Written by: Bob Diaz

Category: SpearViews

Published: April 20 2017

This review is actually long overdue as I've had this mask for well over a year now and I honestly don't know why I hadn't done it before now. After trying multiple masks over several years (and several hundred dollars), some were good (Mystic, Star, Nano), and some were bad (Zero Cubed). Before this, I had actually decided upon the Cressi Nano as "the one". I thoroughly enjoyed the fit and volume of the Nano, but there were a couple of VERY minor issues with the fit. I'm convinced that the issue has more to do with my face than the masks, but it was still enough to keep me looking for the perfect, or at least the next best fit. A couple of years ago at the Blue Wild Expo, I saw and got to try on a pre-production sample of the soon to be released Omer UP-M1 freediving mask. I immediately noticed the softness of the silicone skirt, how it conformed to my face and sealed instantly, even with a dry fit.

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Written by: Bob Diaz

Category: SpearViews

Published: May 29 2014

After trying and being disappointed by the Omer Zero Cubed mask last year, I picked up a couple of other masks (Mares Star and Sporasub Mystic) that fit fairly well and did not disappoint, but were not the perfect fit I've been looking for in a low volume freediving mask so I didn't feel overly compelled to write a spearview about them. In defense of these masks, they are both low volume masks that are relatively inexpensive so for the money they are great purchases. Of these two, the Sporasub Mystic is the more comfortable of the two thanks to its softer body and skirt composition. So if you're looking for a relative bargain because you don't want to lay out $80-$110 for one of the newer ultra low volume masks, I would highly recommend the Sporasub Mystic.

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Written by: Bob Diaz

Category: SpearViews

Published: September 30 2013

The summer had been busier than I would have liked this year and I honestly hadn't had as many opportunities to post much less given much thought to writing a new SpearView, but after having time to really reconsider, I realized that I had actually had multiple opportunities to try out new equipment this year (not all of it successfully). Further to that point, when I took the PFI Freediver course back in March I had decided to invest in a new mask and ended up deciding on the Omer Zero Cubed freediving mask. In trying on and discussing options at the dive shop, the guys at Austin's had made it pretty clear that the mask  had not been a good fit for many of their customers. But after trying the mask on, I thought (or hoped) that I was one of those fortunate few.

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Written by: Bob Diaz

Category: SpearViews

Published: March 18 2013

Back in March of 2010 I enrolled in and completed the FII Level One freediving course. I was extremely happy with the course content and the outcome (check out the SpearView). Unfortunately for me, I'm not a professional freediver, so as with many people, life gets in the way and complicated which in turn keeps you from building a true regimen that reinforces all the good behavior learned in the course. Needless to say, I forgot some of the basics, fell back into many of my old bad habits and my diving suffered as a result. I had been considering taking a refresher course for more than a year but hadn't had a chance to commit to it (like I said, life... complicated). Luckily for me, my wife is a Living Social member and a coupon came up in December for a super low rate on the comparable Freediver Level Course from Performance Freediving (PFI) being conducted at a local dive shop (Vortex Freediving), so my Christmas stocking was lined with a coupon for the class. 

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