By: Ryan Shane - Sharpdiver Staff

 Your basic scuba masks consist of a silicon seal that acts as a
suction on your face preventing water from entering.

What are the MOST IMPORTANT things look for in buying a scuba
mask or snorkeling mask?

The mask is a long term investment. With the right maintenance
and care, it can last a long time.

Quality We are not talking about cheap mask that you buy
for $10.00 that will continually leak on you. A good quality
mask will run anywhere from $40.00 to $150.00 depending if there
are any special features or not. We will talk more about the
special features later in this article.

However, your basic mask MUST cover the following.

When you buy a mask there are several extremely important
features to look at. The first feature is the seal to you face.
Most masks have a good quality silicon rubber seal. The mask
should fit snuggly on your face. A good test to test fit is to
hold the mask up to your face and suck in the air through your
nose. This will remove the air in the mask creating suction to
your face. Hold your breath and do not let any air back into the
mask through your nose. While holding you breathe, try to pull
the mask off of your face. The mask should pop off sounding off
a popping noise. This tells you that there is a good seal. If
the mask falls off very easily, the mask is probably slightly to
large for you. The last thing you want while diving or
snorkeling is a leaky mask.

The second feature that you should look at is the accessibility
to your nose. While the mask is on, try to pinch your nose. By
pinching your nose we mean that both your nostrils can be
closed. This is essential if you are scuba diving as you need to
pinch your nose to equalize the air pressure as you are
descending deep into the waters.

If you have difficulties pinching your nose or can not even
reach your nose at all, that mask will not work for you.

Another thing to look for but may not be as important is the
visibility. You should have adequate peripheral vision and not
tunnel vision with the mask. A good method of checking your
peripheral vision is the following:

With your mask on, point your arm straight out in front of you
with the palm of your hands together as if you're about to
diving into a swimming pool. At this point you should see your
hands.

Next, while looking straight ahead, slowly open your hands and
arms apart moving them away from each other. Keep going until
you no longer see the hands and arms. That angle in which you
can no longer see your arms is the angle of peripheral vision.

A good range is between 100 degrees and up. Normally your
peripheral vision without the mask is close to 180 degrees.

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