Being able to enjoy the underwater experience to the fullest is what safe snorkeling and scuba diving are all about. However, keeping a close eye on your scuba diving buddy is equally important. You also need to be able to see everything happening around you while monitoring your gauges and levels.
Eye disorders, deteriorating eyesight, and poor vision, in general, can turn people into nervous wrecks when diving. You must use a suitable prescription scuba mask to dive to your heart’s content to ensure it doesn’t happen!
By nature, water magnifies things by up to .33%, which means it might already be enough to stick with standard scuba diving masks. However, if your eye disorder is more complex or its condition is starting to get worse, even more so if you often go diving, things can get trickier and more challenging.
Suppose you’re searching for options to make your diving experience safer and more enjoyable. In that case, it might work to your advantage if you consider potential alternatives to wearing your regular eyeglasses under your diving mask. And whether you believe it or not, some people do just that!
The arm or earpiece of your eyeglasses might end up piercing the mask skirt, preventing the mask from forming a secure seal around your face. Of course, this could be better. What’s the best solution, then? This is where full prescription scuba diving masks come in handy.
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Full Prescription Scuba Mask vs. Contact Lenses
Although wearing contact lenses every time you go diving is perfectly acceptable, with some divers preferring this option, you should consider its strengths and weaknesses.
For starters, standard contact lenses are way cheaper, specifically for people who only go diving occasionally. However, always having a spare set with you is still recommended. Aside from this, you can also continue using your regular prescription despite the different strengths of each eye. However, you should wear soft lenses only for comfort and safety.
On the other hand, wearing contact lenses also comes with several downsides. For one, there is always the risk that the lens will get dislodged, or worse, get lost in the middle of the dive or if your prescription scuba masks flood.
It would help to keep your eyes closed every time you clear the mask. Doing so may require some mastering to ensure you don’t lose your contact lens. In addition, there is also a higher risk of infection with potential longer-term eye damage in this environment the moment salt water and bacteria get caught beneath the lens.
Non-gas or hard permeable lenses also stick to the eyes, can result in possible severe damage, and might end up drying out your eyes, which is the most minor problem that can happen.
Primary types of lenses
There are also two primary types of lenses available. First is push-on lenses that are known to be more affordable if you’re short-sighted. You can trim these lenses and cut them to fit the lower half of most masks right now. This can make your scuba mask almost bifocal.
But there is also the risk that these lenses will become loose or get lost during your dive. These lenses are also not a good choice for divers who are long-sighted.
The second type of contact lenses is prescription-bonded lenses that are customizable for all prescription strengths and sight requirements. These lenses are also more secure than the mask’s standard or push-on contact lenses.
Prescription-bonded lenses are also more expensive because a specialist makes these, and based on their name, these lenses are bonded to your new or existing mask, which makes replacing them even costlier.
Considering all of these downsides and drawbacks of contact lenses, a prescription scuba mask is your best choice to give you complete comfort and sight precision.
These masks are slightly more expensive for non-frequent divers in the short term. This is a fact that you should know right from the get-go. But the benefits of these masks undoubtedly outweigh their price tags if you’re looking longer-term. These masks will also assure you that the moment you go into the water, you can focus on just the dive itself instead of other obstacles that might come your way.
Types of prescription scuba diving masks
These prescription scuba diving masks are also mainly made for the three primary types of distance and vision requirements to your precise prescription: reading, bifocals, or single-vision.
Since these are UV bonded into the scuba mask, you don’t have to worry about any risk that they will get dislodged or lost, so they won’t require replacement sooner than necessary. These lenses are also designed to suit different types of underwater work and diving activities. It can also cater to even the precise and detailed close-up vision required for underwater photography.
No cleaning is needed before using your prescription scuba mask because the bonding procedure would have removed any film on the glass. Another exciting thing about these masks is that you can pick the mask of your choice. This will give you complete confidence that your mask will perfectly fit you for practicality and comfort.
As you can see, a prescription scuba mask is the best substitute for diving enthusiasts who cannot or opt not to wear their contact lenses. These masks are also the most cost-effective solution in the long run for divers who need sight correction at any given time.
The next time you need to go diving, make sure that you grab and use the suitable prescription scuba mask that will let you make the most out of the experience and turn it into a moment worth cherishing for many years to come.