Cant See!!

[bargeman]

Ok, i really can see, just wanted to get your attention! I'm 56 years old, that magic time of life where seeing close up is getting hard. especially reading my gauges. Can anyone suggest the best way to fit my mask with lenses, I bought some stick on type but they just are not cutting it. Any suggestions would be welcome. First time trying this forum. thanks everyone.

 

[TSandM]

bargeman, if you have a mask with two separate lenses, you can have an optometrist put bifocals in for you. The optometrist across the street from Bubbles Below is very used to doing this. It will cost you about $150 to get it done.

They sell lenses you can put in your mask (called Dive Optix) but reviews are mixed on how well they work. My husband has a set that have stayed in a mask for several years; I've never had that kind of success, and a set costs about $50, so it doesn't take too many failures before you wish you had just sprung for the real, glued-in lenses.

A number of companies make "gauge reader" masks, but most of the ones I tried had the lenses in the wrong place. I'm now using a Dive Rite bifocal mask that has them right where I want them, and they work great. Mask was something like $125 at Cave Country Dive shop.

 

[Doc]

Ok, i really can see, just wanted to get your attention! .

You had me scared.

 

[muzikbiz22]

+1 for DiveOptix. I have a +2.00 magnification, basically reading glasses. Great for underwater photography & reading a Suunto. The same pair has been in my mask for almost 2 years or so. Never had issues with them falling out, peeling off, etc. Follow directions precisely when installing. I think they are like $30 ? With that said, I am thinking about next mas and having "real lenses" put in. There's a company in San Diego that will fit any mask with any desired optic's.

 

[flots am]

Ok, i really can see, just wanted to get your attention! I'm 56 years old, that magic time of life where seeing close up is getting hard. especially reading my gauges. Can anyone suggest the best way to fit my mask with lenses, I bought some stick on type but they just are not cutting it. Any suggestions would be welcome. First time trying this forum. thanks everyone.

Well, either you or your mask needs a lens or two. . .

You can put stick-on lenses in your mask or have an optician permanently bond in lenses (usually a reader in the bottom edge), or you can get contacts.

 

[Bob DBF]

The stick on lenses have worked quite well for me, but they have to be put on properly to stick. I found the final step of letting them dry onto the mask works, but the longer you wait the better. If there is any air bubbles or water left between the lens and mask it will come off, almost lost a lens once because I was in a hurry. I have used the same lenses on two masks without a problem once I found the trick.



Bob
------------------------
I may be old, but I'm not dead yet.

 

[billt4sf]

Bargeman, When I began diving I already had quite a few candles on the birthday cake and I tried the prescription mask. Worked OK, never great -- until I lost it. That's an expensive item to lose! What works great for me is contact lenses. The only downside I know of (besides the hassle of putting them in) is that if your mask gets flooded it's a good idea to close your eyes until your clear your mask. You probably wouldn't lose the contacts anyway. They are a bit more difficult to deal with than glasses if you;re traveling. I use the multifocal type.

- Bill

 

[TMHeimer]

I imagine you've considered this but-- How much trouble do you have reading the gauges? Which gauges? I too need reading glasses but the only thing I can't really read on my console in the analog temp. gauge, so I mark 50F in permanent marker. I can read the depth gauge fine, though it's a touch blurry- same for SPG, but no problem knowing exactly how much air is left. My computer is a Mares M2 (wrist), and the numbers are big enough to read. I tried the stick on lenses but lost them, probably due to the mistakes Bob DBF mentioned. Being at the bottom of the mask they were hard to use anyway and I sometimes would just look through one of them. Anyway, maybe altering what you can't see is an answer.

 

[BiddyNZ]

Hiya
After I lost one of the stick in lenses, and the remaining one the following weekend, I opted for having my optician put lenses into the bottom of my mask. They are effectively stick in too, but really stick, and perfectly tailored for my eyes. He says he can replace them as I get older, which is a sad fact of diving after age 50!

just one thing - next time I'd halve my cost and get just one. I cannot in any way see out of both at the same time, and whether it is computer (right wrist) or air pressure (on lower left) I always only use the right bifocal lens.

Biddy

 

[farsidefan1]

I like my bifocals. I tried the stick ons but, not cutting it is a nice way to put it - for my preference. When I had the stick ons I was always hlding my mask and tilting it to keep the magnification part out of my way.