The Kraken
He Who Glows in the Dark Waters (ADVISOR)
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In my case ? Yes!!!!
the K
the K
Are prescription masks really necessary?
- Thread starter pardsie
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You should know in the pool if your distance vision is good without lens correction. For near vision you can get plus 2 or plus 3 bifocals that pop in and replace the glass in your mask. They are far less expensive than getting prescription masks.
I carry a main and spare mask with plus 3 bifocals and I can read my gauges up close and can see the preview screen and settings on my digital camera. Plus, when I find those great fossils I can get a nice close-up view of them.
I carry a main and spare mask with plus 3 bifocals and I can read my gauges up close and can see the preview screen and settings on my digital camera. Plus, when I find those great fossils I can get a nice close-up view of them.
I use a prescription mask and it makes all the difference. I can't read without it so I need it for gauges and the camera screen is a total blur without it. I have one mask dedicated to camera work. The bifocals have been custom cut to make reading the camera display much easier. Unless you can get away with stick in bifocals or standard drop in lenses, the custom prescription is the way to go. Just use a standard mask in class then decide. If you go the prescription route, these people do a great job.
Welcome to Prescription Dive Mask
Welcome to Prescription Dive Mask
Lots of views expressed above, but for what it is worth, I am myopic and:
- I normally dive in contacts, no problems (I wear disposables so I don't really worry - but never lost one yet on a dive).
- But when I dive without contacts, I don't have a mask with prescription lenses, and the magnification is usually sufficient that I can operate under water just fine without further visual assistance.
- I normally dive in contacts, no problems (I wear disposables so I don't really worry - but never lost one yet on a dive).
- But when I dive without contacts, I don't have a mask with prescription lenses, and the magnification is usually sufficient that I can operate under water just fine without further visual assistance.
All of this depends on how bad your eyesight is and whether or not you have an issue with being near-sighted or far-sighted. I work for a company that manufactures contact lenses...so I have a bit of a background in it.
Given you aren't blind as a bat, then I would suggest daily disposibles for diving. In the event you do get a mask flood, you can just pull the lens at the end of your dive and toss it. Sometimes you can get a bacteria growth and subsequent infection if you don't clean your contacts and this is especially a risk for people using continuous wear contacts, in particular those who sleep with them. Research we have done indicates most people do not clean their contacts as they should...so there is that risk.
If you have extremely poor eyesight, you may have to go to a prescription mask...that aside my eyesight is R -3.00 and L -2.50. Unfortunately when I wear contacts reading small print is an annoyance for me, so I will wear a contact in my left eye and leave the right eye without. I have found after getting used to it that this seems to work extremely well for me (we call this monovision). The alternative is what is called a multi-focal contact that allows both distance and reading to be done...however these are pretty pricey and depending on your eyesight may not work as there are only usually 2 or 3 add powers depending on the company.
There is a slight correction already in place by being underwater as things are magnified a bit, so people who have a marginal correction probably don't really need to do anything, however for those who have significant correction needed, you have to pick a path. I considered a prescription mask, but decided against it simply because I didn't want glasses to keep track of on a dive boat or have to fool around with taking out and putting in contacts at a dive site or on a boat. I just bring an extra set of daily lenses with me in case for some reason I lose mine.
Given you aren't blind as a bat, then I would suggest daily disposibles for diving. In the event you do get a mask flood, you can just pull the lens at the end of your dive and toss it. Sometimes you can get a bacteria growth and subsequent infection if you don't clean your contacts and this is especially a risk for people using continuous wear contacts, in particular those who sleep with them. Research we have done indicates most people do not clean their contacts as they should...so there is that risk.
If you have extremely poor eyesight, you may have to go to a prescription mask...that aside my eyesight is R -3.00 and L -2.50. Unfortunately when I wear contacts reading small print is an annoyance for me, so I will wear a contact in my left eye and leave the right eye without. I have found after getting used to it that this seems to work extremely well for me (we call this monovision). The alternative is what is called a multi-focal contact that allows both distance and reading to be done...however these are pretty pricey and depending on your eyesight may not work as there are only usually 2 or 3 add powers depending on the company.
There is a slight correction already in place by being underwater as things are magnified a bit, so people who have a marginal correction probably don't really need to do anything, however for those who have significant correction needed, you have to pick a path. I considered a prescription mask, but decided against it simply because I didn't want glasses to keep track of on a dive boat or have to fool around with taking out and putting in contacts at a dive site or on a boat. I just bring an extra set of daily lenses with me in case for some reason I lose mine.
danclem
Contributor
Good advice so far, but it will also depend on where you go with your diving. If you move into underwater photography, the ability to clearly see images through range finders or on LCD's is critical. Difficult to get both distance and reading correction with contacts or lasik.
I dive with a prescription mask with bifocals and it works great. Contacts are there as a back up in the event my prescription mask disappears or is destroyed.
Have Fun,
Dan
I dive with a prescription mask with bifocals and it works great. Contacts are there as a back up in the event my prescription mask disappears or is destroyed.
Have Fun,
Dan
If you're wearing bifocals because you have reached "that age", I'd highly recommend getting them in your mask. One of the problems with diving is that ambient light decreases with depth, and the less light you have, the harder it is to focus. I found I had major trouble reading my gauges unless I was someplace like Cozumel, where the sun is bright and the water is very clear. Not being able to read gauges is a safety problem. It was well worth it to me to put the lenses in my mask, even though they make me look rather stupid in photographs 
piikki
Contributor
Oh I can’t believe you people can wear a lens in one eye and not the other. That would just flat out make me vomit!!
Then again, I think good suggestions have already been made. You can start with mask that has drop-in lenses available and judge if you need to buy lenses later. However, most of the drop-ins will not fix 2 things – as in you can not get both near-and farsightedness corrected that way. I don’t think any company makes combo lenses as drop-ins. They need to be custom made.
I would resonate what Pete said about surfacing too. I need lenses –5 & -4, and while I would not dive without Rx lenses, I certainly would not want to arrive on surface and be half-blind. Magnifying ends right there and you can’t grab your specs when in water. You want to recognize your vessel, see where you are stepping at with all that gear on etc! I don’t know about the immediate need of ‘reading glasses’ on surface if that is your major need. That probably is more in-water safety issue. If I don’t have my Rx mask I call the dive but I think the suggested –2 ‘limit’ for myopia sounds pretty good starting point.
Then again, I think good suggestions have already been made. You can start with mask that has drop-in lenses available and judge if you need to buy lenses later. However, most of the drop-ins will not fix 2 things – as in you can not get both near-and farsightedness corrected that way. I don’t think any company makes combo lenses as drop-ins. They need to be custom made.
I would resonate what Pete said about surfacing too. I need lenses –5 & -4, and while I would not dive without Rx lenses, I certainly would not want to arrive on surface and be half-blind. Magnifying ends right there and you can’t grab your specs when in water. You want to recognize your vessel, see where you are stepping at with all that gear on etc! I don’t know about the immediate need of ‘reading glasses’ on surface if that is your major need. That probably is more in-water safety issue. If I don’t have my Rx mask I call the dive but I think the suggested –2 ‘limit’ for myopia sounds pretty good starting point.
Oh I cant believe you people can wear a lens in one eye and not the other. That would just flat out make me vomit!!
Well it is something you have to get used to, and honestly not everyone can pull it off...about 50% I think. For me it is great...can see gauges and tables with no problems and still have good distance vision. Takes a bit of getting use to.
Charlie99
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That matches my experience. I'm -1.75 in one eye -2.0 in the other and did my first 25 dives with a standard mask.
It was OK, but getting a presciption mask made far away things much clearer. I also stopped swimming along 1' above the reef and repeatedly finding myself face-to-face closeup with eels.
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