OXAIR full-face mask: snorkel at the surface, breathe from the tank below

The OXAIR mask joins two things that usually stay apart: a full-face snorkel mask and a scuba tank. At the surface it works like any full-face snorkel mask. When you dive down, the air from your OXSEA tank takes over through a dedicated connector, so you can stay under and look instead of holding your breath.

How it works

The mask covers your whole face. You breathe naturally through your nose and your mouth, with a wide field of view and no mouthpiece to bite.

• At the surface, you breathe through the snorkel on top, like a regular snorkel mask. The tank is not being used.
• When you go down, the tank's air reaches you through the connector. You keep breathing normally.
• Back at the surface, you go back to the snorkel.

Because you only draw on the tank when you are below, it lasts longer over a session than if you breathed from it the whole time.

Which tank

The OXAIR mask fits all four OXSEA tanks: the OX500, the OX500Plus, the OX1000 and the OX2000. For snorkeling, the back-mounted tanks are the most comfortable, since the tank sits between your shoulders and leaves your hands free.

Where it makes sense

Clear, calm, shallow water, where most of what you want to see is a few feet under you: a reef, a jetty, a wreck in shallow water, the rocks off a beach. In the US, that means places like the Florida Keys, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, and plenty of clear lakes and quarries.

Many of the best reefs sit inside marine sanctuaries or parks with their own rules. Check what applies where you swim, and never stand on or touch coral.

Fit and care

One size, with adjustable straps. Tighten them evenly so the seal sits flat all around your face, then try it at the surface before you go down. Facial hair can get in the way of the seal.

After each use, rinse it in fresh water and let it dry in the shade. Sun and salt left to dry on the mask age the seal and the strap.

How to get it

The OXAIR mask is added on the pack page on oxsea.shop: choose your pack, then add the mask just above the buy button. Every pack in the range offers it.

The rules still apply

A mask that lets you breathe normally makes it easy to forget you are breathing compressed air. Never hold your breath on the way up, ascend slowly, and stay shallow. Fly a dive flag (see dive flag rules in the US) and read the safety guide on oxsea.shop before your first swim.