Atomic Aquatics SubFrame Mask

Hold the mask against your face without using the strap, look slightly down, and inhale gently through your nose; a well-fitting mask holds itself in place for a few seconds. Check that the skirt seals all the way around without digging into the nose bridge, and that there are no gaps at the temples or above the upper lip. A mustache can break the seal even on an otherwise well-fitting mask.

New masks carry a residue on the inside of the lens left over from manufacturing, and defog cannot stick to it, so the mask fogs until that film is removed. The standard pre-treatment is to scrub the inside of the lens with a mild abrasive cleaner or a dedicated mask prep and rinse thoroughly, repeating if it still fogs. Follow the mask manufacturer's instructions, particularly on coated or mirrored lenses.

Apply defog to a dry lens before the dive, spread it over the whole inner surface, then rinse briefly with water just before you put the mask on. Fogging happens when warm moist air meets a cooler lens, so a clean lens with a thin surfactant film is the fix. Keep sunscreen off your fingers before handling the inside of the lens, because that film fogs badly and is hard to remove.

Dive mask lenses should be tempered safety glass because it resists scratching and, if it ever does break, fractures into blunt granules rather than sharp shards next to your eyes. Untempered or plastic lenses scratch easily and can craze, which is why tempered glass is standard on scuba masks. Look for the tempered marking etched on the lens.

Yes, prescription options are widely available, usually as masks fitted with stock corrective lenses in set diopter steps, custom-ground lenses installed in compatible frames, or bonded lenses added to an existing lens. Not every mask frame accepts replacement lenses, so check compatibility before you buy the frame. An optician or a dive shop can help translate your glasses prescription into a mask lens choice.

Rinse it in fresh water after each dive day and let it dry away from direct sunlight, avoiding anything abrasive on the treated inner lens. Store it in a rigid mask box so the skirt is never compressed or creased, since a set crease in the skirt is a permanent leak. Keep silicone skirts away from petroleum products and prolonged UV, both of which yellow and harden them.

Not tight at all in the usual sense, because over-tightening is the most common cause of both leaks and headaches; a hard-pulled strap distorts the skirt and lifts the seal off your face. The strap should sit high on the back of your head and be just firm enough to keep the mask from shifting. If you need it cranked down to stop a leak, the mask does not fit your face.

The subframe is molded directly beneath the silicone skirt instead of sitting outside it, so the mask gains strength and rigidity without a bulky exposed plastic frame. A stainless-steel retainer locks the lenses in place and reinforces the nose bridge area. The result is a hydrodynamic shape with less drag, and Atomic backs the design with a limited-lifetime warranty against frame breakage. The design is covered by US Patent #7,181,778.

Both use optical-quality glass with no color distortion, but the ARC version adds an anti-reflective coating. Atomic states ARC lenses transmit 98% of available light, while ordinary green "float" glass loses more than 14% of the light passing through it. ARC is a separate lens option; consider it if you want the higher 98% light transmission in darker water.

Yes. The SubFrame has removable lenses, and Atomic offers factory-assembled corrective lenses from -1.0 to -8.0 diopters in 0.5 diopter increments. Because the lenses are installed at the factory rather than swapped at home, it is worth confirming your diopter choice before ordering. Call 888-701-4017 or chat with us and we will walk through the options with you.

Atomic produces the SubFrame in a Regular Fit and a Medium Fit, with the Medium Fit intended for narrower faces. The color list on this page covers both black and clear silicone skirts with co-molded accents. If you are unsure which fit matches your face shape, contact our Irvine, California shop and we will help you compare.