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Micromask vs Alien

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
I always seem to have problems with masks hitting the bridge of my nose with the frame. My Alien does not have that issue. I have to look for the occhio, I have not seen it yet.

I would not count the Alien out. I've been in 88F down to 32F and the mask does not fog. When we dive the outlet, the water temp ranges from 32F - 60F, then get out into a 0F or lower air with the mask still on for another 15min and still no fogging. Plus the price of the Alien is cheaper than any other mask we sell at our shop. I wear mine for scuba and freediving.

I would get a Micro, but from anywhere other than Leisure Pro they are over $100 I think. Leisure Pro, I believe, sells grey market AquaLung products to protest AquaLung's internet policy. When the AquaLung Rep was at our shop he told us the MSRP on the Micro would be $120.

*sorry, the mention of Leisure Pro always strikes a nerve with me*
 
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The alien is a great mask for sure. I found I generally preferred the Cressi Matrix though. It didn't seal as well but has better peripheral vision.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
That's about $50 I think. I'll have to find out what the retail is now. Maybe their initial esitmate of price was off. It was not on the market here in the US when I saw the mask.
 
I have been using the Alien for about 4 seasons now and think its great, surprisingly I never encountered the "new alien fog".

Prior to the Alien I used a technisub falcon for about 7 years which looks surprisingly much like the micro, other than the tear drop, I think that mask was well ahead of its time, I still have it as a back-up/loaner and its still superb, never left me with "mask-face" (which the Alien does)...has anyone had any experience/comments on the falcon?
 
I had a Technisub Falco that I used to use.

It wasn't bad, until the frame cracked, but the volume on it was pretty high for such a small mask- much greater than the new Micromask. I liked it because it was built on the same frame as the Sphera- but with glass lenses.

Jon
 

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A thing about the alien, that hasn't been mentioned, is its compressibility. For must of us volume is not that huge a deal anyway - but there are two ways of dealing with it. One is a small volume mask and the other; compressibility. A compressible mask collapses easily under pressure - taking longer to reach a point where you have to put air into it. The alien works that way a little more than most masks because of the design and the soft silicone. As it compresses the lenses move in too - increasing the field of view. Personally I end up having to wear the alien a little low - which cuts off the upward vision - because of the extremely turned up nose pocket, but its a righteous spearo mask for sure.
 
I had an Alien mask, very good mask, but when I look down from 25ft. below I seen to lose visibility, Will an Atomic frameless mask help me? Thanks.

Tomy Suero.
 
Tomy Suero,
I wish I had field experience to answer your question. After speaking quite thoroughly with another member, Fondueset the mask that would seem to be a mask to try would be the Aqualung Micromask. It’s in the same price range as the Atomic all though it is not frameless. There are many other members who seem to favor this mask, Micromask for its visibility and low volume. Make sure you check fitment. You may also want to check out the Cressi-sub Matrix; not as low volume but supposedly superior field of view.

Hope this helps, but I am a newbie but have done some research. I just joined this community and so far I have received a great reception even with my complete lack of knowledge. I joined after reading thru a lot of threads.

I just want to say thanks to everybody and, Tomy I hope I can or have pointed you in the right direction.

Ciao.
 
Tomy Suero said:
I had an Alien mask, very good mask, but when I look down from 25ft. below I seen to lose visibility, Will an Atomic frameless mask help me? Thanks.
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Not sure if I quite understand what you mean. Are you telling that the visibility is fine at shallow dives, but worse at deep ones? Well, that's actually natural - the deeper you go, the less light there is, hence the visibility is worth. Also depending on the local conditions, water can be more muddy in depth. Another reason may be that you did not compensate the mask, hence it got pressed closer to your eyes, changing so the visibility condition (though it rarely gets worse in this way, oppositely the angle of vision is wider when the lense is closer to the eyes). Or oppositely, you did compensate it, but due to blowing air into it, it fogged, hence the worse visibility.

So first of all, you will need to find out why exactly the visibility was worse at depth than in shallow water. If it was the external conditions that changed it (lower light, muddy water) then there is little you can do about it and changing a mask will not help. If it was because of fogging, clean your mask or spit into it before diving. If it was because of leaking, adjust the strap, remove snorkel from your mouth when diving, etc. If it was because of compression in depth, compensate the mask. In any way, if the mask has fine visibility in shallow water, there is no reason it should be bad in depth, so changing it makes little sense (unless there are other problems with it).
 

Thanks for your help and thanks Trux. Any way my body and I usualy go fishing and seen likes he sees more target than I do, from the same distance, I do have a 20/20 vision and he owns a wrapround aqualung mask, then here is another question: Does the quality of lenses improve visibility on similar conditions from one mask to another(Atomicaquatics)?
Thanks.

Tomy.
 
That is an interesting question. The atomic frameless has special glass lenses which are supposed to admit more light. Also being single lens means no post dividing your eyes in the center. Having both eyes definitely helps you to see more but it is in a small area.

as for the question I can not say for sure why your buddy is seeing better than you under water. It could be other things than the mask.
 
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