Masks

Dive Masks for Great Visibility

Dive masks are essential for spearfishing.  They provide you with a way to see clearly underwater and protect your eyes from the elements.  Beuchat can provide lots of choice when it comes to spearfishing dive masks.  This will help you to pick the right mask for you at the right price.

Click here for more information on spearfishing masks.

Buyers Guide to Spearfishing Masks

Visibility is key when you are spearfishing.  You need to be able to see clearly underwater for three important reasons:

-Safety – when you are operating a speargun you need to good visibility.  This is a potentially dangerous weapon and you need to make sure no other divers or water users are nearby when you take a shot.

-Effective Hunting - you also need to see well underwater so that you can spot your prey.  You may only have a few moments to take your shot so you will need to have good visibility and great reflexes.

-Prey Identification – there may be restrictions on hunting certain species so it is also essential you are able to clearly identify marine life when you are spearfishing.

Spearfishing Masks

There are a number of mask on the market that are suitable for spearfishing.  Ideally you should be looking for masks that can provide good all-round visibility.  Dual pane masks and those with additional side panes can offer superior peripheral vision over single pane designs.  This can give you every chance to spot prey when you are hunting underwater.

You may have noticed tinted dive masks on the market.  There are two schools of thought when it comes to using these for spearfishing:

1.      Tinted masks can make it more difficult to see detail when in the water.  This can be a problem when you are spearfishing in water that already has reduced visibility.  This means you could miss prey and also other water users.  It is also though that some tinted mask designs can reflect light and startle prey. It is generally agreed that tinted masks are not suitable for colder waters or depths under 5 metres.

2.      Tinted masks can be useful though if you are hunting close to the surface in tropical waters.  The sun can be dazzling in shallow depths and many divers find tinted masks can be useful in these conditions.

Cheap Mask

If you are new to spearfishing you may not want to spend too much money at first on your equipment.  However dive masks are one piece of kit you cannot afford to cut back on. Cheaper dive masks use rubber skirts.  These are not very flexible and do not mould around your face effectively.  This means water will leak into your mask. Not only is this uncomfortable but it can also cause your mask to fog up quickly and obscure visibility.

If you are spearfishing you should opt for the best mask you can afford.  Those more expensive options with silicone skirts are much more effective at keeping water out and are more comfortable to wear.