what do you think of HydroOptix?

tangfish · Mar 20, 2005

I read about these masks on discovery.com, they seem to give you much better vision underwater, but after reading a review of them, they seem pretty troublesome, you have to wear contacts (even if you have 20/20 vision) and then you have to have some other lenses to put on on the surface to be able to see.

Anyone ever tried them?

http://www.hydrooptix.com/allmega.htm

wunat · Mar 20, 2005

Haven't tried it on myself but talked to some dive shops about it. The technology sounds really interesting. Most of them said that many divers simply decided to go ahead with masks with prescription lenses as it is much cheaper for initial purchase and replacement in the future. Having to carry an extra optical lens with you provides more chance of losing it.

Well, just something I've learned from others. Hope this helps.

Vie · Mar 20, 2005

http://www.scubaboard.com/t59191-hydrooptix-mask-thoughts-after-61-dives-in-2-weeks.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/t29130-hydrooptix-mask.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/t70185-hydrooptix-maskare-they-worth-it-do-they-work.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/t11948-hydro-optix-ultra-wide-view-scuba-masks.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/t53439-hydro-optic-mask-dizzyness.html

AngieDinOKC · Mar 20, 2005

I know there are tons of threads about this particular topic. I have one and LOVE it. From what I've read you either love it or hate it. There's no real in between about it. I'm a naked eye user and have been through three masks before.

The only thing I've found that I have an issue with is that I seem to get more of a mask squeeze than I ever got with other masks--I don't know if this is related to the fact that it is not a low volume mask and sometimes difficult to clear, or the fact that the nose bridge is very low and I'm equating normal pressure on the bridge of my nose to an actual squeeze. You can't beat it for panoramic view and correction if you fall into the naked eye user category though.

Angie

Tom Winters · Mar 20, 2005

One problem they had with the mask frame was that the injection-molded plastic frame was too small in the nose for some North American consumers. Although the company doesn't do it, they used to recommend that endusers with large noses get someone to mill off some of the extra plastic over the nose. This didn't weaken the frame since it was over-engineered to begin with.
With the two purge valves, you should not have any trouble with mask squeeze, but all the ventilating in the world won't help if ambient pressures at depth ram the mask onto the bridge of your nose.
I still have two that I keep meanng to use, but I always find excuses not to bother with them. It is one awesome idea, but actually using them just adds more complexity to the normal gearing-up. More power to you if you love them.

AngieDinOKC · Mar 20, 2005

Hey Tom!

Makes perfect sense. I'll see what I can do about that bridge issue. I guess luckily for me, I'm a naked eye user (-3.75 and -4.5 naturally) so I don't have to fuss with the contacts...and my natural myopic vision isn't bad enough that it bothers me horribly to be a little nearsighted on the trip back in...or I just take off the mask and put on my prescription sunglasses and put the mask in the dive bag. I can see the hassle involved if one had to be "corrected" one way or the other just to use the mask. I wouldn't use it either if I had to do all that rigamarole just to go dive. I dive to get away from hassles...not create more of them...grin!

Angie

tangfish · Mar 21, 2005

hmmmmm.....yeah, this reminds me that I had to try several different masks till I got one that fit right, and this is one size fits all, probably not a good thing to drop 200 bucks on and hope it fits.

storm1fishing · Jul 4, 2005

Tom Winters:
One problem they had with the mask frame was that the injection-molded plastic frame was too small in the nose for some North American consumers. Although the company doesn't do it, they used to recommend that endusers with large noses get someone to mill off some of the extra plastic over the nose. This didn't weaken the frame since it was over-engineered to begin with.
With the two purge valves, you should not have any trouble with mask squeeze, but all the ventilating in the world won't help if ambient pressures at depth ram the mask onto the bridge of your nose.
I still have two that I keep meanng to use, but I always find excuses not to bother with them. It is one awesome idea, but actually using them just adds more complexity to the normal gearing-up. More power to you if you love them.

Want to sell one

ArthurGerla · Jul 4, 2005

I just spent two weeks diving in the Red Sea, wearing my HydroOptix on every dive. Compared to my normal prescription mask it's like watching widescreen high definition digital tv. There are drawbacks, however :mad1: . Any water in the mask will pool in the center view when you look downwards. I can deal with that as well as with the mask squeeze and the incessant flooding, but the fogging is just too much. The Sea Gold (TM) leprechaun spit that came with the HydroOptix only does the trick when applied and dried far in advance, and I've often switched to my regular mask halfway through the dive.

Even so, I'll go on using the HydroOptix.

Art

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