ZIPOUTE W059 Snorkel Mask L/XL - Black

I ordered a few masks to try out before our trip and wound up keeping this one. I was 4.8 inches and ordered the L/XL. My wife and 2 sons measured either 4.4 or 4.5 inches so after trying my L/XL mask in our pool and all liking it, I ordered the S/M for the 3 of them because the sizing chart recommended it. We got them the day before our trip so didn't have time to try them. Once we got to the resort, we were able to try the S/M in the resort pool and despite the sizing chart, they were too small. The lining is really designed for children or people with a small face and all 4 of us are on the thin side and they still did not fit. While you can make it work, it made it harder to breathe in the smaller mask and it kept slipping up their face. I would have to suggest that they really review the sizing chart again because IMO if you are even remotely borderline on the 4.7 inch measurement (we measured several times to make sure) go with the bigger mask and not the smaller one. Now onto the good stuff. When you are out on an excursion and show the guides that you have these, every time they will say they don't recommend them. They almost scared us into not using them. All I can say is they are wrong and are so much better than the traditional snorkel and mask. One key is to make sure you stay calm. If you start to panic or breathe too heavily you may find it difficult to breathe but the same would apply in any snorkeling system. We used the mask in many different conditions including out in the open ocean in very rough waters and relatively calm seas. Because of the fitting issues with the small masks, we wound up rotating the large mask around which everyone enjoyed more. I will be returning the small ones but we enjoyed the L/XL one so much I will be buying 3 more so all 4 of us have the larger size. Overall this mask is fantastic and easy to put on and take off as well as to breathe in. The field of view is fantastic and I never once got water in my mask or in my breathing tube which is great because we all know how tasty salt water is! We even dove down 15-20 feet or so at times and still nothing got in. In fact, the suction even increases when you go under. Great mask and don't listen to those guides that discourage you from using them. Just make sure you order them in plenty of time for your trip to have time to try them out and make sure you have the correct size.