belugamon
New
Any recommendations on prescription masks; I understand they only come in .5 diopter increments? (I have .25 increment).
Prescription masks
- Thread starter belugamon
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I have recently received my new prescription mask which I ordered from San Diego. It's great. I am now able to see all my gauges much better than before - and also see the information on the screen from my Oly C-5050 (impossible before). I have a plus prescription and that is harder to get than minus ones - and for some reason, more expensive.
If you buy an off the shelf mask then maybe you'd be restricted in the increments - where I got mine (Prescription Dive Masks - San Diego) they will customize any prescription for any mask.
If you buy an off the shelf mask then maybe you'd be restricted in the increments - where I got mine (Prescription Dive Masks - San Diego) they will customize any prescription for any mask.
belugamon:
I'm the same at -3.75. Just get lenses the next weaker strength. For me, that was a -3.5.
Lemonade
Guest
Staring into a monitor at work for few years I have become slightly nearsighted and wear -1.25 eyeglasses.
So for diving I got a Mares mask, got -1.5 lenses to replace the original ones. Works great!
So for diving I got a Mares mask, got -1.5 lenses to replace the original ones. Works great!
www.prescriptiondivemasks.com does a fantastic job, fast service, and custom prescription if you have any complexity to your prescription. I have no ties to the company; just a very happy customer. They were able to put my big fat prescription into a very low-volume mask, and I continue to be impressed.
Jim
Jim
Yes - that's the same place I got mine. I am also a very happy customer.GoBlue!:
LeFlaneur
Contributor
This was a big decision for me. I went the opposite direction and decided to use disposable soft contacts.
I think a lot depends on your particular situation. If you just have standard myopia you could probably get away with .25 less than your real correction because of the water's magnification. You probably wouldn't notice and can get the less expensive standard drop-in correction.
Then again, if you already wear soft disposable contacts why not buy a correctable mask, try it out with contacts and see how you like it? You don't need to make this decision the moment you buy the mask-- provided you get one suitable for a prescription later.
If you only wear glasses. Well... I'd rent a couple corrective masks next trip and see how they do.
Me, I would have needed an expensive custom job for astigmatism, and I could only imagine what it would be like to lose or break a $200 irreplacable mask on a trip. If you lose one a contact, it's five bucks and you pop another in. Of course I bought a two window-mask just in case I change my mind.
I think a lot depends on your particular situation. If you just have standard myopia you could probably get away with .25 less than your real correction because of the water's magnification. You probably wouldn't notice and can get the less expensive standard drop-in correction.
Then again, if you already wear soft disposable contacts why not buy a correctable mask, try it out with contacts and see how you like it? You don't need to make this decision the moment you buy the mask-- provided you get one suitable for a prescription later.
If you only wear glasses. Well... I'd rent a couple corrective masks next trip and see how they do.
Me, I would have needed an expensive custom job for astigmatism, and I could only imagine what it would be like to lose or break a $200 irreplacable mask on a trip. If you lose one a contact, it's five bucks and you pop another in. Of course I bought a two window-mask just in case I change my mind.
If you buy a seavision mask they will cut your actual prescription(I have severe astigmatism and get new masks (I usually travel with 3 masks 2 of my current prescription(I always dive with 2 masks) and an emergency mask(old prescription) if one of these gets busted)each time I get my new eyeglass perscription)Its well worth the money, the will even do bi focals and even a "normal view" with a guage reader on the bottom portion (sorta like bifocals but a much more limited depth of field)belugamon:
Boogie711
Guest
Go one step weaker if you can't get the diopter you need. In the water, everything is magnified anyway.
I have astigmatism, but my prescription lens only corrects for myopia. With the magnifying effect of the water, it really isn't an issue.
I have astigmatism, but my prescription lens only corrects for myopia. With the magnifying effect of the water, it really isn't an issue.
Marek K
Contributor
I've got a ~minus 10 diopter correction in each eye (!), with moderate astigmatism -- and now need one or two diopters of reading correction. (Don't ask how much my ultra-high-index glass-lens glasses with no-line bifocal correction are!)
I used to dive with soft contacts, but with age and reading correction now haven't been able to use contacts lately.
Local dive shop (here in Warsaw, Poland) let me try out a set of off-the-shelf corrective lenses in the pool for the Technisub (AquaLung) Look mask I bought. First ones were minus 9.0, but I found they were a bit too weak. So they swapped them out for free for a set of minus 9.5's. Perfect.
I'm sure custom lenses, with sphere and bifocal correction, would have been even better. But the cost-to-benefit ratio didn't make sense to me.
The standard lenses were something like equivalent of $40 eachm -- plus, with diplomatic status here, I'll get a refund off the 22% VAT!
My opinion, based on this experience:
-- At least if you're buying off-the-shelf, you have to try corrective lenses out in the water. Doing it in the dive shop or in your living room will not give you a good idea of how your vision will be underwater. (Mine are a bit fuzzy in the air -- no sphere correction? -- but perfect in the water.)
-- Therefore, you really ought to find a vendor that will allow you to try out lenses in at least a pool. Don't know how common vendors like that are -- maybe I just lucked out.
Maybe a custom grinder will be able to provide you with correct lenses straight out, based on experience...
--Marek
I used to dive with soft contacts, but with age and reading correction now haven't been able to use contacts lately.
Local dive shop (here in Warsaw, Poland) let me try out a set of off-the-shelf corrective lenses in the pool for the Technisub (AquaLung) Look mask I bought. First ones were minus 9.0, but I found they were a bit too weak. So they swapped them out for free for a set of minus 9.5's. Perfect.
I'm sure custom lenses, with sphere and bifocal correction, would have been even better. But the cost-to-benefit ratio didn't make sense to me.
The standard lenses were something like equivalent of $40 eachm -- plus, with diplomatic status here, I'll get a refund off the 22% VAT!
My opinion, based on this experience:
-- At least if you're buying off-the-shelf, you have to try corrective lenses out in the water. Doing it in the dive shop or in your living room will not give you a good idea of how your vision will be underwater. (Mine are a bit fuzzy in the air -- no sphere correction? -- but perfect in the water.)
-- Therefore, you really ought to find a vendor that will allow you to try out lenses in at least a pool. Don't know how common vendors like that are -- maybe I just lucked out.
Maybe a custom grinder will be able to provide you with correct lenses straight out, based on experience...
--Marek
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