If you were to research trends in scuba and water-based activities, you’d learn pretty quickly that people have been searching for the terms “full-face,” and “snorkeling” together quite a bit recently. Full-face snorkel masks have only been around for a few years but they grab more attention and accolades by the day. What makes them so special?
Why use a full-face snorkel mask?
Those who design dive masks and snorkeling gear usually have years of in-water experience, and thusly their products are designed for people who are already comfortable in the water.
As divers, we forget what it’s like for a huge chunk of the population — potential ocean lovers and fellow future divers, free divers and explorers — who have never been able to overcome the uncomfortable moments when they first tried putting their face in the water with a traditional dive mask.
Water leaking and having to clear the mask without any experience, for many, feels like a daunting task. On top of that, you must consider possible fogging, the claustrophobic sensation generated by a small field of vision, and not being able to breath through your nose. Let’s not forget the most difficult task for newbies — clearing water from a snorkel while keeping the mouthpiece in place. With the full-face snorkel mask, we’ve tried to eliminate some of these barriers for newcomers, introducing our blue planet to them in a way that’s easy to master.
How does it work?
The ARIA makes if far easier to start discovering the underwater world. Users can breathe naturally through their nose, and needn’t bite on anything to keep the unit in their mouth. The mask doesn’t fog; there’s no water in the snorkel; and the field of vision is cinematic. Simply put, the ARIA increases the chance that new snorkelers will remain snorkelers, and may move on to diving if they’re comfortable enough in the water. And if you’re already an experienced snorkeler? Well, it’s just plain fun for self-professed water people. And if you’re viewing animals at the surface, it may considerably increase your snorkeling time out of sheer comfort and ease of use.
What’s the story behind ARIA?
ARIA is the evolution of the original Easybreath snorkeling mask, with a higher aim in terms of style, breathing effort and accessories. As with many second-generation products, it borrows all the best features from the first generation and moves them a step forward. ARIA is also available in the U.S. (unlike the Easybreath mask), sold also as the Sea-Vu Dry. The hoped-for result of introducing and promoting full-face snorkeling is to introduce more people to the ocean, creating more snorkelers, divers, conservationists and defenders of the marine environment.
Tough-skinned, salt-water-in-their-veins divers and ocean enthusiasts may initially object that some boundaries and obstacles must be surmounted and conquered to really enjoy and respect the ocean, and while this may be true, why put so much of the planet out of reach of so many? Let’s include the newbies in our tribe — who knows, they may be the dive leaders of tomorrow, all thanks to the full-face snorkel mask.
