Everything you need to know about a prescription diving mask
Imagine you’re on a dive with your buddy. Once you’re back on the surface, your buddy is absolutely thrilled about the pygmy seahorse you found. And you? You haven’t the faintest idea what your buddy is talking about… There wasn’t even a pygmy seahorse, was there? After you’ve dried off, your buddy pulls out his camera with the proof, and sure enough… there really was one! Time for a visit to the (diving) optician.
Are there any prescription diving masks?
Yes, prescription diving masks definitely exist! If you wear glasses or lenses, a prescription diving mask is a great solution for seeing the underwater world sharply. These masks are adjusted to your personal eyesight, both for nearsightedness and farsightedness.
What are all the options with a prescription diving mask?
Prescription diving masks today are as advanced as normal goggles. Whether you want to see sharply far away or up close, there is a range of options to make your vision as clear underwater as it is above water. For divers who need correction for both distance and near, bifocal and multifocal lenses offer a smooth transition between different vision areas. As with varifocal glasses, you can get a diving mask that seamlessly transitions from one strength to another, which is especially useful when looking at your dive computer and then back to the distance.
Cylinder corrections are also no longer a problem. For people with astigmatism, where vision is distorted by uneven curvature of the eye, diving masks can be fitted with specially ground lenses that compensate for this. Even prisms, which help with double vision or eye alignment, can be incorporated into diving masks.
Which brands and models of diving masks are available with prescription lenses?
We can be very brief about this: almost all models from the well-known brands. In any case, diving masks from brands such as TUSA, Aqualung, Cressi, Mares, ScubaPro, etc., are all available in prescription strengths.
Where do I buy a prescription diving mask?
At EWDR, we recommend DiveVision. This company is part of Greving & Greving Opticians. At DiveVision, Sietze Oldersma—a PADI dive instructor and certified optician—handles everything. He is the leading expert in diving with prescription masks and has already helped many divers find a diving mask that perfectly meets their needs. Sietze works directly with the suppliers of the diving masks and can therefore provide a complete mask. So you don’t have to buy a mask somewhere else first and then go to Sietze for the prescription lenses. Do you already have a great mask but are you just looking for the lenses? Even then, DiveVision is the right place for you.
Good to know! The lenses that are inserted into a diving mask may be covered by supplemental health insurance, just like regular eyeglasses. The amount of the reimbursement depends on your policy terms. The frame—and thus the mask itself—is (usually) not covered by that reimbursement. Watch or listen to the podcast about prescription diving masks
Sietze from DiveVision visited Glenn at Polygon Seahorse. Watch the YouTube video below or listen to the episode on Spotify.
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