Readymade vs custom corrective lenses?

[TheGintleman]

I’m looking to get my wife into diving soon and passing along some older gear of mine to her, including a lightly used Tusa freedom one mask. However, she requires corrective lenses or diving is going to be miserable (if not impossible) for her.

I’ve found ready made lenses that fit the mask, but then I also see several companies that make custom prescription masks. Are the readymade’s perfectly adequate, or should I be getting her something custom?

 

[scubadada]

I’m looking to get my wife into diving soon and passing along some older gear of mine to her, including a lightly used Tusa freedom one mask. However, she requires corrective lenses or diving is going to be miserable (if not impossible) for her.

I’ve found ready made lenses that fit the mask, but then I also see several companies that make custom prescription masks. Are the readymade’s perfectly adequate, or should I be getting her something custom?

I use commercially available lenses matching my prescription in a Scubapro mask and find them entirely acceptable.

 

[ink]

Even for more complicated prescriptions (I have astigmatism and an uneven PD, for example) the readymade ones are usually adequate. When you're underwater, you don't need a perfectly accurate prescription to see well, due to the magnifying effects of water and the fact that visibility isn't as far as above water anyways.

 

[lowwall]

I’m looking to get my wife into diving soon and passing along some older gear of mine to her, including a lightly used Tusa freedom one mask. However, she requires corrective lenses or diving is going to be miserable (if not impossible) for her.

I’ve found ready made lenses that fit the mask, but then I also see several companies that make custom prescription masks. Are the readymade’s perfectly adequate, or should I be getting her something custom?

What's her prescription? If it's single vision and you can get within a half diopter, I'd use the premade lenses.

 

[Polarorbit]

It’s going to depend entirely on her prescription and tolerance. For me, single vision lenses don’t work because I can’t read my computer. I must have bifocal lenses in order to see instruments as well as the scenery. She’ll enjoy diving more and be more comfortable if she can see. Readymade lenses are pretty inexpensive. Have her try the readymade lenses in the pool to see how they work. If they aren’t working well for her, don’t let her struggle with them, make the investment in the custom lenses.