The Hollis M1 is one of my favourite scuba diving masks of all time! It’s everything a dive mask should be: comfortable, non-leaking, fits any face and featuring a huge, ultra-clear lens.
It’s also one of the best frameless dive masks out there! Frameless masks do not have the hard material between the skirt and lens; meaning the skirt can be squashed against the lens so they’re ultra compact and easy to store. Like this:
It is for this very reason that even when I’m not wearing it, I always take my Hollis M1 with me on every dive, stuffed into my bcd pocket as a handy backup mask – and it’s saved my ass and other diver’s asses a bunch of times!
Whenever I’ve been teaching students and they’re using a new rental dive mask that starts to fog; I whip out my Hollis M1 and let them have a go.
It’s easy to put on and adjust, it’s comfortable and being frameless means it is not only compact; it’s also incredibly easy to clear!
And the best thing; it fits just about any face type so it doesn’t leak! This is definitely something I’ve noticed isn’t applicable to many other frameless; which can leak especially when I’m rocking a big bushy beard. Not so with the Hollis M1!
This is honestly a super duper mask; one that I and many of my students love! Still not convinced? Keep reading!
Firsthand Diver Reviews of the Hollis M1!
“Sweet Mask Bro! I can like totally see super clearly! I didn’t know masks could be this good, all the ones I’ve used before sucked compared to this”! Mr. Michael using the Hollis M1 to crush a DSD we did. Look how un-stingy his eyes are! That’s because the Hollis M1 just about never leaks, even if you have a leak-prone (bearded) face!
“The force is strong with this mask! It’s so easy to clear and the underwater colours are so vivid – where can I get one”!? – India, one of my best Open Water Students. She used the Hollis M1 for the entire duration of her course and loved it! Proof that as well as fitting on big hairy faces like mine and Mr.Michaels, this is also a great mask for more petite faces.
“Son, ya got yer’self a real purdy mask here! It’s so comfortable, like a silk kiss upon my face” – My Dad used the Hollis M1 throughout his Open Water Course (which he totally smashed by the way!). My Old Pa is quite particular about what he does and doesn’t feel comfortable but after trying several rental masks and not vibing with them he asked to instead use my Hollis M1 and totally loved it!
And of course I myself highly rate the Hollis M1. Since getting scuba certified in 2014 to becoming an diving instructor in 2025, I’ve used probably over a hundred different types of dive mask.
Most are OK…some are terrible….but only a very few are as all encompassingly good as this one!
Now, before we do a quick recap of what makes the Hollis M1 so great, let’s talk CONS!
Hollis M1 Mask – Are there any CONS?
Yes! Whilst using the Hollis M1 Mask I have encountered one small annoying thing about it. The strap!
Now the strap itself is actually very comfortable thanks to its ergonomically designed split in the middle which helps evenly distribute pressure agains the back of the wearers head. So far, so good!
However; one thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes when the straps tightened and I pull it back too hard it has a habit of coming out of the buckle adjustment with a loud snapping sound!
The good news is; it’s not broken and very easy to thread back through the buckle even underwater. Also; none of my students had this issue with the Hollis M1 – just me! (Being so rough handed and brutish as I am).
Also this mechanism on the Hollis M1 strap means that it can’t actually break. I’ve actually broken other mask straps before when I’ve pulled on them too hard but unlike the Hollis M1 they don’t have a quick release on the buckle.
Any other CONS I can think of? Not really. It only comes in the colour black which may irk a few divers.
It doesn’t have a frame; which is a highly sought after feature as it makes masks more compact and feel lighter on the face – although some divers always naturally gravitated towards framed masks because of their enhanced durability.
Hollis M1 Frameless Mask – PROS RECAP
- Crystal Clear Lens: The Hollis M1 lens has low iron content which allows more light through, enhancing underwater colours. The lens itself is also very wide, allowing a huge field of view. You’ll see a lot more through the Hollis M1 than many other masks!
- Frameless: This is a frameless mask; meaning there is no hard ridge between the skirt and lens. You can squash the skirt down against the lens, making this mask highly compact and easy to stuff in a bcd pocket for use as a backup mask. Frameless masks are also easier to clear and exert less pressure on the wearers face.
- Doesn’t Leak: Whereas a downfall of many frameless masks is that they’re more leak-prone this is simply not the case with the Hollis M1. I’ve seen it on big bearded faces, petite feminine faces and water never gets in! I even scoured the internet beyond the experience of myself and my dive students and found the number one thing the Hollis M1 get’s praised for on Amazon is never leaking!
- Fits any Face: This is probably linked to not leaking. The Hollis M1 has a super soft silicione skirt that has been expertly sculpted meaning it fits both large and small faces creating a perfect water-tight seal (yet not being overly tight due to being frameless!).
- Comfortable: What do you get when you have a low pressure, leak-proof mask that fits any face, has a special ergonomic strap and gives a huge-unobstructed view – a mega comfortable mask that’s what! I’ve often ended up giving this mask to students who found everything else they tried on uncomfortable. And people always comment on just how nice and easy the Hollis M1 is to wear. This is another thing that frequently gets commented on not just by me and my students but also Amazon Reviewers of this mask.
- No Snap-Strap! What started out as me trying to write about a CON of this mask – the fact that it’s strap comes loose from the buckle when pulled on very harshly, actually turned into another PRO when I compared it to other masks where if you pull on the strap it actually snaps and breaks! So even for first-time mask wearers who mishandle it a bit, the Hollis M1 is foolproof!
Welp, we’ve summed up the Hollis M1 real nicely now. It’s truly a superb scuba diving mask; one I know very well from having used it many times myself. And of course I always keep it as my go-to backup mask to give students when every other mask they’ve tried has failed.
Most high-end scuba diving masks that offer the perks of the Hollis M1 are framed but as by now we know very well; this is a frameless mask which comes with several extra perks like being ultra compact, easy to clear and feeling lighter on one’s face.
My advice – if you prefer framed masks; still get the Hollis M1 as your backup masks. Even if you’re not an instructor, you never know when you might need to whip out another mask on a dive if something happens to yours or one of your dive buddies.
And if you are looking for a frameless mask; then you should definitely buy the Hollis M1 as its the best frameless mask out there and suffers none of the CONS (being more leaky, not fitting every face) that other frameless masks do.
I’m not sure how they’ve done it; but Hollis have created an absolute sensation with the M1 and it’s a highly popular mask world round.
Now, if you are going to buy the Hollis M1 or any other mask; please do so through one of the big orange Amazon or blue Scuba buttons on this article.
Literally any product you buy after clicking through this link means I’ll get a small commission without it costing you a cent extra. It’s support like this which helps me keep this blog running. Thankyou so much in advance! 🙂
