Vision Correction underwater

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cstreu1026

Contributor
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Location
Xenia, OH
# of dives
50 - 99
Anyone ever bought a mask with corrective lens? I was planning on ordering one from Dive Inn but they only have the correct lenses for one mask and I am not all that crazy about the style. The only option they offered for immediate shipping was an Aqualung Luna. If anyone has this mask and love it let me know and I will probably give it a try. Otherwise if anyone has experiencewith ordering such products online, pass on any recommendations and info. Thank you!
 
Many manufacturers offer the ability to give you stock prescription lenses in their masks/frames. Is there any particular reason why you are limiting yourself to DiveInn? Also, how fast is "immediate delivery"? If it's a stock prescription, you can usually get it back from the manufacturer within about a week.

Alternately, if you need a custom ground prescription, I recommend Sea Vision. They even do bifocals. I have had one of their masks for 4 years (two prescriptions) and have no complaints.

Sea Vision (US) http://www.seavisionusa.com/

BTW, they offer colour corrected lenses in prescription as well.

~SubMariner~
 
Originally posted by cstreu1026
Anyone ever bought a mask with corrective lens? I was planning on ordering one from Dive Inn but they only have the correct lenses for one mask and I am not all that crazy about the style. The only option they offered for immediate shipping was an Aqualung Luna. If anyone has this mask and love it let me know and I will probably give it a try. Otherwise if anyone has experiencewith ordering such products online, pass on any recommendations and info. Thank you!

If you need bifocals or have serious astigmatism, you'll want to go the route of selecting a mask and having lens ground to your prescription cemented on the inside of your faceplate. Many local opticians can handle this, but I found them to be a bit pricey so I located a place which did it via the mail.
 
If you need bifocals or have serious astigmatism, you'll want to go the route of selecting a mask and having lens ground to your prescription cemented on the inside of your faceplate.

Sea Vision custom grinds prescription lenses for masks, especially bifocals. IMHO this is preferable to having lenses glued to the inside of my mask, which makes mask cleaning harder.

Both my husband & myself have Sea Vision bifocal masks; they are great! (BTW, I am astigmatic, myopic AND need bifocals.)

BTW, what you suggest is not the best option. As many u/w photographers will state, there is a big difference between optics above & below the water. An optician who doesn't specialize in u/w optics will not understand this, and so you will not get optically correct lenses for diving.

~SubMariner~
 
Originally posted by SubMariner


Sea Vision custom grinds prescription lenses for masks, especially bifocals. IMHO this is preferable to having lenses glued to the inside of my mask, which makes mask cleaning harder.

Both my husband & myself have Sea Vision bifocal masks; they are great! (BTW, I am astigmatic, myopic AND need bifocals.)

BTW, what you suggest is not the best option. As many u/w photographers will state, there is a big difference between optics above & below the water. An optician who doesn't specialize in u/w optics will not understand this, and so you will not get optically correct lenses for diving.

~SubMariner~

I agree completely with ~Sub~. I've been using a Sea Vision RX mask for almost 6 years and recently had to upgrade to bi-focals to see the digital screen on my camera. One difference in lenses ground for u/w use...my bifocals protrude like a small flat bubble on the OUTSIDE of the lenses. Out of the water the bi-focals are totally useless but in the water where I need them they are perfect. I can see better with my mask than my glasses!

It took 5 days for this new mask to get here. I have the dive shop fax the RX order and the mask is shipped back to them. Yes, the mask is expensive but since my sight underwater is just as important to me as my life support gear....I don't mind spending it at all.
 
Can you wear contacts? I had perscription mask lenses when I first started diving, but if you don't bring glasses with you, you have to wear your mask to see!!! Now I wear contacts & have never had a problem with them under water.....
 
I went the contact lense route, then switched to the corrective mask route when I needed bifocals, then just recently, Lasik surgery. Recommend any of the three!
 
Up until a couple months ago, I was diving with the Sea Vision Rx mask with bifocals as was my husband. Previously (and sometimes just for a change) I wore one contact (for monovision - to allow me to still read my gauges with the undercorrected eye) and be able to see distance with the other. But, my husband did not have the option to wear contact lenses. The Sea Vision Rx mask was great....the exterior flat "bubble" (as Dee called it) of correction for reading did not bother me in any way underwater. But, as others have stated, out of the water.....well, liken it to how it was when you tried on your granny's glasses when you were about five years old!!! However; that little bubble is fairly small and does not impede your normal vision area.

Sea Vision did a great job and listened to me as I discussed what I wanted and what Rx I preferred after talking to my opthamologist. And talk about service....we were leaving on a trip to the Keys in a few days (yes, I was Last Minute Lulu....hey, I work better under pressure....no pun intended there). Sea Vision expressed them to the resort and they were on my pillow in my room the day I checked in! Great dives and great mask...I truly could see better with my mask than my glasses as well.

Now, having said all that.... we decided that we were tired of shuffling, glasses, reading glasses, sunglasses, Rx sunglasses, regular mask and Rx mask TIMES TWO ......I needed a suitcase for just my "eyewear"! My husband and I decided to have the lasik surgery - him first - brave man. I thought...hm....I'll wait and see how this all plays out. He loved it.....kept insisting I go for it, which I did and we're not looking back! This is great...totally changed our lives not just our diving experience. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Yes, we do need reading glasses for small print when reading above the surface......but we do not have any trouble reading our gauges or seeing things upclose under the water. Our doctor told us that the magnification underwater would be enough to make the correction WE needed to read our gauges. It was....FREEDOM AT LAST !!!!!!!

Ok, so as always, this is what worked for US.....you will have to make your decision based on your particular needs. But if you decide to go with a Rx mask....just make sure that there is excellent communication between eye doctor, you and the company who will grind your mask to make sure you are all reading off the same page....the Rx for glasses will not work for the mask - there is more space between your eye and the lens - and that must be taken in consideration when deciding what Rx your mask lenses will be ground to.

Good luck....We'll SEA ya around!
 
The Mares ESA is designed for just this purpose. It has 6 lenses, 4 are replaceable with prescription lenses, the two front and bottom lenses. The two sid lenses are not replaceable. I use this mask, for the sole reason that I hate tunnel vision, and like to see what's below and to the side of me without having to stretch and twist my head. It a little more expensive than some, but the view under water is worth it!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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