Hydro Optix Mask - Is it worth the money?

[Gombessa]

Compilation of what I've heard about this thing over the last few months:

Pros: GREAT field of view below water, enhances situational awareness

Cons: Blind above water, high-volume makes clearing and equalizing more difficult, convex lens is easy to scratch, kinda goofy looking, may need contacts if you have good vision.

Sounds like a lot to swallow, but as mentioned, for many people, that one benefit outweighs the whole of the disadvantages, and they love them to death.

 

[shoupart]

Hello,
I LOVE my HydroOptix mask and I never dive without it.

I think it's worth it because it truly does improve peripheral vision and remove the distortion/magnification of normal masks.

It's worth it to me because I'm near-sighted enough where I don't need contact lenses to correct my eyes for using the mask.

Before I bought this mask, I was using a Cressi Big Eyes and put prescription lenses in it. I think it cost about $160 all together. So an extra $40 for a mask that lets me see so much more than the old-style masks is worth it, I think.

 

[peterbj7]

I have a guest diving with me at present and he LOVES his HO mask. Mind you, he has tripped and fallen on the boat twice just after getting back on with the mask still on! I asked him why he didn't take it off before boarding the boat and he said the only place where it was safe from scratching was on his face. He doesn't take it off until he's located its proper box (or he's fallen over).

Pretty well exactly Gombessa's conclusions. I had another guest a year a two ago who was very unhappy with his, I think mainly because he wasn't as careful with his and he had numerous scratches on the lens. It is very vulnerable.

I believe it's only suitable for people with near sight, though I'm open to being corrected on that. I don't think it would be any good for me (not that I would want it anyway because of its high volume) because I have long sight (distance vision).

 

[shoupart]

About the scratches: I've gone through 3 HO masks (I lost two on some rough beach entries ) and did have some problems with it being prone to scratching.

However, this problem seemed to be cosmetic. Once I was underwater, the water filled in the scratches and I never had any problems with it obscuring my vision.

With my 3rd mask, it's the updated model and so far it seems to be more resistant to scratches and I've been more careful with it anyways.

I haven't had problems with it being high volume, either. I don't really freedive with it so the volume isn't important to me, and clearing it is easy with the purge valves. Haven't had any trouble with equalizing, either.


Peter, was your balance-challenged guest using contacts with his mask? Did he have normal vision and require contacts to become nearsighted?

 

[NarcosisDave]

Thanks for starting this thread skinfish - I have been very intrigued by this mask over the last few months and I have been seriosuly thiking about buying one - the price hasn't really been an inhibitor for me but more the lack of info about it has!!

I think Im going to pass on one of these!!

 

[ReelDuel]

My Wife used this HO mask for her certification and she loved it. She had no problems other than getting the tension of the strap so it would not leak. She is a contact/glasses person and said she does not think she would have completed OW scuba certification if she had to dive with contacts. The staff @ HO was great also!! check it out here More dive pictures from Belize

Oh I forgot to mention she is a first time diver as I was when we were certified. Not to mention snorkeling also. She is now hooked on diving. I had already hooked her on fishing so my next thing for both of us is to go looking for lobsters!!!!

The dive instructor in Belize was dismayed by this mask but didn't have any problem with her using it. Here in the states the LDS didn't really want to mess with a new student using this mask. Go for it folks it is well worth it!!!!!

 

[Blazinator]

I took the chance since I am nearsighted already, bought the HO, and I am so glad I did.

We pay top dollar for our diving, so don't you think that seeing well for that prescious little time UW is a top priority?

If I pay a couple grand per dive trip to dive a dozen or more times to an exotic location, and say I have 50 dives per year, that 200 bucks is amertized to cost only 4 bucks per dive, while I spend thousands just to get there in the first place.

I've dived quite a bit with it in cold and warm conditions, and the improvement is truly that dramatic, making it well worth at least trying one out, especially if you are already nearsighted (understandably my bias).

Don't knock the mask if you haven't tried one.

I feel bad for those without good face shapes though, who have to deal with leaks.

 

[peterbj7]

Peter, was your balance-challenged guest using contacts with his mask? Did he have normal vision and require contacts to become nearsighted?

He was wearing contacts, but I'm not sure what his vision would have been without. He kept the contacts in when he took the mask off and then had no problems.

 

[peterbj7]

Don't knock the mask if you haven't tried one

Actually, don't knock it even if you have tried it - it might break.

 

[D_B]

Actually, don't knock it even if you have tried it - it might break.

Actually , it wont ......

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]SAFETY -- tempered glass vs. Polycarbonate[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]57.[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Q - [/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]Which material makes a safer lens? [/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular]A- [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]Polycarbonate is MUCH safer than glass[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]The dive industry's safety standard for masks is woefully inferior to that required of $4 safety eyewear. Indeed most common plastic eyeglasses must meet higher standards![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]Tempered glass is 5 times stronger than non-tempered glass. Glass has the advantage of resisting scratches because it is quite hard. But you can’t have it both ways -- tempered glass is hard but very brittle -- it breaks. ALL professional full-face masks and dive helmets use Polycarbonate (PC) lenses for increased diver safety.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]All above-water safety eyewear is made from Polycarbonate because PC is more than 150 times stronger than tempered glass when measuring impact resistance. PC is “ductile” – it bends but does not break. Bullet-resistant eye guards are made from PC, the most impact-resistant of all polymers.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]The test for high-impact safety eyewear (ANSI Z87.1-2003) --[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]A 1/4-inch diameter steel fired at up to 204 MPH, with no lens breakage allowed:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]-- Spectacle lenses: 102 MPH (150 ft./sec.)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]-- Goggles: 170 MPH (250 ft./sec.)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]-- Faceshields: 204 MPH (300 ft./sec.)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]In 1985, before excellent scratch-resistant coatings for PC were formulated for automotive headlights, the leading scuba equipment companies agreed among themselves -- for the first time -- to establish an industry-wide safety standard for dive masks. But the company representatives settled for a "voluntary standard" that does not have to be followed. This standard was published through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Manufacturers put these stickers on some masks -- NOT ALL GLASS MASKS ACTUALLY PASS THESE STANDARDS, DESPITE WHAT THE STICKER SAYS -- [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]-- This lens exceeds the impact test requirements of the[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]-- American National Standard Z86.11-1985. Impact resistant[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]-- lenses can break or shatter and cause injury to the user[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]-- if subjected to undue force or impact.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]The "Z86.11-1985" dive mask test -- [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]A 1-inch diameter steel ball dropped by gravity from 50-inches onto the lens, with no breakage of the lens.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]However, NO mask with "fused-glass" corners (which didn't exist in 1985) passes "Z86" when the steel ball is dropped onto the “fused” corner. Glass shards are broken off the corners, leaving razor-sharp edges, which contradicts Z86.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]Hard-coated PC lenses will scratch more easily vs. glass. But underwater, minor scratches are invisible as the refractive index of the PC lens and seawater are so close -- the water fills in the scratches, as it does for minor scratches on your plastic-faced gauges.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Swiss, SunSans-Regular]HydroOptix PC lenses are not made or tested to meet high-impact safety eyewear standards and should not be used as such. In fact we use a PC alloy that sacrifices some impact-protection to make our lenses more scratch-resistant. All that said, our lenses are 10-times more impact-resistant vs. any recreational glass dive mask. A few divers have told us how our PC lens saved them from potential tragedy -- and had a severely scratched / gouged Double-Dome lens to prove their story. Our PC lenses are replaceable.[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular] (top)[/FONT]