riffe frameless mask review

[jdeirmend]

Pros:

Best fitting, most comfortable, best sealing mask I've ever used. Hands down. This coming from a guy with a fat nose, a deviated septum, and a bulbous, round face.

Good field of vision, too. Not quite as good as my old Big Eye, but close enough for me to not notice too much or care.

Cons:

Relatively high volume. Not an issue at the depths I dive to (I'll rarely descend to more than 40') and not so big a deal because I can clear hands-free anyways, repeatedly and as I descend if needs be.

Afterthought:

I'm never going back to a framed mask again. This thing is absolutely inconspicuous (!!!) even after 5+ hours of diving. What that means in layman's terms is that its an excellent piece of equipment; it does its job so damn well, and without bothering your face, that you forget it's there at all. Be sure to keep the strap relatively LOOSE! It will seal very well with air pressure alone, and be more comfortable this way.

I would recommend this mask to anyone with a large face who has a hard time finding a comfy mask. Well worth the $50 bucks I paid for it.

[Polystigma]

Nice review. I have been searching for a good mask for a while. Maybe I will give this one or the APNEA a shot.

[xahxxx]

i use a riffe mask and so far it beats the picasso mask i used previous. just fits my face really well.

Thanks for the review!

[bbprodive]

I can not keep the frameless masks on the shelves here in the dive shop. People love them.

[Superfrog]

I recently got an Oceanic Shadow, it is a frameless ultra-low volume mask.

It sits extremely close to your face, and on a deeper dive, the mask will compress to the point that the lens will contact your nose bridge/forehead area, and then the skirt cannot do jack for sealing. You will get a leak.

If you cannot "hands free" clear, the lower skirt also can be a problem, the lower skirt portion is super thin and pliable and is easily disturbed. Razor stubble can be a problem too.

By pulling the mask as low as possible, just above my upper lip, I can mitigate the problem somewhat.

I usually dive Old School stuff that works, so I was not even thinking that the lens might touch my face. just a heads up for these low volume masks.

That Riffe sure does look good, I will have to try one.

[Mike Eberhardt]

James,

I've used that very same mask for months now. My only complaint, like yours, is the high volume. When you get past a certain depth, the mask really tends to crush your face a bit.

I told someone i know about this problem, and he said to blow air out of my nose, and that will relieve some pressure down deep.

I can't wait to try his advice.

Glad you like the mask, and welcome to club 'frameless'

[Andrewdavis34]

James,

I am glad you are stoked on your Riffe Frameless. I recently purchased one and it was indeed a very comfortable mask with great visibilty.

Unfortunately I have a narrow face and it squeezed the living daylights out of me when diving deeper than 15'. I returned the mask and went with a Riffe Viso.

The Viso fits me about the same out of the water as the frameless, but I don't get squeezed.

Andrew

[MiguelT]

out of curiosity, does it come with an amber lens option?

[FishHunter]

I got a Riffe frameless I'll trade for someone's OMER Bandit, Alien, or Abyss. Great field of vision for the Riffe I just like the Bandit I lost better.

[jdnieman]

my usual dive partner hated his and returned it because it put pressure on his nose and forehead. Interestingly, he likes my Omer alien, which is similar. I personally liked his Riffe but didn't get to dive significantly with it. It did pressure the bridge of my nose too, so it might not have worked out.

[LGHT]

out of curiosity, does it come with an amber lens option?

Nope.

Is there really a HUGE advantage getting an amber lens? Never used them before, but my mask is so so and I may consider getting a new one and if I do I would like to know if amber is good choice and if so what conditions.

[MiguelT]

under murky or silty conditions amber lens masks are, in my opinion, much nicer than clear ones, once you use one in relatively poor vis you'll never go back :)

[LGHT]

under murky or silty conditions amber lens masks are, in my opinion, much nicer than clear ones, once you use one in relatively poor vis you'll never go back :)

Ok that's good to know, but can you use it as a all around mask or is it best to have a clear AND amber mask??

Thanks again for the tips!

[mnguy]

Ok that's good to know, but can you use it as a all around mask or is it best to have a clear AND amber mask??

Thanks again for the tips!

I've been all amber all the time for about 3-4 months now and I haven't come across a situation where it works worse than a clear lens. I haven't tried night diving with it yet as bug season isn't quite back yet but late evening diving with it is perfectly fine.

[jdeirmend]

out of curiosity, does it come with an amber lens option?

I don't think so. I checked the Riffe website for this, and the option wasn't available.

[tennyson]

i have this mask also. the high volume IS an issue, and adjusting your mask every 15 feet really sucks. it even shaved off my bottom time in the begining because i would have to blow too much air out of my nose and pull on it during decent, it became really distracting. however, now that i figured it out, ive learned to love my mask. i've dove to 80 feet with that mask and didnt really have any troubles. i wouldnt suggest this mask if you were doing 50+ dives repeditively though. but as for sea bass hunting in the kelp, or looking for halibut in shallow waters this is the only mask ill use

[Steve-o]

James,

I've used that very same mask for months now. My only complaint, like yours, is the high volume. When you get past a certain depth, the mask really tends to crush your face a bit.

I told someone i know about this problem, and he said to blow air out of my nose, and that will relieve some pressure down deep.

I can't wait to try his advice.

Glad you like the mask, and welcome to club 'frameless'

The point of the "low volume" mask is not that it won't smash your face, but that it requires less air volume to equalize the mask at depth.

[Queer for Spear]

Pros:

Best fitting, most comfortable, best sealing mask I've ever used. Hands down. This coming from a guy with a fat nose, a deviated septum, and a bulbous, round face.

Good field of vision, too. Not quite as good as my old Big Eye, but close enough for me to not notice too much or care.

Cons:

Relatively high volume. Not an issue at the depths I dive to (I'll rarely descend to more than 40') and not so big a deal because I can clear hands-free anyways, repeatedly and as I descend if needs be.

Afterthought:

I'm never going back to a framed mask again. This thing is absolutely inconspicuous (!!!) even after 5+ hours of diving. What that means in layman's terms is that its an excellent piece of equipment; it does its job so damn well, and without bothering your face, that you forget it's there at all. Be sure to keep the strap relatively LOOSE! It will seal very well with air pressure alone, and be more comfortable this way.

I would recommend this mask to anyone with a large face who has a hard time finding a comfy mask. Well worth the $50 bucks I paid for it.


One would have to point a loaded speargun at my balls to get my Riffe Frameless off of my mug...its the best mask I have EVER used and I have tried em all. I have a kind of narrow mug and it does just fine. Seals like my first girlfriend did (past tense) Even my cute little upturned nose doesnt hit the glass either...ALL of my previous masks did that below 30 feet.
I use my hand to clear and found no problems with it

Go get one and you can thank us later.

[WeaselRye]

I agree: this mask fits and seals so well that you hardly need a strap to keep it on (exaggeration). I wear it so loose that my friends make fun of me for all the water that leaks in on the surface. But that's easy to clear out, and once you're down 30', you'll be glad you wear it loose...

Now I'm wishing I hadn't shattered the lens... :)