Mares Esa Mask > Reviews > Plumbing the depths

Author's product rating:   

Durability	Good
How does it compare to similar products?	Satisfactory
Value for money	Poor

Advantages:	Adjustable lenses for short - sight, peripheral vision panels
Disadvantages:	Overpriced, cheaper alternatives available, awkward to adjust

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

♣♣♣ Introduction ♣♣♣

I know the waters around the U.K. aren't exactly conducive to diving for a lot of the year, being decidedly cool and murky, but there really are very few reviews on Ciao for diving-related products. I have therefore decided to rectify this situation, despite being a relative novice to diving (I have had my Open Water Licence for less than a year) and am starting with a piece of equipment which I have tried out a couple of times on recent dives.

♣♣♣ Product Description ♣♣♣

Like other scuba masks, this is made of tough, durable plastic and glass, and it provides eye protection and nose coverage which is essential for mouth breathing through a regulator. Unlike other masks, this one also comes with additional vision panels which give a greater sense of all-round vision than do normal facemasks. The Esa has panels below each eye which allow for viewing below and the manufacturer recommends that this is useful for viewing diving gauges and weighbelts, or just seeing what is directly underneath you. There are also side panels which give peripheral vision, useful to stop you scraping against coral or banging into other divers. The mask is also recommended for divers with sight problems and both the main lenses and bottom panels can be specially adjusted for short sighted divers.

♣♣♣ My experiences ♣♣♣

I had the opportunity to try this mask out a couple of times on short dives recently instead of my usual bog-standard mask. The mask is certainly quite snug fitting and I have to say I didn't find it all that easy to adjust: the maker claims that they have included special swivel buckles to make adjustment easier, but I found these to be a bit fiddly, especially when trying to adjust them in the water.

Where the mask did excel over other masks is its performance once you're under the water. Those extra panels on the bottom and sides really did come in handy for providing extra all round vision and as I have scraped up against coral in the past the side windows in particular were great. They were also useful for avoiding other divers and as someone who has had other divers' fins brush his face in the past, I found this to be very handy indeed. However, I think it fair to point out that most divers should not need this extra all round vision and there is some truth in saying that using a standard facemask may make you a more careful diver, as you are forced to think about your position in the water relative to other objects much more. Certainly this is not a mask for new diver training: divers who come to rely on always having all-round vision may struggle a bit when they don a standard facemask and find their field of vision reduced.

In order to really test the mask, I also decided to try an experiment to see how easy it is to put back on underwater and how easy it is to clear: almost all divers have at some time lost their masks whilst underwater and have had to replace them and then purge them of water, a technique usually taught during diver training. After pulling off the mask, I was able to replace it fairly easily but again found the adjustable straps a bit more fiddly than I am used to and couldn't easily loosen the mask when it felt a bit tight. The tightness of the mask also meant it was a bit harder to clear the mask of water but I managed this and was pleased that there was absolutely no fogging of the vision panels after I had completed this, as can sometimes occur with cheaper masks. This also means that you don't need to rub the vision panels with your own spit before using them to prevent misting.

As someone who is extremely short-sighted I had hoped to try out the vision correction capabilities of this mask but in order to do this I would really have had to buy the mask and get special lenses fitted (when I tried this mask out I was only hiring or borrowing it). However, I am not sure how useful I would have found this facility. I am now used to wearing contact lenses when I dive and like the fact that I can take my mask off when I get to the surface and still see clearly, which wouldn't be possible for someone relying on the mask for clear vision. I also like to take the minimum amount of stuff with me on dive boats and would not like to have to muck about with glasses or contact lenses before and after the dive. I can see that the mask is useful if you are worried about your contacts being washed away (a potential problem if you lose your mask and have to open your eyes under water) but if you are careful this should not be a problem.

♣♣♣ Value for Money ♣♣♣

This particular piece of kit sits at what I would call the "luxury" end of the equipment range, and I would have to have been very good all year for Santa to bring this to me on Christmas day. The vast majority of recreational divers make use of less expensive face masks for their entire diving careers, as indeed do most instructors and it is only really divers with some cash to burn who would consider this a good investment, costing as it does upwards of £40. In terms of availability, I have so far seen it advertised via the Ciao website on Mega Dive Store's website for £46.80 and on Tauchsport for £47.00. However, DiveBooty are selling it for £79.94, which is a considerable difference in price and just goes to show that it pays to shop around.

Although I have tried it on several occasions it is not something that I would personally buy, as I believe there are other face masks which provide just as good eye protection and nose coverage and cost half the price of this. Diving is already an expensive hobby without having to add unnecessary expenses: I spend enough on hiring tanks and other equipment each time without having to buy an overpriced mask. I am also not sure that I would recommend this mask even to short-sighted divers unless they were unable to cope with contact lenses. The side and bottom panels are a nice feature but not really worth the extra money this mask costs.

Experienced divers with some cash to burn may like to invest in this but I think for most divers the expense is not justified and I certainly don't think it is worthwhile for occasional recreational divers (like myself) or those who fancy doing a bit of scuba diving or snorkelling on their next holiday.

♣♣♣ Summary ♣♣♣

Bit of a short (and hopefully sweet) review for me, but at the end of the day there isn't much more you can say about a facemask. This one is nice to look at and has interesting possibilities for the vision impaired but is ultimately overpriced and only for richer divers. Stick to an ordinary, bog standard mask and you'll save yourself about £20-30 which you can spend on other dive costs instead.