The Minima mask from Cressi

[Hennie]

At our last Freediving SA event we had the privilige to play around with Cressi's latest toy for freedivers, the Minima mask.

Guess what i want for my birthday this year.

Did a couple of dives with it and found it just as comfortable as my Sphera.At almost double the price of the Sphera here in South Africa, that makes me wonder if one might be paying for the name at the end of the day, i have to confess, i am a huge Cressi fan and almost everything in my dive bag has their name all over it, so i am like a moth around a candle with these toys on the shelve.

It is very comfortable and most importantly didn't leak once like my Omer Millenium or the Dykor Bandit mask.

 

[rumbLeFiSH]

Love it..

Hi Hennie,

Just bought the same mask from DiveInn for about 17$, have a look at www.scubastore.com

 

[andrsn]

yeah, i was just about to say how i got mine at diveinn.

 

[Randy Quimpo]

Andrsn,
Is the Minima any good for underwater photography? How about for spearing fish?

 

[Erik]

Originally posted by andrsn
yeah, i was just about to say how i got mine at diveinn.

Me three. Nice mask, but I wouldn't use it for spearing or photog, Randy....very limited vis, but good for deep stuff.
Cheers,
Erik Y.

 

[Longfins]

Diveinn Disciple, unite!

Got my Cressi Minima there too. I like the fact that they use glass instead of polycarbonate. The view is a good compromise - the angle's not too large, but I get enough information. I suppose they can vapor polish the sides or something for a clearer side view, but the light / shape information is sufficient for me to know what's going on.

Peter

 

[scott]

Minima vs. Bandit

How does the Minima compare with the Dacor Bandit? I have the Bandit but (seemingly) am always willing to add to my collection for an upgrade.

Erik, I belive you have both.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[andrsn]

i use the minima only when i'm hunting around the 30m mark. i tend to have it on real tight so the lenses are closer to my eyes. that helps with the view. just have to take the whole thing off or loosen it after every dive. decent compromise.

i photograph with the cressi big eyes on. that's an awesome mask. i've been spearfishing with it quite a bit, too.

cheers,
anderson

 

[scott]

Great Anderson (not Great Anderson), now I need to add the Big Eyes to my list (I just ordered a snorkel in between posts).

Scott

 

[andrsn]

from diveinn?

email michelle and tell her to get you one of those puppies. i think they're $28. selling for $60+ here in the states. go for the dark(then color), not trans(then color). IMHO.

you'll absofreakinloootely love it. especially if you're doing camera work. plus, when you strap that badboy on, you are so much more relaxed because of the huge FOV.

see ya soon, cowboy!

 

[scott]

From diveinn of course.

Alright, I just ordered the big eyes (hoping they can combine shipping with my sporasub samourai snorkel).

As soon as I hit the button to confirm the order, I realized now I need yet another snorkel to go with my new mask...

I need to get back to work.

Scott

 

[Erik]

Re: Minima vs. Bandit

Originally posted by scott
How does the Minima compare with the Dacor Bandit? I have the Bandit but (seemingly) am always willing to add to my collection for an upgrade.

Erik, I belive you have both.

Thanks,

Scott

I certainly do...the Minima is much more comfortable than the Bandit, and because of the double-edge, it seals better. I do like the Bandit, but this is an improvement, plus the glass windows are nice. I have the black skirt, with black eyepieces. The mask covers a little more face, but I dont think that there's a noticeable increase in volume; maybe a tiny bit. The only downside is that the strap is crap, so I used the stronger one off the Bandit. You should be ok with the one that came with it, but a strap from swim goggles might make it more secure.
Cheers,
Erik Y.

 

[Jon]

sphera?

How does it compare with the Sphera?

Jon

 

[Randy Quimpo]

Andrsn,
Sorry for the newbie question, but why do you use the Minima only when you're at 30m? Also, does the Big Eyes come with a significantly larger volume (compared to other regular-volume masks)? Do you have problems equalizing it?

 

[andrsn]

good timing...
the minima has a bit less volume than my omer abyss. the one i use regularly. lower volume, less air replacement. also, the mask has very little drag.

the big eyes doesn't have a large volume to begin with. the lenses come pretty close to the bottom of the face. the only problem i have is that the seal is sometimes too good and i have trouble blowing air into it from my nose. i'm about to fill in some dead spots with silicone to lower the current volume, though.

 

[bluelq]

Corrective Lenses

Does anyone know if the minima takes corrective lenses. I tried to find out that extra bit with no luck.

Also has anyone tried on the millenium, from omer I believe?

 

[efattah]

Make your own

It's not too hard to mount your own corrective lenses into the minima, ask me if you need help.

However, if you want to compete in an AIDA competition, they won't allow 'modified' masks. Discrimination against near-sighted people?

Eric Fattah
BC, Canada

 

[Randy Quimpo]

Corrective lenses? Yes please!

I am also interested in knowing how to do this - I think one upside to mounting lenses INSIDE the Minima (or any mask for that matter) is that it reduces the internal volume even more!

If you have a method for mounting lenses inside other more conventional masks, please share it also.

 

[bluelq]

Please do tell

Sorry for the time needed to reply but I had to go to the eye doctor to see how bad my eye sight was.

Very Bad,, 4+ on astygmatism, as you can imagine getting corrective lenses for a mask is going to be difficult.. I have asked at a couple of places and I am awaiting a reply.

"It's not too hard to mount your own corrective lenses "

Now I am hoping that you are speaking of normal dry land corrective lenses, and not of mask corrective lenses? If so I am guessing you use some sort of silicone adhesive,,, I sure hope its possible since it will make a huge diference in my diving.

 

[efattah]

Different Options

If your prescription does not include astigmatism (cylindrical corrections), then it is easy to mount lenses inside your own mask. These lenses are not standard lenses, you cannot buy them at an optical shop; you must buy them from an optics manufacturer such as Edmund or Casix. One side of the lens will be flat; that side can be glued onto the inside of the mask.

If you have bad astigmatism, this method won't work, because you cannot buy plano-convex-cylindrical lenses, or plano-concave-cylindrical lenses.

However, when the eye is immersed in water, astigmatism disapears because the cornea has no power. Thus, when using fluid goggles, astigmatism disappears, and most nearsightedness/farsightedness also disappears. For example, Karoline Dal Toe has bad astigmatism, such that no ordinary contact lenses can correct it. When she put on fluid goggles for the first time, she said she could see more clearly than she had ever seen in her life!


Eric Fattah
BC, Canada