Atomic Aquatics

A small range, built to be kept

What we list from Atomic Aquatics is seven products doing three jobs: two regulators, four masks and one knife. There is no filler in it. Atomic's habit is to iterate a design for years rather than replace it every season, which is why a Frameless and a Frameless 2 sit side by side here instead of one superseding the other.

Materials do most of the work. Titanium, stainless steel and corrosion-resistant alloys run through the regulators and the knife, which is what you are really paying for on a brand like this - kit that does not quietly degrade in the back of a wet kitbag.

The regulators

Two of them, and they answer different questions rather than sitting on a ladder. Both use Atomic's Automatic Flow Control, which trims breathing resistance as you descend instead of leaving you to work a knob mid-dive.

T3 Regulator Set

Atomic's flagship, machined from titanium throughout. The first stage is environmentally sealed, keeping water and silt away from the internals, and a seat-saver design lifts the valve seat when the regulator is not in use so it wears more slowly between services. It is sold as a set - first and second stage, an alternate air source in high-visibility yellow, and a compact pressure gauge on a short hose - which makes it a genuinely complete purchase rather than a starting point. It is one of the lightest regulators made, and it packs small, so it is the obvious pick if you fly with your own kit. Choose DIN or yoke when you order.

M1 Regulator

The M1 is the cold and silty water answer. A sealed diaphragm first stage keeps the working parts away from the water entirely; the second stage uses a titanium orifice and lever for strength without weight. The detail worth noticing is the port layout - five low-pressure ports on a swivel turret and two high-pressure ports - which is enough to route hoses cleanly without fighting the turret every time you kit up. It is listed here with a DIN connection and the alternate air included.

The masks

Four masks built on one idea: lose the external frame, keep the lens close to the face, and let the skirt do the sealing. Low volume means less air to clear and less mask in the way; no frame means more of what you are looking through is actually lens.

All of them use UltraClear glass, made without the iron impurities that give ordinary mask lenses their green cast. The practical effect is more light through the lens, which you notice on a grey day in UK water far more than you ever will in bright tropical sunshine.

Frameless and Frameless 2

The original Frameless is built around a large single lens and a close-fitting skirt, and gives about as wide a field of view as this style of mask gets. The Frameless 2 keeps that and reworks the seal, combining two grades of silicone with a softer flange co-moulded where the mask meets your skin. If you dive long days back to back, that is the one to try first. The Frameless 2 comes in Standard, Medium and Large; the original in Standard and Medium, the Medium being the better starting point for narrower faces.

SubFrame Mask

The durability choice, and the one to pick if you wear glasses. Rather than an external frame there is an internal subframe moulded beneath the silicone skirt, with a stainless steel retainer reinforcing the nose bridge. The lenses are removable, which is what makes corrective options possible, and Atomic back the frame against breakage for life. It also comes in far and away the widest choice of colours in this collection, if that matters to you.

Venom Frameless Mask

The newest of the four and the one for divers who care most about optics. It puts the patented subframe construction into a frameless shell, adds a double-layer, dual-colour silicone skirt for a softer seal, and uses a high-grade optical glass lens chosen for light transmission. Single window, low volume, squeeze-to-adjust buckles you can work in gloves, and the same lifetime cover against frame breakage. Black or red.

The Ti6 knife

One knife, and it is titanium - which on a dive knife is less about strength than about never having to think about rust again. The Ti6 listed here is the pointed-tip version: full tang, a curved cutting edge, a serrated section and a large line-cutting notch for the job you actually use a dive knife for, which is cutting line rather than anything more dramatic.

The handle is moulded with finger grooves and there is a lanyard hole, which matters more than it sounds if you dive in thick gloves. The sheath locks with a push-button release, and the end cap comes off so you can rinse the inside properly - the difference between a knife that lasts and one that seizes shut in its sheath.

How to choose

Buying a regulator: cold water, silt and heavier task loading point at the M1; travel and packed weight point at the T3 Regulator Set. Check the valve type before you order, because DIN or yoke is the one thing you cannot fix on the boat.

Buying a mask: fit beats everything else, so start with the size options rather than the model name. Narrower faces should look at the Medium fits. If you wear glasses, go straight to the SubFrame. If you want the sharpest view and are not worried about size options, the Venom Frameless. Otherwise the Frameless 2 for comfort over long days, or the original Frameless for field of view.

If you are still unsure, ring us. We would rather spend ten minutes on the phone than have you post a mask back.