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Sorry to give my opinion without a better description of the gear...
The Aga mask is a grey colored full face mask, made by Interspiro (a foreign
company in a far away land where the water is very cold :-) ) that has some
unique features. First, it has a built in regulator 2nd stage. The second
stage is sealed from receiving water into its internals on the air inlet side
which helps prevent any moisture from causing freezing (if prepared correctly).
The regulator is one of the most complex I've ever seen as far as number of
parts is concerned. It has a flat front face shield with a 5 band headband to
hold it securely. It also has a port cover on the front which allows a
microphone for a comm. system. The regulator can be removed and used
separately, although I don't know anyone who does. The mask also has a
separate oral/nasal cup so you don't build up co2 in the mask.
One of the Unique operating features of the mask is that it is a
positive pressure mask. This means that once you turn it on, the inside
pressure is slightly above water pressure, and if you pull the seal away from
your face, it will not allow water in. This feature does not consume any air
if you have it fit correctly. ALSO ** A side benefit of this positive
pressure is extremely good breathing characteristics because the regulator
kindof wants to make you breathe...not force feeding you , but it's just
waiting for you to take an inhalation.
I myself use the AGA because of it's communications ability and its
warmth. I'm a real wimp when it comes to cold. I also use it for O2 safety.
If you happen to take an O2 hit, you are still able to breathe and not drown,
which seems like a good thing for technical dives. If you want to see one,
check out AquaCorps "C2" page 21. They have one used in a rebreather.
Aga Advantages: Warm, Easy breathing, Comm. ability, look real tough...
Disadvantages??: Big$ (about $735 now), hard to find repair personnel, must be
careful to keep it clean and dry inside.
Also, as I said earlier, I had to design a system for using
multiple gasses of mix for the deep dives. (can't just pull it
out of your mouth and put in another)
Hope that helps... If you ever get up in the fridgid north and want to take one
for a spin, let me know and we'll do a dive.
Tim "I love those toys" Olson
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