Prescription mask dilemma

[mikejclark]

to see someone blink like that would unwillingly (is that even a word?) make me uncomfortable.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Technology scares me when it comes to better myself on things like Lasik, my eyes I dont want to lose or mess with.....if they go or the doctor messes up, then what.....I know alot that have had no problems, but for me....No Dice

 

[seaker]

I have not posted before because I liked learning from others. But this is something I know about. I got back into diving this summer. To begin with I used a regular mast. Then after a dive where I didn't know which "white house" to head for after surfaceing I looked into a prescription mast. Well it's great. I CAN SEE UNDERWATER. And this is in Maine where the vis is not so great. So I would say it's money well spent. Unless you want to save money but not liking diving.

Ted

 

[Belmont]

You haven't mentioned if you can wear contact lenses.
I use disposable contacts, they cost about 2.50$ a pair and you discard them after the dive.
If you lose them during a dive it's no big deal.

 

[papa diver]

I like this forum i have been diving for about 4 years not spending the money on a prescription mask but i think its time to get some new lens so i can see what there.

 

[herman]

If you decide to go the prescription route...and I encourage you to do so. There are 2 basic ways to do it. If your prescription is simple and you don't need something special like bifocals then off the shelf replacement lenses may be fine. On the other hand if you need something more or a more precise lens, these guys are great. Fast service and they are divers so they understand what you want/need.
Welcome to Prescription Dive Mask

 

[StoogeASDiver]

I wear glasses, but decided to get contact lenses for diving. I have had no problem with them at all - including all the pool session removing and flooding of masks. I just open my eyes very slightly - enough to see where I am, but not enough to lose the lens. Works perfectly form me.

 

[LI Diver]

All good advice here but a word of caution, the mask that seems to fit well in the dive shop dosen't always fit so well in a diving or snorkeling situation. Put a snorkel or reg in your mouth and turn your head and look up and down etc when trying on a mask and doing a "sniff test". I find it is better to do a few dives with stick on lenses or a pool dive with blurry vision before buying a mask and and spending money on script lenses just to find it floods excessively.

 

[spectrum]

Do it right and get a good prescription mask. Try to get it into a pool for some snorkeling to make sure it is a good fit be fore compounding the investment with the script.

It's not just about seeing the fish and as a script mask wearer I speak from experience. It's no fun being away from shore and not having good sight of the beach. Also, spending times without your script will leave you fatigued with weary eyes.

Pete

 

[piikki]

All good advice here but a word of caution, the mask that seems to fit well in the dive shop dosen't always fit so well in a diving or snorkeling situation. Put a snorkel or reg in your mouth and turn your head and look up and down etc when trying on a mask and doing a "sniff test". I find it is better to do a few dives with stick on lenses or a pool dive with blurry vision before buying a mask and and spending money on script lenses just to find it floods excessively.

I think this is very good to remember!

When I started diving I was not sure if my back would be able to take it - but I was 100% sure I needed Rx lenses from the get-go to make it through even the Open Water course. What I did was to get decent mask with the prescription lenses. Then when I knew I got hooked, and knew more what I wanted from the mask, I got a better mask and the first mask ended up as my back-up mask. (Back-up mask = very important on trips if anything was to happen to Rx mask).

I would not get the biggest, baddest most expensive mask as my first purchase, especially when you need expensive Rx correction. I have heard so many people swapping masks early on in their diving when they realize how lousy the first shop-fitted mask was.

If possible I buy a mask before the Rx lenses, try it, then get special lenses for it. (My lenses often cost more than the mask itself, and it's very hard to sell an unfitting mask with weird lenses...)