Prescription mask

[wvufan]

I had snorked dozens of times over the years, and had taken the arms off an old pair of glasses and wedged them in to my mask. It worked OK-or so I thought.

 

A few weeks ago, we were in Key West and I went to a place called Diver's Direct (they also have a web site) which is a few blocks from Mallory Square.

 

I got a mask (EVO typhoon)which accepts changeable lenses for about $16 and prescription lenses for $25 each. They come in half diopter increments. Mine are both 7 diopters. I was amazed at how wonderful it is to really be able to enjoy the beauty in the sea for the first time.

 

I wish I had gotten them years ago.

 

I also got some decent fins for $20.

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

 

PS, a tip for moustached folks: I take a small vial of vaseline to get a better seal.

[S&M in Pgh]

I bought a prescription mask after my first cruise when I just thought I would be snorkeling. Later moved onto diving and it is an absolute must if your vision is not great. I bought one for my wife the next year and she loves snorkeling even more now.

 

A good investment if it is something you plan to do over and over.

 

Mike

[hawaii6o]

Do you know how high the prescription goes for the masks. My daughter is a +20 and +21 and I have not found any prescription goggles that go that high. She is only 11 and was born with cateracts. No implant lenses for her as she is not a candidate for them. She wears contact lenses now and wears goggles, but I am waiting for the day that she looses a contact in the ocean or a pool. A long time ago before she had contacts I got her the little sticky magnifiers that you can get at the opticians office but they were not strong at all. I think like a +3 or 4 but I could be wrong. It was so long ago.

[lpjpane]

My husband is interested in a perscription mask but what we've seen online are lens glued onto the mask lens. Do they make the whole mask lens optical?

[tootsiescurly]

Best investment we ever made. Beats wearing contacts when we are diving. They take the factory lenses out of the mask and replace them with prescription lenses.

[lpjpane]

Best investment we ever made. Beats wearing contacts when we are diving. They take the factory lenses out of the mask and replace them with prescription lenses.

 

Who does this? A 3rd party company or the mask manuafacturer?

[jimw]

1. Do what the original poster and I have done--buy a mask that the manufacturer or others make generic "drug store glasses" lenses of specific diopters that will get close to most peoples prescription. I'm on my 2nd Tabata 2 lens mask that they make replacement "drugstore" lenses for. Just go to the store and try'em until you find the appropriate correction.

 

2. Have your prescription ground into the glass lens of an existing mask.

 

3. Do about what the original poster did, use some old lenses. I did this on my first scuba mask in 1984--but I siliconed the old lenses on the outside of the mask. Worked well for several years, once I found the optimal place on the mask for relatively small and far away lenses.

 

I did these in a 3,2,1 order, all worked well. I felt that the "full" prescription mask was pretty pricey and rather quickly out of date. The old lenses siliconed onto the outside looked strange, one might want to try the same on the inside of the mask. I thought that the inside might not work well due to lens curvature and fogging. I like the "drug store" approach, I've been doing that for around 15 years now.

 

I think http://www.leisurepro.com has the mask and lenses--the problem then becomes what diopter is closest for each eye. Divers Direct has a website too. You will need to find a local dive store that sells'em and find a goodish diopter for your eyes.

[tootsiescurly]

They do it at the dive shop. The prescription would be similar to a contact prescription w/o the base curve.