Spent $600 on a Kirby Morgan 37 band mask vs $200 on a cheap OTS Guardian, which one actually saved you?

I dropped the cash on the KM 37 three years ago and it's been bulletproof through Hudson River vis dives, but my buddy swears his Guardian lasted just as long and he only replaced the nose clip once - anyone else have a clear winner between high-end and budget masks that went either way?

2 comments

2 Comments

gibson.robert1mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you're doing Hudson River dives with a $600 mask? I mean, that water is basically a toxic soup of garbage and mystery chemicals. If that KM 37 held up through three years of that, that's honestly a miracle. My buddy tried a similar cheap mask in the same conditions and the silicone turned all sticky after like six months. I'd be curious how the rubber on the Guardian held up if he's doing the same kind of nasty water dives.

rosed321mo ago

Is it really that surprising that a solid mask lasts through nasty water if you're actually rinsing it right after every dive? Most folks treat cheap gear like it's disposable and then blame the rubber when it melts. Could be the guy just takes care of his stuff better than your buddy did.