Hollis M1 Frameless Scuba Diving Mask

This was ordered with a Atomic Venom Frameless, and a much cheaper option, the Cressi Lince – in my search for a better-fitting mask to avoid the dreaded dive-ruining leak-fest.

Spoiler alert, I ended up with the Hollis M1, but *really* wanted to keep the Venom [as well/instead of].

LIGHT TRANSMISSION/CLARITY:
This one came in a *pretty* close second to the Venom. They both claim to have optically clear, proprietary-whatever, ultra-white glass. In reality, the Venom was jaw-dropping, this one was not. Nothing bad here, and honestly, without the Venom to compare it to, I might have been more impressed. They both trounced the Cressi.

VISIBILITY:
Again, I’m going to give this one second place to the Venom, but by a much closer margin. The design is such that vertical and lateral visibility is pretty terrific – thanks to the huge sheet of unobstructed glass in front of your face. It’s not winning any hydrodynamic awards for streamlining, but at least you see well! The Cressi was garbage here… with serious tunnel-vision.

MATERIALS:
It’s really pretty nice… although I’ve read the strap design is kind of crap (small teeth that slip?) and may need a backup strap with more aggressive teeth. The Venom was nicer – again, not much surprise, and the Venom is significantly more expensive.

COMFORT & FIT:
Here’s where the M1 pulled ahead for me. The Venom had a nosepiece design with a hard ridge over the bridge, that painfully dug into my nose, just while doing a mask-fitting in my studio. I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable that would be under pressure down below. The seal on the M1 really just fit my [weird?] face shape that much better, so it became the only obvious choice to keep… it truly does just boil down to which-mask-won’t-leak at the end of the day!

I’ll try to update this review after a dive trip in a few weeks, once I’ve tested it in the water!

UPDATE (AFTER DIVING):
After 4 dives in Cozumel, the review holds firm and I have no regrets with the mask… however, this one caused uncomfortable pressure on the underside of my nose, that was really pretty painful over time. The clarity was top notch, the seal was fantastic (again, even with my scruff), but I had to equalize the pressure much more while descending, and often even with depth changes as little as a few meters during the dive – just to alleviate some of the pressure on the underside of the nose.

This is still my new primary dive mask, until I find something with the fit, minus the singular comfort issue.

I will add though, I have a pretty large nose, so this might fit others like an absolute champ. Try it and see!

I have used this freediving for the past 3 years and it is superb. I’ve looked after it and so far no splits, tears or perishing.

Visibility is obviously amazing however for me it really shines in the comfort. I have a fairly big nose and this mask is fine for hours on end.

Great mask, I really really really wanted this mask to work but unfortunately it was too large for my face. The Hollis M1 was supposed to work for people with narrow faces but when compared to the Scubapro Spectra it is obvious that the M1’s seal is a lot wider.
The quality of this mask is very good and it feels very supple with a great field of vision, everything I wanted in a mask except for the constant non stop leaking.
The real pisser is that this mask fits my wife perfectly, so I guess it’s going to be hers, taunting me on every dive. Great mask, only wish it fit.

Prodotto arrivato rispettando i tempi di consegna, nella sua custodia in plastica rigida molto utile. La maschera si presenta bene, si adatta perfettamente a diverse forme di viso (in famiglia ne abbiamo tre), e consente una visibilità ad ampio raggio. Inizialmente il vetro si appannava con rapidità: un po’ di sapone per i piatti e saliva e il problema si è risolto con facilità. Ad oggi, con diverse immersioni ben riuscire, posso consigliarne certamente l’aquisto, ottimo rapporto qualità prezzo.

There’s nothing i dislike about this mask.i did have to burn off some silicon on the inside and i used the pepsodent tooth paste trick and scrubbed the inside and outside of the glass 4 times. It doesn’t fog at all now. The mask is very comfortable and doesn’t leave any marks on my face. The glass is very clear , no color distortion at all. I also have an atomic venom and Tusa freedom 100 HD.this mask is every bit as good as them. The water temp this morning was 83.5 so there was no condensation on the inside of the mask. We will see how it does when the water drops into the low 70’s. Also I love the bucke system on this mask, very simple and appears to be very rugged. One other thing the mask has a very nice matte finish. I’m not fond of shiny things. Although i have heard sharks love shiny reflective thing. Reminds them of fish scales. All round its a great mask. Try one on at a dive shop to see if it fits. I have a lean face and it’s a perfect fit.

I bought this mask after my 15 year old one finally started to leak. I did my research reading reviews and a lot of professionals use this mask for scuba diving. I used the flame method followed by white toothpaste to remove the silicone. I have to say this mask is crystal clear underwater, zero fogging, and zero leaks. I do use a couple drops of defog to make sure there wasnt any fogging but I tried with just some spit and it worked perfectly as well. I also should mention I have a facial hair and the mask still works great. I did several dives with this while on vacation and it performed like a champion.