Snorkelling for Spectacle wearers!

[philzone]

I only ever tried snorkelling once, and, as a wearer of specs. found that the arms make enough space for water to get into the mask, and, as you snorkel, water slowly rises towards your eyes in a scary way, until you have to surface and empty the mask every few seconds.

To snorkel without my specs would be pointless, as I would see nothing
(being as blind as a bat).

Has anyone else had the problem, or got a solution?

I did wonder to get a pair of glasses and take off the arms, but wonder if there is a proper solution, as I would love to snorkel properly and see the sea-life, particulalry as I keep marine reef fish at home, and would love to see them in the wild.

[Becky]

Yes, there are a few solutions. My hubby is blind as a bat without his glasses. He first took an old pair of glasses, took the arms off, and epoxy'd them to a mask. That did work well for a while. Then he was in a local scuba shop here in the states and checked out the prescription masks. He found one that matched his glasses prescription very closely and really wasn't much more expensive than a non-prescription decent mask. He takes that prescription mask with him everywhere now and it works great. I highly recommend you go to a scuba shop and check them out!

Becky

[Michele]

Originally Posted by James

Leisure Pro is a cheap source for all things dive related.

the guy at http://www.rxdivemask.com/ has been making prescription dive masks forever.

This should help. Thank you James!

[tommy]

contacts??????

[Bumper]

Originally Posted by sun seekers

contacts??????

Tommy, it doesn't matter who you know...if you're blind, you're blind. Ba-Dum-Bum!
On the serious side, Phil, I have several chums who have used the masks that come with various optical lenses. You won't likely get exactly your prescription - they are, after all, an "off the shelf" product - but you should be able to come close enough to make diving enjoyable.

[Ginger]

I'm a spectacle wearer also, not too, too blind, but I wear them on a full time basis. Can't wear contact lenses due to stribithmus (lazy eye) and have to have a special prism-like coating on one of my lenses that keeps my brain's attention to that eye so that it keeps working and so that it is totally un-noticable. I have the same issues when snorkeling, and without my specs my biggest thing is that colours are not as bright.

I went and saw my optician last week who told me they can make snorkel masks with any prescription, it just takes a little while, they have to send them out to be made. She's looking into it for me now to see if she can have it done before I leave. I'd ask your local optician about it, and see what they say.

[Critter]

There are some masks out there (well at least here in the States) that come in generic prescriptions. There are three levels, mild, medium, and blind as a bat (my level). while they are not the exact prescription, with the refraction of the water they allow you to see quite well. You could do an online search.

I have a friend in England who does a lot of diving, if you like I will ask them if masks like that are available in the UK.

[james]

this topic was just discussed within the last week, and has been brought up many times.

you can find the other threads using the search function.

[Nerak936]

Phil:

Although I've been snorkeling for many years, I finally "had it" with knowing that I was not seeing the beautiful underwater sights as clearly as I could. (I wear glasses, progressive lenses recently, and am basically nearsighted but not blind as a bat.) This past spring I finally made the decision to get disposable contacts that I wear strictly for snorkeling. It was a GREAT decision. Those fish were wonderful when they were blurry; this past May they were awesome in focus!

My point (yes, I have a point) is to recommend that if you plan to do more snorkeling, make the investment in a well-fitting presciption mask. You'll enjoy your snorkeling experiences so much more!!

[philzone]

Thanks for all your replies folks. I am going into my optician tommorrow to see what he can do for me. ( Can't go today as it is a public holiday in the UK).
I'll post again to let you know what he comes up with

8 weeks and six days to go!!

[MWC]

As one who has gone both routes, getting a mask through your optician will be a lot more expensive than buying a swim mask that has interchangeable "diopter" lenses. (I'm not exactly sure what diopter signifies; I think it's the degree of correctiveness your vision requires; your optician should be able to give you that information from your prescription)
We got great service from www.scuba.com. I also noticed that Sports Authority now offers off-the-rack diopter masks.

[mack]

After my wife and I came back from Playa this spring, we decided that we would bring the kids down for their Christmas/Birthday presents this year. After my issues trying to snorkle with my glasses on, I decided to look for Rx masks for the kids. I found this web site, http://www.snorkel-mart.com, and bought my daughter one. She's used it several times and thinks it's wonderful. I thought the mask and lenses were very affordable at $60 out the door.

[jayjay]

One word : Lasik

[PMD]

As James has stated this is an old subject. The search function will yield much info on many subjects. To add something a little more supporrtive sounding, I will tell you that I had a custom mask made by an optical company in Chicago. Got it through my local dive shop. Cost me $250 US. I have severe visual impairment and I can see better underwater with it ,than I see in the air. Water does a great magnification thing. PMD

[philzone]

I looked for websites in the UK and found one that fits the bill. But today I went to my optician, who can get hold of all of things mentioned. As previously discussed, the full mask is not cheap for my prescription ( with astigmatism etc.) but there are some "snap on" lenses that fit inside goggles too that are not quite so expensive.

Anyway, he is ordering me one set of each " just to try" which is really great. Tells me there is no obligation to buy them, but they will be to my prescription. So, it is sounding pretty good one way or the other, and in 61 days I can use them in the Carribean!!

Phil