Newbie with a question

[homerdoc]

I am with elmo, I have worn contacts on each of my dives and swim with them all the time and have never lost them.

 

[Centrals]

Don't buy anything unless you are going to pursue the sport afterwards.
Disposal contact is a lot cheaper than prescription mask and you can still use them afterwards.

 

[TrimixToo]

The reports I have heard about the quality of instruction for resort courses are uneven, ranging from great to awful. Consider asking a few active local divers who they recommend and getting your diving cert before you leave, or using the PADI option of doing classroom and pool work at home and OW cert dives at your destination.

Also, you might not need a vision correction underwater if you are nearsighted. If your correction is less than 2 diopters you will probably be just fine. This is because the differential between the speeds of light in air and water makes things "bigger and closer" underwater than in air. My correction is about -1.75 and I have near-perfect distance vision underwater. (I do have a mask with lenses for reading my gauges now, but that's because my eyes are aging.) If you can try out an uncorrected mask without your contacts on in a local swimming pool you will quickly know whether you need corrective lenses underwater.

Edit: Add important missing minus sign!

 

[MelasLithos]

The dive shop I did my OW with had prescription masks to lend to students.

As mentionned in several threads above, if your course it's only one day, it's probably not a certification course. And again, as mentionned above, I'm not quite sure it's convenient to buy a prescription mask just for one day of diving.

Maybe try to contact the resort first, tell them your prescription and ask if they have prescription masks to lend/rent. If not, disposable contacts work well.

And indeed, unless your vision is very bad, you might not even need lenses/prescription mask.

(my correction is about -3.5. I'd rather have a prescription mask or contact lenses, but I have borrowed "normal" masks for snorkeling at times, and even though not perfect, I could still see enough to enjoy it. Which is not the case on land)

 

[urbaneve71]

Checkout SeaVisionUSA for your prescription mask needs. Read what TBone and Birddog said above about certification. They (and others) make good points

I was looking for something like this for my son. ..thanks for the suggestion

 

[urbaneve71]

How comfortable are you guys diving with contacts? Does the water bother you if in case water gets in?

 

[FinnMom]

I am with elmo, I have worn contacts on each of my dives and swim with them all the time and have never lost them.

My daughter has worn contacts for several classes and maybe 500 dives, never lost one, never had any sort of problem. The daughter's experience has forced me to admit that clearly contact lenses work just fine. She can also buy or borrow a replacement mask very easily. Of course she can't swim and see without her mask, which some will say is a skill she might need someday. On the other hand, those of us with corrective lenses in our masks can remove the mask and open our eyes, but we might not see much better than someone with their eyes shut. And the whole scenario is pretty unlikely to ever be important.

If you decide to get a mask with corrective lenses, you don't have to get a real prescription mask from an optician, you can buy corrective lens in standard grades at 0.5 intervals of correction (+0.5, +1.0, +1.5, or -2.5,-3.0, etc).
For example:
Corrective Mask Lenses
https://www.scubapro.com/en-US/USA/accessories/mask-accessories/products/optical-lenses.aspx

 

[bhgant]

Check and see if if it a "Resort Certification." I che cked into it back in march at a Beaches Resort. Their Resort Certification was good only for that time I was at the resort. I could not use it anywhere else and I would have to take it again if I came back to that resort at a later date. Great option if you are unsure if scuba is your thing and want to just test things out before making the full commitment to get certified.

 

[urbaneve71]

My daughter has worn contacts for several classes and maybe 500 dives, never lost one, never had any sort of problem. The daughter's experience has forced me to admit that clearly contact lenses work just fine. She can also buy or borrow a replacement mask very easily. Of course she can't swim and see without her mask, which some will say is a skill she might need someday. On the other hand, those of us with corrective lenses in our masks can remove the mask and open our eyes, but we might not see much better than someone with their eyes shut. And the whole scenario is pretty unlikely to ever be important.

If you decide to get a mask with corrective lenses, you don't have to get a real prescription mask from an optician, you can buy corrective lens in standard grades at 0.5 intervals of correction (+0.5, +1.0, +1.5, or -2.5,-3.0, etc).
For example:
Corrective Mask Lenses
https://www.scubapro.com/en-US/USA/accessories/mask-accessories/products/optical-lenses.aspx

great idea.... this would work perfect for my son. he wears contact but doesnt want to wear them diving so I will check this out and order him some
thanks

 

[Landau]

On Contacts - I used to play water polo and several of my team mates wore contacts. 6 practices / games a week and no issues (other than they used an old pair just for the pool and cleaned them often) - so I'm pretty sure there will be no issues with contacts under a mask.