressure on the nose bridge from the mask skirt, so I am hoping to be able to get 60’ (19 meters) before I have to add any air. At which time the volume should be low.
This report is a little premature, but I didn’t want to leave the unfair negative earlier opinion I had written.
don