The importance of internal volume and field of view
First of all, it is important to specify that a diving mask, be it designed for freediving, spearfishing or scuba diving, has in the watertightness and comfort its most important characteristics. So, first of all, these two aspects have to be verified by each one of us, as such operation is probably the most personal and subjective one needed for any diving equipment.
Once we are confident our mask insures these watertightness and comfort, another upgrade for a more professional selection of our mask are the internal volume and field of view. The first parameter permits to have a reduced need of equalizing the mask during the dive. Such aspect is evidently of greater importance and impact the deeper is our dive. The second parameter of course increases our capacity to see underwater in every direction without having to move our head. The field of view is always important, but of course it has a decisive advantage in spearfishing. This means that, for deep spearfishing, both parameters have an important impact in the choice of the mask.
Apneapassion certified Internal Volume & Field of View
For many years Apneapassion has studied and analyzed all the best diving masks on the market. A particular focus has been put in measuring with the highest precision their Internal Volume and Field of View. Only through continuous deep testing, parameter identification and knowledge of all the forces acting on a diving mask has Apneapassion been able to reach its goal.
Today Apneapassion, thanks to the great experience and specifically designed and manufactured machinery, is the first and only independent reality in the world able to measure with outstanding precision and repeatability the Internal Volume and Field of View of any mask on the market.
Additionally, as independent organization, Apneapassion is able to carry out such measurements for masks of any brand, utilizing the same parameters and technology, making every result comparable.
The companies aware of great values of their masks for either the internal volume or the field of view, or a great combination of both parameters, will have the opportunity to certify such values through an independent organization such as Apneapassion. Passionate spearos, freedivers and scuba divers will from today be able to check internal volume and field of view of their masks referring to the measures made by Apneapassion, comparing one mask to the other and making the final purchase choice.
The “Certified by Apneapassion” logos will represent a sign of quality and reliability for such values. Only masks indicating the internal volume and the field of view together with the below logos will have a reliable and comparable certification.
Internal volume
To proceed with the measures done by Apneapassion, each mask is mounted on the head of a certified dummy, which is the same for every measurement. The mask is positioned applying a constant traction to make it adhere to the dummy’s face. All the parameters have been studied to replicate at best real life conditions, and to be unvaried from measure to measure.
Through a silicone tube and a graduated siringe, a quantity of water is injected inside the mask until it fills all the internal volume. Such value is measured and the process is filmed for a totally transparent result. The Salvimar Noah, winner of the prestigious Best Choice by Apneapassion in the spearfishing masks segment, has obtained the extremely good value of 96 cm3.
One of the most famous diving masks, the Technisub Micromask, now unfortunately no more in production, has obtained almost the same value, with 93 cm3 .
Field of view
To measure the field of view the same kind of dummy head is used. A Camera is inserted exactly in the position of the left eye of the dummy. With specified parameters such as distance from a target and, again, traction applied on the mask, a photo is shot. The image will clearly indicate the field of view of the mask on the target. The values on the target will determine the capacity of the mask to give visibility in all 360° directions around the horizontal visual axis of the eye.
Technisub Micromask
We start with the measurement of the Technisub Micromask. It is surely a great diving, freediving and spearfishing mask. We have seen the extremely low internal volume (93 cm3), let’s see what the field of view looks like. The measures in all directions starting from the North and moving counterclockwise, as visible in the below image, are:
66 + 80 +77 + 68 + 63 + 41 + 43 + 70 = 508.
This is an extremely good value for the field of view. Additionally, there are no critical areas except for the two directions towards the nose, which are always limited, but can also be “supported”covered” by the right eye.
Salvimar Noah
Once again, we take into consideration also the Salvimar Noah, as point of reference winner of the Best Choice. It has won thanks to its great comfort, but also the excellent mix between low internal volume and great, uniform, field of view. The latter, taking into consideration the image below, gives us a final value of 529. This number is given again, as for the Technisub Micromask, by the sum of the values in all directions. The final result is:
65 + 90 + 80 +73 + 75 + 42 + 42 + 62 = 529. Such value being quite higher than the Micromask.
More Apneapassion certified measures of both the Internal Volume and Field of View will be made and published in the coming weeks, so keep following us. Register to our newsletter on Apneapassion.com and our Youtube Channel.
