help me pick a new mask, and i will be your friend.

[wanna-b-ballin']

I have alot to say, so bear with me...
i have had the same mask since i started playing paintball about 4 years ago. Its a JT spectra proshield. the only thing i'v done to it was to put in a thermal lense about a year and a half ago.
well today i decided to clean it because it badly needed it. especially in the lense frame and the foam.
the foam is permanently gross feeling, and somehow paint got inbetween the thermal lenses.

now i have been thinking about getting a new mask for a while. i saw an ER echo 20/20 in a magazine, and it kinda caught my eye. but from what i have read on the internet, they have no chin protection if your mouth is open.

i compared my spectra to my back-up crappy scott mask and to my brothers v-force shield.
my results are that i like how the foam is on the v-force shield is, but the part that covers your nose on it sticks up too high, and interferes with my vision if i am peeking around corners and stuff. the mask is heavier, which feels strange, and i can see the rim of the lense all the way around when i am looking straight. i dont feel as though i can see well with that mask.
with the scott mask, it doesn't fit my face right; feels like the strap is trying to pull the mask downward. love the weight on it and i can see great with it on. but i cant get past the fact that it looks horrable, fogs like mad, and is just a piece.

so can anyone compare the 20/20 to the spectra? pros/cons?

my requirements are that the mask:
-is light.
-doesn't restrict vision.
-easy to clean/ remove the lense.
-around $50 new.
-and has an effective form of anti-fog.

now that i think about it, those new JT masks might be the way to go, but i know nothing about them except that they most likely fit just like my spectra. is the lense easier to remove on those things?
i'm talking about the ones with the colored lense rims and neoprene ear covers stock.

thanks for reading and giving me your opinions. -Liam

[onedude36]

The Profiler fits all of your requirements except the $50 one. Profilers and proflex masks seem most popular.

[Siress]

Vforce Morph

Cheaper Profiler, same lense just the mask itself isn't as soft and flexable.

[benhmn]

I would also urge you to shell out a few more dollars for the Profiler. You won't regret it. But if you just can't pay that much, you may want to look into the JT FX Axiom. Froogle found it for $40:

ClickyClicky

But they also have the profiler for 70:


Clicky Clicky Clicky

[Army]

And what is wrong with the Spectra?

I've yet to wear a mask that has complete unrestricted vision. The only reason I like my Profilers, is that they do not squish the bridge of my nose.

[Creative Mayhem]

Spectra/Flex7, simply the best IMO. I have had mine for years with ZERO issues, not to mention, right now they can be had for cheap.

[wanna-b-ballin']

well there is nothing WRONG with my mask. except the foam feels gross, even after washing, its scratched up, lense has paint inside of it.

i could fix all that if i wanted. but i would rather just get a new mask.

so has anyone here tried the ER 20/20?


since the edges of the lense were all cacked up with paint, i washed it with water. great idea on my part considering it had paint inside it. thus allowing water inside too. so, since i had nothing to lose, i took an exacto knife and cut through the foam on the lense, and stuck a q-tip in there to mop it up. but there was still moisture, so i made another hole in the foam on the other end of the lense, and stuck straws in each one to let air pass. and i started sucking on one straw, and sure enough, the fog inside is going away. now to make sure its dry and glue the foam back....

[Blazestorm]

Get a proflex and take care of it?

The 05 proflexs' frame is much easier to remove the lense and install a lense... I can do it in about 10 seconds... profiler is faster sure... but they fog. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Profilers fog... It's like wearing a rental mask sometimes... which is why I got rid of mine. It was light and comfortable for the most part. But I'd rather have a proflex. a.) comfy. b.) light. c.) don't fog.

That's all I care about.

[VFX_Fenix]

The Spectra is a good goggle system and I'd recommend one to anyone who's looking at buying one. My first mask was a Spectra and I absolutely loved it. I'm guessing the new Spectras are coming with the Spectra 2 goggle frame so changing the lense should be easier though still something of a hassle with 5 tabs that need to be popped before the lense will come free or be propperly installed.

The ER 20/20 is a smaller mask than the Spectra in virtually every respect. Coverage is leaner, the goggle frame is set-up for a narrower face, though the built in fan is a nice touch. I'd put the 20/20 on the same size scale as a DYE Invision. I can't wear either mask, and I wouldn't wear an Invision if you gave me enough money to live for the next 10 years in a lavish Italian estate with no fewer than four personal staff and a garage full of exotic sports cars. (well... maybe I would, I'm not stupid after all...)

[alooney11]

the profilers look good but they dont have a thermal lense, how could they charge so much for a mask without a thermal lense?

[benhmn]

the profilers look good but they dont have a thermal lense, how could they charge so much for a mask without a thermal lense?

Dude, what are you talking about? Of course they have thermal lense. I've never experienced any fogging, so I don't know what this "profilers fog" business is.

[warbeak2099]

They aren't the traditional double pane thermal lenses. They are thermal cured single lenses. Works pretty well on my Vantages. Seriously though, if you can't afford a Profiler, get a Morph or a Vantage. Vforce makes the best goggles ever.

[VFX_Fenix]

Profilers have a "Thermocured" lense, which in layman's terms means there's an anti-fog film on the inside of the lense which deters condensation, close inspection of virtually any V-Force lense will allow you to see the edge of this curing as a wavey line along the border of the lense.

That said, Profilers are not 100% anti-fog, and having said that NO MASK is 100% anti-fog. Some masks are better than others at keeping your vision clear and fog free.

The issue with the Profiler (in my experience) is that the lense doesn't fog in a traditional sense. Instead of getting a fine white film of condensation on the lense (not unlike what your bathroom mirror looks like when you've taken a hot shower or your car windows on a hot date) to impede your vision, the Profiler gets more or less a sheet of water on the inside of the lense which distorts vision but doesn't compromise the translucency of the lense. (Or in simple terms, you see things through a funhouse mirror instead of a sheet of glass) This can be combatted wtih regular applications of V-Force's Thermal lense treatment and keeping the lense super clean (at least on the inside). JT Lenses suffer from the former fate of "white fog" reguardless of the lense being thermal or not. In any event the Anti-Fog characteristics of both goggle systems is good, ambient conditions generally need to be similar for both lenses to fail at keeping fogging out.

Anti-fogging generally fails under a specific set of conditions -
Ambient temp. close to dew point.
and
High Humidity (either ambient or due to prespiration).

Generally speaking if you live in a location which generally has low relative humidity and mild to warm temps or live/play in a cold and dry environment (like High Desert) you won't see your goggle system fog. However if you live in an area plagued with high relative humidity and mild temps. expect the worst because it'll happen eventually.

If you live in an area with dew points close to ambient and high relative humidity or your prespire a lot your best bet to keep your lense clear is regular applications of an anti-fog spray and/or installing a fan in your goggle system to continually cycle fresh air against the lense.

[Blazestorm]

Profilers have a "Thermocured" lense, which in layman's terms means there's an anti-fog film on the inside of the lense which deters condensation, close inspection of virtually any V-Force lense will allow you to see the edge of this curing as a wavey line along the border of the lense.

That said, Profilers are not 100% anti-fog, and having said that NO MASK is 100% anti-fog. Some masks are better than others at keeping your vision clear and fog free.

The issue with the Profiler (in my experience) is that the lense doesn't fog in a traditional sense. Instead of getting a fine white film of condensation on the lense (not unlike what your bathroom mirror looks like when you've taken a hot shower or your car windows on a hot date) to impede your vision, the Profiler gets more or less a sheet of water on the inside of the lense which distorts vision but doesn't compromise the translucency of the lense. (Or in simple terms, you see things through a funhouse mirror instead of a sheet of glass) This can be combatted wtih regular applications of V-Force's Thermal lense treatment and keeping the lense super clean (at least on the inside). JT Lenses suffer from the former fate of "white fog" reguardless of the lense being thermal or not. In any event the Anti-Fog characteristics of both goggle systems is good, ambient conditions generally need to be similar for both lenses to fail at keeping fogging out.

Anti-fogging generally fails under a specific set of conditions -
Ambient temp. close to dew point.
and
High Humidity (either ambient or due to prespiration).

Generally speaking if you live in a location which generally has low relative humidity and mild to warm temps or live/play in a cold and dry environment (like High Desert) you won't see your goggle system fog. However if you live in an area plagued with high relative humidity and mild temps. expect the worst because it'll happen eventually.

If you live in an area with dew points close to ambient and high relative humidity or your prespire a lot your best bet to keep your lense clear is regular applications of an anti-fog spray and/or installing a fan in your goggle system to continually cycle fresh air against the lense.

JT lenses with good well taken care of lenses, do not fog. I've yet to have my JT's fog. The time it did was with ****ty lenses that I ruined by dunking in water, and the thermal part started to come off.

[VFX_Fenix]

*shrug* I can't convince you otherwise, but through personal experience with a new lense in the local climate of Humboldt County, Spectra 260 Lenses do fog. This isn't a question of build quality, before I moved to Humboldt I'd never had my Spectras fog up on me, and that's with over 4 years of playing time in them.