The Seac M70 has been on our list of best freediving masks for a number of years due to the stellar reviews that it's been getting from freedivers all around the world.
We've eagerly been waiting to get our hands on one to see what the fuss is all about and to find out whether it was as good as people claimed.
If you're reading this then you've probably heard similar stories about this Seac mask and you're probably thinking about picking one up for yourself.
If this is you then keep on reading...
Our diveplan for today: do a deep dive on the Seac M70 Mask, list all its pros and expose all its weaknesses in an attempt to determine whether this is the best freediving mask for you.
About The Product
The SEAC M70 - sometimes referred to as the L70 - is a low volume freediving mask with a semi frameless design. It's Seacsub's best selling freediving mask and for good reason.
The mask is available in four colors, black, brown, blue and the red as featured above.
The moment you put your hands on this mask you will know that it's quality.
The liquid rubber silicone is moulded over the frame and the joints are near seamless. The external surface of the mask has a matt finish while the internal finish is gloss. The matt external finish will not scare fish if you plan to use this for spearfishing and fortunately we did not notice any reflections from the glossy internal surfaces while testing it out.
The high quality silicone is stiffer than on some other freediving masks but still comfortable enough even on extended sessions. The stiffer rubber should help with durability and compression at depth.
The mask provides a good seal for most face types. The mask has an internal lip which helps with that. It also has a lot of volume in the nose(something which I appreciate) and the skirt is trimmed under the nose area which would allow someone with a mustache to get a decent seal as well.
For freedivers volume is just as important as fit, and, this mask is right up there with the best when it comes to internal volume. It has one of the lowest internal volumes of any masks and actually much better than the very popular Mares Viper.
The semi-frameless design results in a mask that has such a low internal volume that it isn't necessary to equalize the mask until you reach great depths. We'll tell you how exactly how deep once we have tested it more but expect it to be well past 82 feet or 25 meters.
The tempered glass lenses which are a minimum of 3mm thick are close to your eyes but unless you have very long lashes or if there's a lot of pressure on the mask your lashes won't touch them.
The most Notable Features of the M70 Mask include:
The design of the buckle is quite clever and far beyond the rotating buckles you will see on other mask. The 3D pivoting buckle on the M70 is attached directly to the skirt. It feels a lot more solid than other buckles we have felt and do not expect any reliability issues from it.
Two push buttons allow you to adjust the strap and lock it in place again. Easy to use even with gloves on.
One interesting thing about the mask strap that I haven't seen on many other mask straps is the little bumps all along the inside of the strap. This is to keep the mask strap from sliding around on your head - especially useful if you are wearing a wetsuit with a hood.
Just one more thing to proof the thought and attention to detail that SEAC put into the design and manufacture of the M70 freediving mask.
It's this attention to detail that makes the M70 one of the best freediving masks on the market right now.
What Others Are Saying
Word travels fast. We first heard of the M70 from a colleague who heard good things about it from another friend. Soon there was a deluge of people talking to us about this Seac freediving mask.
The general consensus at the local dive site is that this is an excellent low volume freediving mask and at a very good price.
The durability of the mask seems to be excellent. Actually, the quality is at a completely different level and not even comparable to similar priced masks. We've heard reliability and build quality issues from some very popular freediving masks but not one from the Seac M70.
Most divers were very impressed by the size of the mask, its internal volume and the wide field of view.
Now the bad:
These are tricky ones...
The most common compliant that we found regarding this mask is that it leaks or that it is uncomfortable. But then again the thing that most people love about the mask is that it is comfortable and provides a good facial seal... This makes us wonder...
"Comfortable" is very subjective and whether a specific mask is a good fit on your face will depend a lot on your face shape.
The other complaints was regarding the Color of the masks. There are a few complaints out there that the advertised color and the actual color of the product does not match.
Unfortunately color is such a difficult thing to get right online and the exact same picture can even differ from one screen to the next. If in doubt, do what we do: ask if it comes in black.
Final Verdict
Is this the best freediving mask on the market..?
Before receiving the mask and diving with it I felt that the hoo-ha about the Seac M70 was all just hype from die-hard fans.
I did not expect to like the mask at all. It looked odd and clunky on photos and I thought that it had a much higher volume than the likes of the Mares Viper or Aqualung Sphera.
I was so wrong!! And, now I'm one of those die-hard fans that have been promoting it to every freediver that thinks about replacing their mask.
For a long time we've been mostly recommending the Sphera to freedivers but not anymore...
The Seac M70 is an excellent choice and really one of the best freediving masks on the market right now.
If it was only the low volume and comfortable then it would have been enough but there is also a number of other small things that add value to the mask and set it apart from the competition.
As with their other product the build quality and attention to detail from Seac is excellent.
From the mask strap, to the pivoting buckles, the quality glass and the skirt and its design. All of it comes together to make it a significantly better product than other more popular freediving masks.
If you are in the market for a new mask then you won't go wrong getting yourself a Seac M70 Mask.
Our Rating
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