Gary Schick
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I am thinking of getting a prescription dive mask and was looking from feedback from other divers that have done this already. Especially looking for advice on retailers.
Prescription Mask Help
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2airishuman
Contributor
There are two choices. You can get a mask with interchangeable lenses. These are sold by many dive shops under various brands and also by DGX as the "rio" mask. The lenses are all tempered glass and the retailer just chooses the ones closest to your prescription and snaps them in. The limitation is that they are either a nearsightedness correction or a "gauge reader" correction, not both, and the lenses are not available with a cylindrical (astigmatism) correction.
Otherwise there are places that will bond plastic lenses to the mask of your choice. More expensive and you end up with a plastic lens that can be scratched. But they will accommodate any prescription. prescriptiondivemasks.com is one place that does it (and has had favorable reviews here in the past), but most LDSs will offer a similar service.
Which route you choose really depends on your prescription, your budget, and whether you are happy with the "rio" style mask.
Otherwise there are places that will bond plastic lenses to the mask of your choice. More expensive and you end up with a plastic lens that can be scratched. But they will accommodate any prescription. prescriptiondivemasks.com is one place that does it (and has had favorable reviews here in the past), but most LDSs will offer a similar service.
Which route you choose really depends on your prescription, your budget, and whether you are happy with the "rio" style mask.
I just bought a standard Mares X-vision and had prescription lenses installed by a specialist. The lenses I had put in are glass, not plastic.
One tip, if you're getting lenses installed for reading your gauges then you might want to consider getting slightly more powerful lenses than you would normally wear (like maybe a +.25 increase over your normal reading glasses). This is because of the magnifying effect of the water that makes everything look closer and therefore that much harder to focus on.
R..
One tip, if you're getting lenses installed for reading your gauges then you might want to consider getting slightly more powerful lenses than you would normally wear (like maybe a +.25 increase over your normal reading glasses). This is because of the magnifying effect of the water that makes everything look closer and therefore that much harder to focus on.
R..
Kharon
Contributor
I have a particular masak that I prefer and have astigmatism in both eyes. I sent my mask in and had the left eye a bifocal (for guage reading) and regular lens in the right eye. This is where I had it done and I am more than satisfied: Prescription Dive Masks
Hoag
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I have never used this company, but I have seen them recommended enough times that I bookmarked their website for the next time I do need a new mask.
Prescription Dive Masks
Edit: Well look at that. As I was typing my response, somebody recommended them.
Prescription Dive Masks
Edit: Well look at that. As I was typing my response, somebody recommended them.
Boaty McBoatface
Contributor
A lot of Tusa masks (maybe others, too?) accept Tusa's drop in prescription lenses, which are only about $30 per side. A pretty good deal if the results are good enough for you.
***The prescription you need underwater is slightly different than what you need above. There are some online calculators to run your prescription through.***
In addition to that, you might want to consider relevant working distances. You won't need to focus a mile away with your mask on, so you can cheat your prescription toward the short end.
Q: BTW, are any of the user glue-on bifocals/add-on gauge readers any good?
***The prescription you need underwater is slightly different than what you need above. There are some online calculators to run your prescription through.***
In addition to that, you might want to consider relevant working distances. You won't need to focus a mile away with your mask on, so you can cheat your prescription toward the short end.
Q: BTW, are any of the user glue-on bifocals/add-on gauge readers any good?
I've used Prescription Dive Masks over 100 times in the past year. 100% satisfied clients. They're old-fashioned and do a fantastic job. They do custom glass bonds to ANY existing mask.
Charles2
Contributor
After trying several 'off the shelf' masks and finding them all unsatisfactory, I finally sent my prescription and my mask to Welcome to Prescription Dive Masks 1-800-538-2878. . About two weeks later the mask was returned with bifocal lenses installed. I have been very, very satisfied with the result.
Doctorfish
Contributor
I have a Seavision Mask I am quite happy with. You can try a mask for fit at the dive shop and then send your Rx. They ground me full bifocals so that I now can see distance and close up both clearly. No compromise.
Only problem with Seavision is that they have a max of 2.0 on readers (bifocal or single-vision). If you need anything more powerful than that, you're SOL.
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