Gear Reviews – Page 3 – Scuba Diving Overload

Whether you are looking for a brand new scuba diving or snorkeling mask, in this post I review the Top 8 polarized diving or snorkel masks. Polarized scuba diving masks are also known as UV-protection or ray blocker scuba masks. They are usually recognizable by the mirror effect on their lenses. Polarized scuba diving masks are the best option for divers that dive mostly in exotic locations or in sunny weather. In fact, their glasses have a special coating that will protect your eyes from UV rays. If you are into snorkeling rather than diving, each single polarized snorkel mask I review is a perfect fit for snorkeling as well. I generally do not recommend polarized scuba masks for divers that are taking diving courses. The anti UV-Coating may prevent your instructor from looking in your eyes or checking whether your mask is partially flooded for example. Polarized scuba masks can however turn handy for divers that have undergone relatively recent eye surgery and that should better protect their eyes from UV-rays. When it comes to polarized scuba diving masks, you should take into account that in most cases we are looking at the top-of-the-line masks for most producers. This will result in premium prices. If you are looking to buy a new mask and need a comprehensive guide, check out my article on How to Choose the Perfect Scuba Diving Mask. Before we get into the list of top polarized scuba masks, allow me one warning. UV-protection or polarization in scuba masks is achieved by applying a special coating either on the inside or outside (sometimes both) the scuba mask lenses. You should therefore pay special attention while cleaning your mask and avoid any abrasive product. Given the special coating small scratches on polarized masks are more noticeable than scratches in normal scuba diving masks. Before going through the details of each mask, I summarize below the anti-UV masks we will be looking at and their relative score. Scoring is on a 1 to 10 scale and takes into account 4 factors: field of view, comfort, extras and cost. BrandMask NameOverall ScorePriceScubaproD-Mask9.0 / 10CHECK PRICEAtomic AquaticsSubframe ARC8.25 / 10CHECK PRICETusaParagon8.0 / 10-Atomic AquaticsVenom ARC7.25 / 10CHECK PRICEMaresX Vision Ultra LS7.25 / 10CHECK PRICEAqualungMistique Plus HD7.75 / 10-TusaZensee Pro Mask7.25 / 10CHECK PRICETusaParagon S7.0 / 10CHECK PRICEThe Top 8 Polarized Masks for Scuba Diving or Snorkeling Atomic Aquatics Venom ARC The Atomic Aquatics Venom ARC is the polarized version of Atomic’s super popular Venom mask first developed in 2011. Venom ARC by Atomic Aquatics It combines Atomic’s ultra clear glass technology (made in Germany) with a double layer of polarizing coating both on the interior and on the exterior of the mask. The ultra clear glass technology makes it ideal for diving in a diverse range of conditions. This is because the polarizing film do not affect visibility. A nice feature of the Venom ARC is that it comes with a lifetime warranty against frame breakage. The mask is built with a single lens which makes it less ideal for divers that need optical or prescription lenses. However the Venom ARC’s single lens is optimally designed for unobstructed view and wide field of vision. In fact, the lens is slightly larger towards the bottom right and left edges so that you won't notice the mask frame while diving. A small downside of the mask is that it comes with a classic silicone head strap. I personally find this uncomfortable. I would have expected a bit more from Atomic Aquatics, particularly given the price. Field of view: Thanks to the specially designed single lens, the Atomic Aquatics Venom ARC provides an unobstructed and large field of view. Particularly useful during daylight dives. I score it as a 9 out of 10. Comfort: The double layer, dual silicone skirt makes the Venom ARC particularly comfortable and highly effective against small water leaks. This is definitely an 8 out of 10, mostly due to the lack of a neoprene head strap. Extras: unfortunately, there are little to no extras available with the Atomic Aquatics Venom ARC. Because of the lifetime warrantee on the lenses I score it as 7 out of 10. Cost: Price is rather on the expensive side of the range. I do understand the premium linked to Atomic Aquatics, which is one of the best brands in the market, but would have liked some additional extra features in such price range. The score is a 5 out of 10. Overall Score: 7.25 out of 10 is our final score. It reflects a good quality polarized scuba diving mask which is however slightly overpriced given its features. Atomic Aquatics Subframe ARC The Atomic Aquatics Subframe Arc Mask is a framed rugged mask, built with metal reinforcements. Subframe ARC by Atomic Aquatics The mask comes in a classic plastic case which we find a bit unfortunate given the relatively high price. Just like the Atomic Aquatics Venom ARC, the Subframe ARC is designed for improved visibility and wide field of view. Atomic Aquatic’s ARC technology is a multi-layer metal oxide coating process applied to both sides of the mask’s lenses. This allows a greater amount of light to enter the mask by reducing light reflections off the inside and outside surface of the lens. The Subframe ARC is a dual lens mask built with metal reinforcements protecting the glass. Just like the Venom ARC, the Subframe ARC also has a lifetime warranty on the lenses. The head strap buckles are made of silicone flex and have a single reverse button at the top which is relatively small but well positioned and you will be able to reach it also with stiff dry gloves. The mask has a second internal seal which helps spreading the pressure around. Below the nose this is just one single seal, making it ideal for divers with facial hair or mustache. It also eases removal of water. The Subframe ARC is priced more competitively as compared to the Venom ARC and has two colour options. It comes either in a black or clear version. Field of view: Atomic Aquatics has done quite a great job on its field of view. The Subframe ARC has a wide field of view and I score it 9 out of 10. Comfort: The double layer, dual silicone skirt makes the Subframe ARC particularly comfortable and highly effective against small water leaks. The thinner skirt below the nose makes this mask perfect for divers with a moustache. This is definitely a 9 out of 10. Extras: The mask comes in two different versions, either black or clear. Just like the Venom ARC it has a lifetime warranty on the lenses. I score extras as an 8 out of 10. Cost: Price remains on the expensive side of the range and more competitive as compared to the Venom ARC. But don’t forget that we are talking about Atomic Aquatics. The score is a 7 out of 10. Overall Score: 8.25 out of 10 is our final score. It reflects a good quality polarized scuba diving mask with a great field of view and added comfort for divers with facial hair or moustache. Scubapro D-Mask The D-Mask is Scubapro’s flagship mask, made to match the style of the D Pro Regulator. It is a low volume mask, perfect for recreational and technical divers or snorkelers. D-Mask by Scubapro D-Mask’s lenses are made in Germany and have both a premium optical grade glass and a UV-protection coating. The Scubapro D-Mask skirt is made of ultra-soft silicone and comes in two different colours. Black or clear, for improved field of view. The skirt comes in three different sizes so that it can accommodate virtually all faces profiles, from kids to adults. The shape of the oversized lenses make the D-Mask’s field of view quite wide, and despite the two separate lenses, we were not disturbed by the middle section of the mask in terms of visibility. Although the standard version of the mask comes with the frame in Scubapro’s metallic silver and blue, there are several options to customize it. Colours you can choose from are: total black or total transparent/clear colour, black, turquoise, yellow, and pink. An additional feature I really like about the Scupapro D-Mask, is that it comes with a mounting point for Scubapro’s HUD computer. The very same mounting point can be used to install other visual accessories such as a GoPro for example. As you might have noticed up to now, one of the main advantages of the Scubapro’s D-Mask are the many customization opportunities. The D-Mask fits as a standard Scubapro’s comfort mask strap which is a mid-way between the classic silicone head straps and the more comfortable neoprene straps, and the mask comes with an EVA case. In case you need optical lenses Scubapro’s D-Mask is definitely one of the best options on the market, as its lenses can be easily substituted for optical ones. The procedure is quite simple and can even be done at home with a sufficient level of attention. Summing up, the D-Mask is my top choice among all polarized masks given the many customization possibilities and accessories available on the market. Field of view: Scubapro D-mask’s field of view is a 10 out of 10 for the clear version and an 8 out of 10 for the black version. Although the lenses are quite wide if you look far to the left or to the right you can somewhat sport a bit of the mask’s frame. Overal score for the field of view is a 9 out of 10. Comfort: Comfort is unparalleled, both the silicone skirt and the Scubapro head strap are extremely comfortable. This is one of the very few masks for which I do not feel the need to buy a neoprene strap. I assign a 10 out of 10. Extras: When it comes to extras and customisation possibilities the D-Mask is definitely the best you can find on the market. Straight 10 out of 10. Cost: This is one of the clear example where quality comes at a cost. Retail price for the Scubapro D-Mask is high, but it surely is a good investment. I assign a 7 out of 10. Overall Score: total average score for the Scubapro D-Mask is a straight 9 out of 10, reflecting one of the scuba diving masks with the greatest potential. Tusa Zensee Pro Mask The Zensee Pro Mask is Tusa’s flagship mask. It is built with a single lens providing a wide field of view thanks to the extra wide lens. Zensee Pro Mask by Tusa The lens is coated both with a UV-protection and anti for coating providing both enhanced protection against sunrays and additional comfort as you will not need to defog the mast that frequently. As it is often the case, I find that the antifog coating is not super effective. You will therefore need to apply some nonabrasive defogging product at least for your first dive. For repetitive dives, I find that the anti-fog coating does quite a good job. The mask is totally frameless, quite a useful feature for divers that travel a lot and that need to optimize luggage space. The Tusa Zensee Pro Mask comes with a 3 years warranty, which I find quite nice given the relative high price. The mask’s skirt has different thicknesses for additional comfort. The skirt area directly below your nose is somewhat thinner, which we find particularly interesting for divers having facial hair or a mustache. The Zensee Pro is available in three different colours: black, grey and green. The mask has a quick adjust buckle system with two relatively small buttons that are not super comfortable in case you are diving with stiff gloves. In its standard version, the mask is delivered in a classic plastic box and mounts a classic silicone head strap with TUSA’s 3D technology that makes it more adaptive to the curvature of your head. Field of view: The Zensee Pro mask has quite a good field of view. This is actually one of the best features of this mask. I score it 8 out of 10. Comfort: The Zensee Pro is relatively comfortable, but we find it unfit for divers having a relatively small face. I score comfort at an average score of 5 over 10. Extras: The mask comes with quite standard features, no extras and little customisation possibilities. I give a 5 out of 10. Cost: The Zensee Pro Mask is priced at the medium high range for polarized masks, although it doesn’t come with any extras. I give a 7 out of 10 mostly due to the 3 years warranty. Overall Score: total average score for the Zensee Pro Mask is a straight 6.25 out of 10, reflecting a relative good scuba diving mask with no-nonsense features and selling at a relatively high price range. Tusa Paragon S The TUSA Paragon S is a relatively heavy framed mask, with single lens. The frame system is called trimix frame. It has three layers of materials protecting your lenses: polyurethane, steel, and polycarbonate. Paragon S by Tusa The Paragon S comes with an anti-reflective coating, which protects the diver from UV rays and also enhances color, clarity and contrast while diving. It is a particularly rugged mask, which turns out to be handy for specific dives such as cave dives. It can also function as a rugged backup mask (backup masks are usually subject to more stress than primary masks). Inner skirt made of super soft silicone for additional comfort. The mask is a medium volume mask. Water has a direct route to drop out of the mask from the nose, which we find particularly useful to remove water in case of flooding or partial flooding. The straps buckle is directly connected to the skirt and is adjustable. You can therefore adjust it based on the shape of your face. We find this feature particularly useful as it helps putting less strain on the head strap and increase its duration. Head strap comes in classic soft silicone but has a slight curvature so that it adapts better to a diver’s head shape. Although we find this an improvement as compared to classic silicone head straps, we still prefer neoprene head straps. Field of view: The TUSA Paragon S mask has a good field of view. It is wide and unobstructed. I score it 9 out of 10. Comfort: The TUSA Paragon S is relatively comfortable, but it’s rather made for divers with a relatively medium to large shape of the face. This is a bit a common pitfall of the TUSA polarized masks line. I score comfort at an average score of 5 over 10. Extras: The mask comes with quite standard features, no extras but indeed there are some customization options in terms of color. The TUsa Paragon S is available in Black Silicone with either Black, Green, Orange, Blue, Yellow, Dark Red, Pink or white details on the frame. Alternatively, an all-white version is also available. I give a 7 out of 10. Cost: The Tusa Paragon S is priced at the high range for polarized masks. I give a 7 out of 10. Overall Score: total average score for the Tusa Paragon S Mask is a straight 7 out of 10. This reflects good quality polarized scuba diving mask with some customisation possibilities and high pricing. Tusa Paragon The Tusa Paragon Mask has virtually the very same features of the Tusa Paragon S including pricing, with a major difference. Paragon by Tusa The Tusa Paragaon comes with two separate lenses as opposed to the single lens of the Tusa Paragon S. We have checked it out and could not observe any visible difference in terms of field of view. One of the main advantages of having two separate lenses is that the Tusa Paragon can actually mount optical lenses. Overall Score: Given that I find all features to be identical to the TUsa Paragon S, I only provide the overall score for the Tusa Paragon, which is a straight 8 out of 10. Slightly higher as compared to the Paragon S given the possibility to mount optical lenses. Mares X Vision Ultra LS The X Vision Ultra Liquid Skin is Mares’ flagship polarized lenses mask. It comes in two versions, that you can easily distinguish by the colour of the lenses. X Vision Ultra LS by Mares The gold version has golden coated lenses that reduce blue colours underwater, putting more emphasis on red colours. This will improve visibility of colours insofar as you will be able to better see true colours of fish and reefs at greater depths. The silver version has silver coated lenses that are made to reduce glare while at the surface and protect your eyes from UV rays. The X Vision Ultra Liquid Skin has an X shaped frame, specifically designed to improve divers’ field of vision. If you try the mask on and look at the edges of the lenses without moving your head, you will barely notice the frame of the mask. In terms of field of vision, the modified teardrop lenses of the Mares X Vision Ultra LS make it almost unbeatable. The mask skirt is designed in a way that the seal is extra wide and soft. You will find it highly adaptable to different face shapes. One of the drawbacks of this feature is that divers with long hair will need to pay particular attention while putting the mask on. Any entangled hair can in fact result in small water leaks into your Mares X Vision Ultra LS. The mask also has an inner skirt, improving sealing capabilities. Head straps are attached to the middle part of the skirt, which is made out of harder silicone for increased durability. The head straps themselves are also made of silicone and have the Mares classic X shape. This makes highly adaptable to the curvature of your head. Although they are highly adaptable, we still think they do not beat neoprene head straps which can be bought separately. The straps buckle has a pinch clip for easy adjustment, however we find that the two adjustment buttons are relatively small in case you are using stiff gloves such as drysuit gloves. The Mares X Vision Ultra Liquid can mount optical lenses. Field of view: Mares has really worked on the X Vision Ultra Liquidskin field of vision. I find it almost unbeatable for similar masks with dark coloured skirt and this is why we assign an overall score of 10 out of 10. Comfort: The ultra-soft silicone skirt and inner skirt make the Mares X Vision Ultra Liquidskin quite comfortable, particularly for divers that have short hair. With longer hair, ensuring that no hair is entangled in the ultra-wide skirt can be quite cumbersome, from which a 7 out of 10 as a comfort score. Extras: No special extras unfortunately when it comes to the X Vision Ultra Liquidskin. This is a bit of a shame for a top-of the-line model. I give a 4 out of 10 due to the X-shaped head strap which still adds some additional comfort as compared to a classical silicone head strap. Cost: Price is quite competitive as the X Vision Ultra Liquidskin is sold online at an average price around $100. This is definitely on the lower end for premium polarized masks. I give an 8 out of 10. Overall Score: total average score for the Mares X Vision Ultra Liquidskin is a 7.25 out of 10. This reflects an extremely interesting price performance ratio in this category of scuba diving masks. Aqualung Mistique Plus HD The Mistique DS is one of Aqualung’s bestsellers and is selling at a super competitive price. Mistique Plus HD by Aqualung The mask is a hard-frame single lens mask with an external anti-UV coating. The strap buckles are mounted directly on the masks’ skirt, making the Mistique Plus HD highly flexible. In fact you can fold the mask as easily as a frameless mask. In addition to the anti-UV coating, the aqualung Mistique Plus HD also comes with an anti-fog coating that improves visibility. The mask’s skirt is made out of extra soft silicone and just like the Mares X Vision SL. It is extra wide so that it can comfortably adapt to different face shapes. It is also a good mask for thinner faces or for younger divers. One of the backdrops of the wide silicone skirt is that divers with longer hair might find it somewhat cumbersome to prevent their hair from getting into the mask. The Aqualung Mistique Plus HD headstrap looks like a classic silicone adjustable strap. Paying a closer look at it, you can realize that the part of the strap lying against your head is actually slightly curved for greater comfort. This is what Aqualung refers to as their 3D technology. You can easily adjust the straps by slightly lifting the buckles fixed on the mask skirt. I find their use particularly comfortable also while using stiff gloves. Last but not least, the Aqualung Mistique Plus HD comes in a zippered EVA case, which is quite comfortable both for transportation and protection purposes. Given that it is a single lens mask, the Aqualung Mistique Plus HD is not the best choice for divers requiring optical lenses. Field of view: The extra wide single lens of the Aqualung Mistique Plus HD prvides this mask with an excellent field of view. You will really need to make an effort to notice the frame on the sides. Due to the single lens you have an uninterrupted field of vision. My score is 9 out of 10. Comfort: Thanks to the extra-soft and wide silicone skirt, the Mistique Plus HD is quite comfortable. I give a 7 out of 10 as this might not be the perfect fit for divers with longer hair. Extras: Although we would still prefer a neoprene head strap, Mistique Plus HD comes with a zippered EVA case which we find quite useful to carry the mask along diving trips. I give a 7 out of 10 to the extras. Cost: The price of the Aqualung Mistique Plus HD is medium low. Slightly higher than the Mares X Vision Ultra LS, but still super competitive for a mask with polarized lenses. I give an 8 out of 10. Overall Score: total average score for the Aqualung Mistique Plus HD is a 7.75 out of 10. The relative high score reflects the good price to value of this mask. It also reflects Aqualung’s efforts in providing extra accessories such as the EVA case. Seadive masks While researching the best polarized diving masks, i came across Seadive. Given that i never had the chance to try their products out, i decided not to review their masks. I find this brand quite promising, and if you have any experience with it, shoot me an email or comment down below. Check out the prices.