Close vision

[RJP]

T The Diveoptix are a great IDEA, but they don't stick well, and losing three of them cost me more than altering my mask.

Same company sells the same product in pharmacies for $9.99 under the name Optx 20/20. I've had mine in my Atomic mask for 200+ dives with no problem at all.



Gotta make sure the mask and the lenses are clean, press 'em on hard, and let them dry 24hrs before using.

[eddie the pink]

Will check it out,unfortunatly I am an english man located on the costa del sol spain, so I may wait and check things out in the UK when i am over there for a holiday in a couple of weeks. thanks.
and thanks to everyone who gave there input.

[Web Monkey]

Thank you Doc for your itemised list of possibilities, my sight is letting me down in the instrument area at the moment, I can read my gauges/computer just, but it takes me for ever to focus on them with things becoming a bit blured, and I suppose if I am honest I am reading my gauges by colour rather than number, it seems from your and other comments that the best option has to be a full prescription mask, not sure if + lenses are available for mares x vision liquid, do hope so as I have just purchase a new one lol

You can take a little bit of the last dozen suggestions 8-)

If you can see with your mask, but just can't read your gauge/computer, you can get a "reader" lens glued to the bottom corner of one of your lenses (on the side where you keep your gauge).

It won't interfere with regular vision, won't fall out and only takes up a small part of the mask window.

Also, while your life might depend on your vision for cave diving, wreck penetration or deco diving, if you're doing a no-deco dive in open water with a buddy, not being able to see just means the dive is over and it's time to surface.

Terry

[diver 85]

Well I must admit I have never worn contacts, but it sounds like a simple way forward, split brain allowing, do you ever have a problem with them coming out during a dive?, and how would they react to mask flooding ?

Soft ctl's are fine for diving---This method of fitting them has been around since the mid to late 60's----ie LBJ was the 1st prominent person to wear them...Back in the early 70's when I was taught this method of fitting, it was referred to as the 'LBJ Bifocal' in the optical field ie wasn't really a conventional bifocal but served the same purpose , could see near & far without using a spectacle Rx.....Most patients 'adjust' to the new way of seeing in under 2 weeks & alot of them in under a week.....

[goodive]

Good thread, I wear contact lenses and I could be under water with no mask and eyes open no problem. I could swim around too. I don't want to demonstrate mask removal with my eyes closed to find out someone had a problem when I was doing it. My eye doctor is a diver and he told me if I have properly fitting contact lenses, pressure should keep it in no problem (Shape of your eyeballs plays role in this). Key word is "fitting properly". Saying all that, I agree with what Doc Intrepid said, specifically if you do any type of diving beyond recreational OW.

[Rick Inman]

Contacts: People actually lose their masks sometimes - either kicked off at some gridlock point on the line, or in a confined space, etc. I know divers who have had contacts wash off their eye when their mask was kicked off. I also know divers who lost a contact just practicing mask removal and replacement. As far as I'm concerned, contacts are not a solution for environments where - once you replace your mask - you can no longer distinguish fine details. It's a perfect example of setting up one mishap that leads to another issue, which leads to another, etc. - the chain of smaller issues that ultimately compounds to disaster. Avoid half-ass solutions.

I have spent so much time mask-less doing drills in the last two years.... and never even once lost a contact. Nor have I heard of anyone who wears contacts losing one (although I'm sure it's happened). If my buddy has to hand me his mask, it's nice to know that it doesn't have to be my prescription to work. Any mask will do thank you, and for me that is by far the safer way to go.

[Guba]

I think I have tried just about every suggested remedy listed.
I did the "single contact" solution. It worked, but loading one eye with a lens before diving got to be a bother.
I used lens inserts, but had a hard time getting them to stay put. I found I didn't want to trust them to be there when they were absolutely needed.
I even glued diopters into a mask using a clear glue. Worked well, but you have to be extrememly careful in not getting bubbles under the lenses.
I got a "Gauge Reader" mask from XS Scuba, but my eyes changed, plus this particular mask was difficult to use because it was not easy to focus on a close object through both eyes at the same time.. So, most recently, I ordered a new mask with bifocal lenses from Scuba.com, with the power diopters I needed (for only about a hundred bucks, too...including the mask and shipping). This is by far the best solution for me, and the mask works great!
Good luck with your dilemma. Hope you find the solution that works best for you.

[jjhill]

I don't know if this is an option for you or not, but after struggling with contacts and diving for years (I hated contacts and didn't tolerate them well so only wore them while diving) I went and had lasik surgery done. Best money I ever spent. I now have crystal clear vision and am free from contacts, prescription masks the whole works.

Depending on your situation it may or may not be an option but it might be worth looking into.

[Doc Intrepid]

"If my buddy has to hand me his mask, it's nice to know that it doesn't have to be my prescription to work. Any mask will do thank you, and for me that is by far the safer way to go."

If we ever get a chance to dive together, Rick, and I hand you my mask, you're just going to have to suffer with a prescription mask that makes me look ten years younger and twenty pounds lighter!

[Rick Inman]

If we ever get a chance to dive together, Rick, and I hand you my mask, you're just going to have to suffer with a prescription mask that makes me look ten years younger and twenty pounds lighter!