Are there snorkle masks that fit with eyeglasses?

[karenandgene]

We have never snorkled and thought we would try it Coki Beach in St Thomas. It seems this is a good place for beginners. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

However, we both wear glasses (all the time). I know there are prescription masks, but it's quite an investment for the first timer (times two in our case) when we don't know how we'll like it.

 

Are there snorkle masks that accommodate glasses? Are they common enough that the snorkle company would have them for rent?

 

If not, I guess we will stick to glass bottom boats and submarines.

 

Thanks in advance.

[simonv]

You cannot wear eye glasses with mask. The only solution is prescription glass. However, everything looks magnified underwater. If your eye problem is minor, you probably don't need a special mask.

[IAMAMT]

If you are on a tour and are near-sighted most operators do have a few prescription lens goggles available. If you have astigmatism you will not need corrective lens, looking under water corrects this. I can't see anything clearly without my glasses on land but can see perfect under water.

[Isailaway]

I too wear glasses and would like to be able to snorkel. I saw a tip on another thread that I am going to try. They said to remove the lenses from an old pair of your glasses, glue them into the mask using just a spot of silicon caulk at the top and side of the edges of the lenses. The person who shared this tip said they had used it successfully for years. Hopefully it will work!!

[pnut362]

I don't know how bad your eyes are but I can not see anything far away. For reading and watching tv I am usually ok. I went scuba diving at Coki Beach in March and was also worried about not being able to see anything. However, to my surprise I had no problems whatsoever. Either everything was magnified underwater or I was so facinated by everything I saw I just did not notice that it was blurry! :D

 

Hope you have a great time no matter what you do!!

[vermonter16]

You can also get some snap in lenses that will be matched as close to your RX as possible without being full blown RX.. I got them and they did the trick!

[Trvlr37]

My hubby and I both wear glasses and found a generic prescription mask from Body Glove (mild, medium and strong). We both use them and love them. No worries about leaking, etc. and everything under water is magnified, but it helps to see when you get in and out of the water!

[mipps]

im as blind as a bat on land and seem to be able to see things clearly underwater

 

If you have astigmatism you will not need corrective lens

 

thx IAMAMT ... sort of explains it

[Isailaway]

Oh my --- I hope I don't glue the prescription lenses into my mask and cause everything to be SUPER-magnified -- I will freak out if I snorkel for the first time and all of those cute little fish look like sharks in front of me.

 

Seriously, if I take my glasses off, I cannot see a word of what I am typing -- so I am REALLY hoping that the little trick I read about will work for me.............and if it can help anyone else, that's great.

[Isailaway]

Trvlr37:

 

Looks like you are going on the Jewel right before we do. We have the 6 night Western cruise booked for Dec. 9th.

 

I would LOVE to hear what you have to say after your cruise in November.

 

If you happen to have the time, my e-mail address is katrogala@hotmail.com (we live in Illinois too)

 

Thanks!

Kathy

[Trvlr37]

Isailaway - I'm certain the Jewel will be a wonderful cruise, but watch the reviews on these boards as I will probably write on when we get back.

[martylouie]

If you need help reading you can find little stick on lenses at your local drug store with the cheap reading glasses. When I went snorkeling in Ketchikan several years ago, the tour operator had some generic prescription masks and suggested I try them out. Never again will I go with out some correction!! it was fantastic. When I took my open water certification dives a year latter I did not have correction and I then had a true basis for comparison. I've just gotten a new lens prescription so I'm off to the dive shop to order a new custom mask. At @$250 it is $200 less than my glasses! The nice or strange thing is - If I lose my glasses I may have to wear my mask to the dining room during formal night. Good thing it will be black!:D

Lester

[Nukesailor]

Water magnifies things about 25% (think about it, guys:D ). The DW and I recently bought masks with corrective lenses. Both were off the shelf at a local dive shop. Total cost about $80 for a decent mask with 2 corrective lenses. They can change them in the shop in about 10 minutes. Years ago, we used to take the earpieces off our glasses and tape them inside the mask (using medical adhesive tape). To do this, you need larger masks with a single faceplate. With the trend going to low-volume masks, I don't know if you can get the larger masks anymore. If you decide to order online, use the diopter portion of your prescription; they don't make dive mask lenses for astigmatism, but the diopter correction helps a lot.

[Romy40]

Get the peel and stick corrective tapes. You may go through a couple of them, but they are cheap.

Hard to find lately. ??

[wvufan]

For years I simply took the arms off an old pair of glasses and sort of wedged them in the cheapie swim mask I got from Walmart. That works fine, although the field of vision is diminished. I finally broke down and bought prescription mask and lenses at Divers Direct. They have a website and a great store near Mallory Square in Key West. I think the mask and lenses was about $65. The lenses are available in half diopter increments.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[shepp]

Just found this thread. I'm an occasional scuba diver and have been using the old-glasses-wedged-in-mask trick for years. Only downside has been that going down to 90 feet, the pressure on the mask made the nose bridgepiece hurt like crazy, and that extra defogger is needed between the faceplate and glasses. It looks funky, but it's sure cheap, and often necessary. I just checked with the Coki Beach Club on St. Thomas, hardly an out-of-the-way site, and they don't have corrective masks for rent...

[MD34]

I am severly myopic and was a 'snorkel virgin' until last week. We went on the 'Reef & Wreck' tour in Grand Cayman and it worked out fine. The tour operator had a mask with a single glass for me (most were double) and I simply folded the arms of my glasses over and put them in the mask. Looked weird, but I could see fine. The operator also used his super secret glass defogger for me (Joy dish detergent!)

[maureenk]

If any of the eyeglasses wearers have contacts, they work great too. My eyes are bad enough that the magnification in water doesn't do anything for me (approx +6.0). The glasses in the mask works, but the contacts are the best!

[Scuba Laura]

I carry optical masks and prescription lens. If your eyeglass script is a negative 4, because water does magnify, I then replace with a negative 3.

 

Since Coki doesn't carry prescript masks, does a shop near you rent them? I'd try renting them before buying.

[shepp]

Hey, since my last post here, I scored a used Body Glove corrective mask (described earlier in this thread) on eBay for only 20 bucks. (You can get them new for 50 through amazon, considerably less than other corrective masks.) Amazingly, though it's designed for a range of corrections, mine works perfectly. Took just a few minutes to adjust to, and it's much, much better than my old glasses-in-mask arrangement. Just went on a refresher dive last night, and even with my trimmed down mustache, it sealed pretty well, even sans Vaseline. Recommended.

[Minoushka]

I took an old pair of glasses broke the arms (is that what we call them ???)and fitted them in my mask . it works fine

you need to clean them too before like you do for the mask

good luck

michele

[BuzzF117]

Im a little nearsighted -3.75 and I don't even use corrective mask I tried contacts but that was a hassle and still had to bring glasses along as backup incase contacts were washed out. The magnification I get from the water is sufficient to make up for my perscription. I suggest you go to a Local Dive shop and see if you can try a few masks out in their pool if they have one.

 

nuf said

buzz