delicate mask buckles and stuff

[stepfen]

Hello,
I am looking for a new mask. I tried few popular models (mostly cressi and aqualang ones – that’s the ones available in my local store) and most of them fit on my face quite well (generic face?)

I didn’t buy any of them though. The reason being these delicate looking buckle mechanisms. Micrometer(?) adjustments, tiny plastic rods securing plastic hinges to elastic (rubber?) pieces etc etc. Are all these reliable enough for sea/salt/sun/heat and diving use and abuse?

I thought the strap was supposed to be a “consumable” - not the mask. Not any more?

I like the goodies of newer masks (better fit, increased field of view etc) but more importantly I prefer them to be long lasting/reliable.

Any suggestion for my “keep it simple and reliable” mindset?

Thanks a lot

 

[The Chairman]

I haven't seen a buckle break in a long time. Straps are tougher too. It's not like you need a buckle rated for a hundred pounds to keep a mask plastered to your face! I have a hard-to-fit face and finally found Bare. What an awesome mask.

 

[northernone]

I like your keeping it simple and reliable approach. Proper diligence and care of will make up for a poorly engineered design though and fit and comfort are often important to people more than durability.

In the participant gear pile we have 16 masks. In the past 5 weeks this number is reduced by 6, broken plastic buckles or pins. This is due to equipment abuse, but does reveal the common modern mask design problem you mentioned.

If two masks fit I'd choose the better engineered one every time.

... My profile picture suggests my mask preference though. It's outlasted many spare masks.

Regards,
Cameron

 

[stepfen]

Thanks for the info guys.

It's not like you need a buckle rated for a hundred pounds to keep a mask plastered to your face!

I am more concerned about their handling before and after the dive. Inevitably on a diving boat other people will handle them sooner or later.
Btw I found online cressi's buckles for their popular models (big eye etc) for about 5$ a piece, which is not bad.

 

[Marie13]

Keep your mask in a hard case until it's time to put it on. Don't throw it on the boat deck or sit on it. I'm not exactly gentle with my gear and I've not broken a mask yet.

 

[The Chairman]

I am more concerned about their handling before and after the dive.

I stuff my mask into the foot pocket of my fin between dives and have done so for twenty years. They usually travel to and from the dive site that way as well. That way, they are protected by that soft rubber and they don't get lost. I have been clipping my mask off to my BCD recently, but on the boat and in my van, that exposes the most important piece of gear to harm. I like the foot pocket the best.

 

[buddhasummer]

My beloved Atomic frameless died last weekend, it tore completely off one side of the mask where the strap attaches to the silicone skirt, upon closer inspection the other side was torn half way. Still, it's about 7 years old and I'd guess around 400-500 dives so not a bad run. Thankfully I have/had a new spare sitting in a box.

 

[Rred]

"Inevitably on a diving boat other people will handle them sooner or later."
Nope. As Marie said, it belongs in a box. I'll put mine in a fin for a few minutes if I need to, but I've got a Pelican-type box that my mask lives in. Makes a good place to leave keys or other valuables while the mask is out and I'm in the water, too. Someone drops my duffle (which they should have been touching) or a tank falls on it, doesn't matter. That box protects the mask.

 

[kelemvor]

I, too have never had this part break on a real mask. Now, the kiddie masks they sell at walmart for my kids to use at the pool? Those break.

Even the $20 snorkel pro mask I got from a dive shop a few years ago didn't break after about 3 1/2 years of use (maybe 150 dives, 75 of those were work dives). It's what I'm wearing in my profile photo.

Plastic mask boxes go from $1-$5 depending on what dive shop you use. Expensive ($50+) masks tend to come with one. My mask generally stays around my neck when I'm on a boat. On my face on the back of the boat, and in a mask box and stuffed into a soft "wet bag" when I'm traveling to/from the boat.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Hello,
I am looking for a new mask. I tried few popular models (mostly cressi and aqualang ones – that’s the ones available in my local store) and most of them fit on my face quite well (generic face?)

I didn’t buy any of them though. The reason being these delicate looking buckle mechanisms. Micrometer(?) adjustments, tiny plastic rods securing plastic hinges to elastic (rubber?) pieces etc etc. Are all these reliable enough for sea/salt/sun/heat and diving use and abuse?

I thought the strap was supposed to be a “consumable” - not the mask. Not any more?

I like the goodies of newer masks (better fit, increased field of view etc) but more importantly I prefer them to be long lasting/reliable.

Any suggestion for my “keep it simple and reliable” mindset?

Thanks a lot

Is Cressi making cheap stuff now for the discount market? My mask is a Cressi Occhio that is at least 35 years old and has seen a lot of dives and it still has the original strap. Recently I bought my grandson the Super Occhio which is basically the same mask only it is black. I always rinse it in fresh water and never leave it out in the sun.

As for the "newer masks" I have yet to see much that I would consider "new." It's like the length of skirts... My mask is not "increased field of view" but is low volume which I think gives it at least two advantages--doesn't get knocked off in the surf or when I jump off a boat and I don't have to equalize it as much while free-diving. If it wears out before I do I'll probably get the Super Occhio to replace it.