Atomic Aquatics Venom Mask

This brand new mask has arrived at Academy of Scuba. Atomic Aquatics is calling this mask the Venom. It's a blending of their SubFrame and Frameless masks. It has a reinforcing internal frame that's molded directly beneath the surface of the silicone rubber skirt, like the Subframe, yet it offers the relatively low profile of the Frameless. Also, its faceplate is a single window like the Frameless, but it has a high bridge and tear-drop shape similar to the SubFrame's dual-window design. The Venom comes across as a high-concept, stylish-looking piece of gear when it's being held in your hand, and it's really comfortable when mounted on your face. Its easy-to-use squeeze-to-adjust buckles are soft-mounted to the mask skirt, which allows a little bit of flexibility in strap positioning, plus they can be folded flat for packing. Where the Venom differs from its SubFrame and Frameless cousins is in its faceplate construction. While the SubFrame and Frameless lenses use Ultraclear glass, which has quite a rep for optical quality in its own right, on the Venom mask Atomic uses an even higher-quality glass imported from Germany. Called Schott Superwite glass, it apparently allows more light to penetrate than even Ultraclear glass. Like its cousins, the Venom offers an above-average field of view, and the soft skirt and watertight seal combine to make it feel like a part of your face.