Mares Aquazone Full Face Mask

What

A full-face mask for relaxed surface snorkelling, with a built-in snorkel and no mouthpiece to hold between your teeth. The Mares Aquazone lets you breathe through your nose or mouth, and its snorkel folds down for packing. This is an adult mask for watching from the surface, not diving down.

Why

I have always envied people who dive beneath the surface, return and clear their snorkel with one effortless puff. Mine seemed intent on killing me without my leaving the surface. I never quite settled into the breathing, and a mouthpiece previously enjoyed by a succession of strangers did little to improve my enthusiasm. On excursions, I often passed on snorkelling altogether.

Full-face masks finally got me into the water. For a trip somewhere like Raja Ampat, that changes rather a lot. I could breathe through my nose or mouth and pay attention to what I had travelled so far to see, rather than conduct another argument with a tube.

The first versions were not perfect. The current generation from a proper scuba-equipment maker like Mares feels like a relief. Now that I’m a mother, I’m looking forward to sharing that underwater world with my son when he’s old enough.