Hyro Optix Mask?

[Beboandles]

Does anyone have any info on this mask?Is this just good marketing or is it actually all that it adverstised to be?

 

[Tom Winters]

I've owned three and sold them at DEMA. If it's the right mask for you, it's great; otherwise, you wasted your money. Buth then, that's true of most things in life.
Right now, doing photography again, I've gone back to using one even with the inherent disadvantages.

 

[SeaYoda]

Over-all, I love the mask. It has some weak points - it fogs easy due to the plastic lens - it leaks a little more that my other masks - the plastic lens gets light scratches pretty easy. All the problems can be overcome. The fogging is fixed by allowing baby shampoo to dry on the lens and then a light rinse before the dive, it usually lasts two dives. The leak is stopped (to an acceptable degree) by wearing the strap lower on my head and no sunblock on my face. The scratches on the lens disappear under water like the manufacturer claimed. The volume/purge thing is not a problem for me - it is a high volume mask but it's easy to purge.

I am nearsighted -3.25. The mask acts like a -4.5 lens so it over corrects for me. This would not be a problem if my arms were not shrinking with age . Due to my presbyopia I actually wear contacts that make my eyes worse so I can see my gauges and the LCD on the camera.

I gladly put up with any of these minor difficulties for the unobstructed view I get. No other mask comes close. YMMV.

 

[mtsidford]

50/50 I own one that I no longer use. Underwater, it's hard to beat. The true to life size and wide vision are no joke. But the above water vision isn't worth the hastle. You need to use special contacts to see below but it doesn't allow you to see above water. So you use a clip on refracter with goggles on above water or need special glasses or other to see above water. Prior and post dive. I used one for 100+ dives over a year long. I found it to be a pain in the ***. I now use a mares X-vision with sea vision colored lenses factory added. The view is great, the color more vibrant, the seal good, and no hastles. I also prefer everything bigger than reality. Enjoy going home and telling my friends I saw a huge fish which is only a partial lie. Sid

 

[Aquanaut4ata]

I did a test on the Hydro-optix when they first came to my shop....I have 20/20 vision, so I had to be fitted for contacts with a +3.5 correction. If you have never worn contacts, It's an experience. The mask is definitely everything they say it is.....WIDE field of unobstructed view, corrects size & distance perception. I will definitely agree with the fogging issues stated above by sea yoda (thanks for the baby shampoo tip) I used sea gold, 500 psi, and lemon joy all with little effect. I didn't use it enough to have scratching, and had no leaking or clearing issues. I thought the snap on diopters for surface vision were more trouble than they were worth, and I could see well enough to get out of the water without them, where I would don a pair of prescription sunglasses that were the opposite correction (-3.5), and bring my vision back to 20/20. All in all, I can see where it would be useful for photography, or even hunting, but in all honesty, when you have enough diving under your belt, your brain will automatically correct the size & distance perception anyway, so I chose not to deal with the extra hassle of contacts, etc. and just stuck to my flat mask.

 

[RumBum]

I am a very nearsighted person who has difficulty wearing contacts. They are very painful. My prescription changes pretty much yearly so I don't want a prescription mask. I can't wait to try the Hydro Optics simply because I want to get out of contacts.
I have a friend who did one of the testimonials on the website for Hydro Optics and he absolutely loves them. The testimonials are not bogus.

 

[dbg40]

I never dove one,, but tried one on at the shop ond noticed that the nose pocket was a little low, and it hit the bridge of my nose. I thought it was pretty uncomfortable, and the owner of the shop told me that a lot of people had the same complaint. At the price, thought id throw that out there for you.

 

[Tom Winters]

Ok.. the nose problem. There is a problem with the mask frame for some people who are proboscistly-enhanced. There was talk of retooling the molds but I guess this didn't happen. So what some people do is take a Moto tool and grind away part of the frame over the nose bridge until it fits more comfortably - there's plenty of plastic there to trim away.
Or you could get a nose job...
I used to have a loaner mask that I'd send out - maybe I need to get another.

 

[scubatoys]

We have one we let people try in the pool, and if they are a -3.5 to -4.5, they flip. Virtually everyone who has tried it, has gotten one. I can't get myself to put in contacts to wear it though.

Now they showed a new prototype at Dema, which looks like the curved lens that then you flattened it in front. It will work for folks with 20 20 vision... no curve correction in front... Then as the lens moves to the side, it transforms into the curve.

They had a bucket at Dema that you could put your head in to try it... but there were too many people around that wanted to hold my head in the bucket... thought I shouldn't give it a go. Besides, I told them, send them as soon as they are in production, and I'd give it a shot in our pool.

So if you are a -4 or so... I bet you love them. If not... I'd say hang out for the new ones... should be a few months.

 

[peterbkk]

I tried it in the bucket. It does what it says it does. But the contact / glasses thing seems a real hassle to me.

I am not sure what problem they were trying to solve with this mask. Never had any problems seeing underwater, as long as the viz was OK.

Regards
Peter