Appreciation post: the old Kirby Morgan band mask vs a full face AGA I switched to 2 years ago

I used to swear by my Kirby Morgan 17 band masks for everything. Did 5 years of inshore work in Galveston with that setup, thought it was bulletproof. Then I got a contract in the North Sea where the water temp was 38 degrees, and my comms kept cutting out through the hardwire. Switched to a full face AGA with a voice amp module after a supervisor told me "your words sound like garbage in that KM." The AGA saved me 3 hours of deck delays on a pipeline inspection job last November. The difference in clarity and seal in cold water is night and day. Anyone else made the jump from band masks to full face for colder dives?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy97526d ago

The AGA really is a game changer once you figure out the fit. I had the same issue with my KM in cold water, the seal would just flex wrong and I'd lose comms at the worst times. That voice amp module makes a huge difference when the water is brutal.

kais6726d ago

...and I mean, how much of that is just the cold water screwing with your setup regardless of mask? I ran a KM band mask up in the Puget Sound for three winters and my comms were never great either. But swapping to an AGA was more of a "oh this is nicer I guess" thing for me, not some life changing savior. The seal on the AGA is definitely better in colder water, but I feel like people act like the band mask is this ancient piece of junk when it still works fine for 90% of dives. You probably just needed a better comms setup with the KM, not a whole new mask lol.

adam_robinson26d ago

@amy975 you nailed the fit thing and that's the part people skip. I think half the cold water comms problems come from guys not realizing the band mask seal shifts when your face gets stiff. The AGA locks in way more consistent for me in those temps but maybe that's just my square head.