>         For my racetrack money, Christian is right.  Low volume masks are easier
> to travel with (especially if you must travel with several masks), easier

Really?  Why?  The extra space of a mask, no matter HOW much "volume"
sits
between your face and the mask is of absolutely no concern to me when
travelling.
I simply pack it in there and put socks and other items inside the mask
cavity.
I guess if you're going to argue over the 2 oz weight differential then
I
have to acquiese.

> to clear, and with a minimum of windows less likely to leak.  As far as

I'm sorry, but with the technology of making masks today this just
doesn't
cut it.  Mask leaks are typically NOT around the edges of the glass or
little
"windows", they're normally at the skirt/skin interface.

In fact, I'd be curious if *anyone* has had a mask leak around one of
the
window or face plate edges!

> peripheral vision goes, well, those of us with stronger corrections, who
> must have glued in lenses, won't be seeing anything peripherally anyway.

Again, simply NOT true.  I have glued in corrections simply so I have
perfect
sight underwater.  It's BETTER than without glued in corrections,
*however*
I can absolutely see out the side (peripherally) just not quite as well
as
I see out the front.  I suggest you think a bit more before making
blanket
statements like this.

I GUESS you could argue that I don't HAVE to have my lenses glued in but
AFAIK, the cost of having these lenses done is a VERY TINY fraction of
any
scuba trip I've taken and personally I'd rather get the most of these
trips.

>         What I first look for in a mask is one that fits, i.e., doesn't leak much.

Hmmm, what I like is one that fits and doesn't leak AT ALL!

>  After that I want a mask that is easy to clear, they say that purges work
> much better now, but no thank you, I think we've all been down that road.

I don't know about YOUR experience, however I have owned both purge and
non-purge
masks for quite some time now.  The purge is a bit more convenient.  Not
something
I'd base buying a mask on, and not something that I'd rule out, and, in
fact,
my favorite mask (the scubapro triview) does indeed have a purge.  The
purge
valves in the masks that I've owned have *never* leaked, not even once.

> Beyond that, low volume and so forth, are just plusses.

Low volume is much more important for a freediver.  It isn't a plus or a
minus
for most divers.  Specific reasons (such as not wanting stray light
getting
into the viewfinder/etc) may make specific masks better for some
purposes
than others.

>         BTW, if you have a favorite mask which has a skirt that fits particularly
> well but which has been discontinued, the manufacturer will often be able
> to replace a broken faceplate even though the mask is no longer being
> manufactured.

This is true.

Carl