ScubaLab tested and reviewed 21 dual-lens, single-lens and low-volume dive masks in our latest ScubaLab review. The test dives were conducted in 72-degree water with air temperatures in the upper 8os at Alexander Springs recreation area in Altoona, Florida.

| JUMP TO RESULTS |

HOW WE TEST
ScubaLab test divers evaluated and scored masks for the following factors:

Ease and Security of Adjustments How simple and effective were the buckles and strap adjustments? Were they easy to adjust? Did they stay in place once adjusted? Did the strap stay where it was placed?

Overall Comfort
Was the skirt comfortable and soft on the face? Did the frame or other components rub on the face? Was the nose pocket comfort- able when pinching your nose to clear?

Field of View
Both to the sides and up and down, to what degree did the mask frame or skirt block your view? Relative to other masks, what was your perception of the mask's overall field of view?

Dryness
How effectively did the mask’s seal and strap system keep out water?

Mask Volume
How easy was it to completely clear the mask after intentionally flooding it? Did the nose pocket size and shape allow you to easily pinch your nose to equalize?

• Divers also rated each mask’s resistance to fogging, provided written comments about their experience using each mask and selected their favorite masks in each category. Each mask’s construction details, including frame, strap and buckles, were also evaluated for ruggedness and design details, and where applicable, disassembled to gauge ease of swapping straps or lenses.

HOW WE SCORE
The bar graphs with each review show the mask’s combined test- diver scores for overall comfort and for field of view.

The scoring is: 1=poor
2=fair
3=good
4=very good
5=excellent

SINGLE LENS

APEKS VX1

There were a lot of things test divers liked about the VX1, but comfort topped the list. “Feels so soft and light on my face,” one tester commented, and others agreed; no mask scored higher for comfort. The frameless design and velvety skirt made an effective seal with little pressure, earning a very good score for dryness. “Totally dry in all positions,” one tester noted. The mask’s small volume narrows the field of view slightly, but also lends itself to easy clearing and equalizing. The mask was rated very good in every category except ease of adjustment, where its secure, easy-to-use quick-releases and smooth stainless- steel rollers bumped it up to excellent. Some testers found the nose pocket a slightly close fit. But it was picked as a favorite by more testers than any other mask in its category. The VX1 is our Testers Choice for single-lens masks.

ATOMIC AQUATICS VENOM FRAMELESS

This frameless mask boasts a “Gummi Bear UltraSoft” face seal. Call it silly, but test divers were seriously impressed with its comfort and effectiveness. “Incredibly soft, like butter,” and “Good seal all around with no hard spots,” were among tester comments. Despite the mask’s seemingly large volume, it practically clears itself; testers scored it very well for clearing and equalization. A bit too wide for some testers (especially those with smaller faces), it took very good comfort scores among those it fit and was ranked among the favorites of several.

GENESIS AERO

The frameless construction, with the skirt molded directly onto the lens, gives the Aero a low profile that lets it sit very near the face. That close fit, and a wide, slightly squared-off lens, helped it earn a very good score for its airy field of view. “Nice bright view,” one tester noted. It was rated good overall for comfort, though a few test divers found their nose rubbed by the pocket. Testers liked the Aero’s simple quick-release buckles and the way their attachment to the skirt allows them to rotate, though some found the strap adjustment stiff and a bit abrupt.

IST SPORTS BURANO

The least expensive mask in its category, the Burano performed very well across the board. The frame sat a little low on the nose for some testers, but those with small, narrower faces found the mask very comfortable. “Fits on face really nicely overall, no hotspots or pressure,” one diver commented. Testers of all shapes and sizes liked the mask’s ergonomic pinch buckles and scored them very good for ease of adjustment. The low-volume mask is easy to equalize, but can take a few tries to fully clear. Despite its size, this mask also offers a nice, wide field of view.

OMS TATTOO

Test divers rated the Tattoo very good for dryness, thanks largely to its soft, supple skirt. The mask scored similarly well for comfort, and test divers rated its field of view very good, though some found the sides noticeably visible. “Couldn’t be simpler,” was how one diver described the adjustment provided by the 3D-contoured mask strap and quick-release buckles. The Tattoo scored well for volume, but as one diver noted, it “takes some doing to fully clear.” This mask is available with a smaller-size skirt to accommodate smaller faces, and optional UV protective lenses.

OMS TRIBE

The Tribe was the only single-lens mask to take an excellent score for volume. It also garnered test-diver comments such as “clears like a charm.” This large-lens frameless mask is best suited to divers with wider faces, and it scored good for comfort among those it fit. The mask has a big vertical field of view, though testers felt the horizontal was more narrow. The contoured strap and simple-to-operate buckles earned an excellent score for ease of adjustment. With an overall strong performance, the Tattoo was among the favorites of several test divers.

SEAC ITALICA

The Italica’s rigid frame is locked together by six stainless screws, with a protective shield over the bridge of the nose and beefy hinges at the buckle attachments. All that hardware gives it a stout, durable feel, as well as a bit of a RoboCop look. The skirt, including the nose pocket, is soft and generously sized, earning the Italica a very good score overall for comfort, though some divers found the frame hardware rubbed their noses uncomfortably. The strap and adjustments won very good marks, letting divers get exactly the strap placement and tension they wanted.

SEAC TOUCH

The Touch and Seac’s Italica may be siblings, but they don’t share much DNA. Where the Italica has a beefy frame, the Touch has no frame at all, along with lightweight hardware and a very flexible, stretchy skirt. “I like the barely there, lightweight feel,” noted one test diver. It was rated very good for comfort and for field of view, with the frameless design offering little to block that view. While the strap is a bit stiff, the two-button buckles swivel through a wide arc to let you find the right strap position, and the fine graduations on the strap allow for precise adjustment.

SHERWOOD CETO

The frameless Ceto was among the smaller of the single-lens masks in our test. That made for very easy clearing without taking much away from the field of view, which testers rated good overall if not quite as generous as some of the larger masks. The Ceto is available with three lens coatings; ours was Tangine, which looks orange from the front, but through the lens has a slight blue-green that’s billed as blocking UV rays. In our clear-water and bright-sun dive conditions testers found the coating cut glare off the white sand while enhancing contrast.

DUAL LENS

AKONA VIEUX

The Vieux is designed for smaller faces, with the sides of the skirt slightly narrower than most masks in our test. It still fit most test divers, who rated it very good overall for comfort. But the narrower construction also seemed to make the sides of the frame more pronounced in the view, (it didn’t help that the frame on our sample of the Vieux, which is available in a range of colors, was a bright pink-purple). Test divers liked the quick-release on the strap but found the buckle adjustment a bit all-or-nothing, with some back and forth required to get the snugness just right.

ATOMIC AQUATICS SUBFRAME

The Subframe’s internal frame is molded into the skirt, with the stainless-steel nose piece holding the lenses in. The design lends a sleek appearance—“Ferrari good looks,” one test diver put it. The Subframe had performance to match, earning very good scores for comfort and field of view, and an excellent score for dryness. Test divers liked the easy operation of the buckles, which attach to the skirt with flexible tabs. Chosen as a favorite by more test divers than any other mask in its category, the Subframe is our Testers Choice for dual-lens masks.

BEUCHAT TIGER

The Tiger has a small frame, with a somewhat oversize skirt with wide edges. The skirt, along with a strap that has head-fitting curved cross sections on the back, helped the Tiger earn very good scores for comfort and dryness. “Baby soft,” commented one test diver. “Nice and supple,” noted another. Test divers also liked the buckles, which mount to tabs on the skirt just behind the frame and have a two-button release that’s easy to operate even with gloves. The relatively small internal volume of the Tiger made for easy clearing and equalizing.

CRESSI ZEUS

The Fog Stop system of the Zeus has a soft membrane of silicone along the sides of the nose pocket to divert exhaled moisture away from the lenses. That helped it to tie the top score in its category for fog-free operation. The matte-finish Zeus has a spearo feel to it, with a short skirt edge and a very small internal volume. It was rated good overall for comfort and dryness, though some testers found the skirt a bit stiff and leaky, particularly at the brow. But the close fit earned the Zeus the only excellent score in its category for ease of clearing and equalizing.

DIVE RITE ES170

Like the mask itself, the deep, wide lenses of the ES170 are some of the biggest in the category. But despite the mask’s size, its internal volume is surprisingly small, making it easy to equalize and clear, even when flooded. Testers rated it very good for comfort, praising both the strap system (which pivots on silicone tabs on the skirt) and the wide-edged skirt itself, which sealed well with a light fit. It was also rated good for adjustability, with low-profile, easy-to-operate push-button buckles, though some found the adjustment points a bit wide.

SHERWOOD WAI

Test-diver responses to elastic mask straps have pretty much tended to be love it or hate it. But this time the “loved it” vote won by a wide margin, mostly because the Wai’s strap is simple and quick to adjust, even one-handed, and it stays put, earning very good scores for adjustability and comfort. “Love this strap—easy and comfy,” wrote one test diver. The Wai took an excellent score for dryness, with the double-edged skirt, stiffened with small ribs on the side, sealing things up on a range of face shapes. The Wai ranked among the favorites of multiple testers.

TILOS REVO

Testers had a tough time coming up with complaints for the Revo, giving it very good scores almost across the board. In fact, the only exception was for ease of adjustment—where it was rated excellent. And that was despite having twice the chances to miss the mark, since we tested the Revo with both the standard silicone strap and the optional elastic one. Testers also praised the dry comfort of the silky skirt and wide-open field of view offered by its big windows. Chosen among the favorites of multiple test divers, the Tilos Revo is our Best Buy.

TUSA PARAGON

Shiny metalwork gives the Paragon a distinct look, though its purpose isn’t fashion; the lightweight metal is the inner reinforcement of a three-layer frame that bolts together. The sturdy construction gives the Paragon a made-to-last feel that’s echoed by design elements like the five-position tilting buckles, the curved split strap and the uber-soft skirt. The lens tint (which has a purple cast from out- side but not when viewed through the lens) cuts glare and harmful rays while boosting contrast underwater. The Paragon was a top contender in its category.

LOW VOLUME

GENESIS BOLD

The Bold was the only mask in our test with a single-edge skirt, with just a slight tapering of the skirt itself to do the job of sealing. It also has one of the stiffer skirts here, and that led us to expect some discomfort and maybe leaking once we got it in the water. Those fears proved to be unfounded, because in fact the Bold ended up taking very good scores both for overall comfort and for dryness. “Very comfortable,” noted one tester. “Perfectly dry,” commented another. Testers also found it easy to clear, and rated it good for its field of view.

IST SPORTS ATUM

Taking frameless and low-volume to their extremes, the freediving Atum is about as minimal as it gets. “Seems more the size of swim goggles,” one tester noted. But while the Atum has no frame in the traditional sense, there is a stiffened section molded into the skirt between the lenses that allows the mask to bend as the strap is tightened, letting the skirt conform to the face. The result was a fit that worked well with a variety of face shapes and provided a softer seal than we might have expected. “Could be softer, but surprisingly comfortable,” one test diver noted.

SEAC M70

The internal volume’s not the only thing small about the M70; the whole mask has an itty-bitty feel to it, from the dainty buckles and narrow strap to the barely-there skirt. But it manages to have just enough of everything for the parts to work well together. Test divers found that it sealed well and was surprisingly comfortable and dry on a range of different faces. Testers rated the M70 very good for comfort, field of view and adjustment, and gave it the top score in the test for ease of clearing and equalizing. The M70 was our Testers Choice for low-volume masks.

XS SCUBA STALKER

Spearfishing masks aren’t always known for their comfort, but behind the camo exterior the Stalker turned out to have a silky smooth fit that won the praise of testers. “Finally, the soft skirt I’ve been waiting for!” commented one. Testers also liked the camo print on our samples in green and blue color schemes, applied with a water transfer printing process that gives it a cool underwater tie-dye feel. “Skirt design=awesome!” enthused one tester. The split strap has a bit more stretch than most spearfishing models, allowing a comfortable fit without being overly snug.

ASK ROGER:

Q: Why include freedive and spearfishing masks in a scuba test?
A: Mostly to see if they had something to offer scuba divers, and our answer was a definite yes. Though clearly not for everyone, they’re super easy to equalize. And even testers who say they’d never buy such a mask found them sur-prisingly comfortable.