Snorkeling/prescription glasses

[QponQueen67]

We'll be snorkeling in January and our youngest son has a fairly strong prescription for glasses. We want him to be able to see the fish while snorkeling but I don't think his glasses work well in the goggles since he needs a tight seal around his face.

 

What do you do so you can see under the water? Do they make special glasses for snorkeling?

 

Thanks for your help.

[billet]

This thread on the same subject has some ideas. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1443553

[BIG_Steve]

We'll be snorkeling in January and our youngest son has a fairly strong prescription for glasses. We want him to be able to see the fish while snorkeling but I don't think his glasses work well in the goggles since he needs a tight seal around his face.

 

What do you do so you can see under the water? Do they make special glasses for snorkeling?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Glasses in the mask won't work.

 

If he's nearsighted, it might not be as bad as you think. Water magnifies, and some folks with nearsightedness do okay. Maybe a pool and a borrowed mask would be a good test.

 

I have astigmatism, so my only choice is contacts in a normal mask, or a prescription mask. Have done contacts, and it worked well. But I can't wear contacts any more, so I will buy an Rx mask next time.

[Sauer-kraut]

I have a very strong prescription as well, and just this spring bought a snorkle mask for my near-sightedness.

 

I was sooo impressed, you bascially pick a mask, choose lenses that are near to what your regular Rx is, each lens is separate. I bought mine online for less than $100. I didn't buy the 'reading' lens and I kind of wish I did as some fish swim up to you and for me (being old) they were also a bit of a challenge. I don't think your son will have a problem with this.

 

I got mine from scuba. com, talked to a real person and got my mask within a week's time. I was a bit disappointed that my mask doesn't have a thing to remove water, but I ordered it without a purge and that was my fault. I bought a snorkle on my own, from a sporting goods store in my area for $10 you might do better at that same website.

 

Now I want to go back to the Red Sea, I missed so much without a prescription mask, and borrowed my friend's but his was so weak for me I could only see the bigger fish that swam close.

 

Hope you have a great time.

 

This is the one I bought, it came with a free strap wrap as well as a hard case.

[edgeman61]

I have a -6.0 perscription myself, I found that a perscription mask worked great and it wasn't as expensive as I thought.

 

The masks aren't made to an exact perscription but can be made very close.

 

The benefit is being able to see out of the water as well as in the water.

 

Unless contacts can be worn IMHO, the perscription mask is the way to go.

 

Some group excursions will have a variety of perscription masks available but I think they are limited to the strengths.

[Esha]

I am extremely nearsighted and bought a prescription mask from :

snorkel-mart.com for less than $80.

 

I cannot say how much I love love love snorkeling now !! I wish I had bought one years ago. Great mask.

 

I think your son will enjoy snorkeling much more if he can see properly :).

 

Helen

[Medtech2]

We'll be snorkeling in January and our youngest son has a fairly strong prescription for glasses. We want him to be able to see the fish while snorkeling but I don't think his glasses work well in the goggles since he needs a tight seal around his face.

 

What do you do so you can see under the water? Do they make special glasses for snorkeling?

 

Thanks for your help.

I can no longer wear contacts but love to snorkel. I went to a dive shop here in town instead of using the internet because my prescription is so severe (-8 PLUS astigmatism and bifocals). They had me first pick a mask and take it home to try in a pool or tub for fit and comfort as I also have a narrow face. Then i went back WITH my prescription. They marked on the mask where my pupils were and then sent it off where a shop affixed perfect prescription lenses right onto the inside of the snorkel lenses. The whole thing was about $200 but well worth it for me because of the severity of my sight. I have since been using this mask during a recent beach vacation and at the neighborhood pool. If your child's prescription is tricky I would go this route. If he has basic nearsightedness that is not severe or with other problems you can certainly try the cheaper internet route but be careful of the mask you choose so that it is the correct one for his face and will not leak. I found that the advice and expertise and training I received going through a dive shop with actual people looking at my face shape was well worth the money and peace of mind for me. Snorkelling is a blast and the difference in being able to see clearly the wonders around you is just priceless!

[billet]

$200 is cheaper than a pair of glasses. If I can get over the embarrasment I could wear the mask all day, great for driving a convertible it would stop the wind in the eyes.

[phillygirl63]

When we went snorkeling in Hawaii many years ago, I wore glasses at the time (now wear contacts). We rented our snorkeling equipment and they fitted me with a snorkel mask with my prescription in it. As the others have said, you can always buy one to have forever, but this was nice for only one time.

[hillbilly73]

Sauer-kraut explains ordering rx masks very well. Most online sites that carry rx snorkel masks will have -1 to -10 diopter in .5 intervals in stock. I bought mine last year for about 65.00 dollars money well spent but I have reached the age when my rx won't change very much over the next few years so I will get plenty of use out the lenses. If you have to go to a custom made mask the price will triple or more.

 

Hope you are able to find a solution that works well for your son.

[seamist]

We'll be snorkeling in January and our youngest son has a fairly strong prescription for glasses. We want him to be able to see the fish while snorkeling but I don't think his glasses work well in the goggles since he needs a tight seal around his face.

 

What do you do so you can see under the water? Do they make special glasses for snorkeling?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

I am horribly nearsighted as well. Things are a bit blurry with a regular mask, but yes you can buy prescription masks! I bought one a few years ago and after using it the first time thought I'd died and gone to heaven...made a world of difference for me.

 

I agree with others who have said glasses in the mask won't work. Plus you might risk losing them in the ocean!

 

Try this site: http://www.101snorkel.com/Rx_Snorkel_Mask_s/24.htm or stop by your local dive shop. It will cost a bit of money, but in the end he will have a mask that he can not only see out of, but it will fit perfectly just for him. If his prescription ever changes, the lenses can be replaced.

[azappraiser]

$200 is cheaper than a pair of glasses. If I can get over the embarrasment I could wear the mask all day, great for driving a convertible it would stop the wind in the eyes.

 

Can you wear a pair to the port before you board? I'll be getting off the Pearl as you're waiting to board... I'd be able to pick you out of the crowd and can wave as I go by... ;)

[QponQueen67]

Thank you all for your helpful replies. I'm happy to learn that there are options for my son. I can't wait to do some checking around.

[Scuba55]

I am Farsighted, muscle inbalance, and astigmatism, I need bifocals to read my dive computer and guages, so buying a new mask every several years, and having a prescription made and placed in them is my only real safe option.

 

If you are Nearsighted there are a lot of get close drop em in options out there, cheap, but for my situation NO there is not.

 

So this summer I got my new duo2 mask, now made by XS scuba it was a consolidation thing (everyone ask how come it dont leak with my mustashe, LOL cus it seals) and sent it away to leonard, he made them and had it back to me in 6 days total time, and he was several hundred dollars less than anyone else that would even consider tackeling my complex prescription, bifocal, prisim, axis, the works.

 

Now I did get a better price by getting his tele number and calling him versus getting quote on the internet, he saids his kid does the internet thing, so I would get his number from the site and call him with rx in hand, he will have you read it and tell you all about it.

 

Good Luck

 

rxdivemask dot com is where I found leonard

[seadancer]

you might give these folks a call I've heard good things about them and I'm currently waiting on my first rx mask from them

 

 

http://prescriptiondivemasks.com/

[Colorado Kat]

We were in Hawaii (Big Island) a few years ago. The local dive shop had prescription masks for rent. You just tried them on till you found one you were happy with. I rented one for a week, and at the end, they told me it would only be $10 more to purchase it.

 

So now I have a prescription mask.

[catherinecao]

its not a good ideas to order prescription glasses from your local concrete optician store,too expensive,to save money check this site www.idooptical.com ,all frames are 7dollars with good quality,lens are cheap as well. prepare your glasses prescription then order from them to save a lot of money.