Scuba Diving with Poor Vision – The Benefits of a Prescription Scuba Diving Mask

Safe scuba diving and snorkelling is all about enjoying the underwater experience.  But, of equal importance is keeping a close eye on your dive buddy, seeing all that is going on around you and monitoring your levels and gauges. Eyesight deterioration, eye disorders and general poor vision can make some people nervous about diving – don’t let it!  With our prescription scuba diving masks, you can scuba dive to your hearts content!

Water naturally magnifies objects by about. 33 percent, and so it may be enough to just use a standard scuba diving mask. But, if you have a more complex eye disorder or worsening condition, particularly if you are a frequent diver, this can be trickier.

When considering the options available for the safest and most enjoyable dive experience, you might want to consider the alternatives to wearing glasses under your mask… which believe it or not is what some people do!  The earpiece and/or arm of the glasses. can pierce the mask skirt and will not allow the mask to securely seal around your face. Not ideal at all.  Our solution comes in the form of a full prescription scuba diving mask.

Contact Lenses ~vs~ Full Prescription Scuba Diving Mask

Whilst it is perfectly acceptable to wear contact lenses for diving, and some divers prefer this option, there are pros and cons to consider:

• Standard contact lenses are an inexpensive option, particularly for infrequent divers (although it is advisable to have a spare set with you).
• You can use your normal prescription, even if each eye is a different strength, but soft lenses only should be worn for safety and comfort.

The downsides to wearing lenses

• The risks of a lens becoming dislodged or even lost mid-dive, or when the mask floods.
• Eyes must be kept closed when clearing the mask, which can take some mastering, to avoid the risk of losing the lens.
• There is a high risk of infection and potential longer-term damage to the eye in this environment if bacteria and saltwater gets caught under the lens.
• Hard or non-gas permeable lenses tend to stick to the eye, causing potential serious damage and will, at the very least, dry out the eye.

Push-On Lenses

• One benefit is that they are an inexpensive option if you are short-sighted.
• They can be trimmed and cut to fit the lower half of most masks, making your mask almost bi-focal.
• However, there is a risk of them becoming loose or getting lost mid-dive.
• They are not beneficial for if you are long-sighted.

Prescription Bonded Lenses

• Can be custom-made for all sight requirements and prescription strengths.
• Slightly more secure than push-on or standard contact lenses within the mask.
• A more costly option, as they are specialist and as the name suggests, they are bonded to your existing/new mask, which also makes them expensive to replace.

The final and, we believe, by far the best alternative to give you complete precision sight and comfort is our Prescription Scuba Diving Mask.

They are a slightly more costly option in the short-term and for non-frequent divers, we’re not going to cover up that fact. However, the benefits far outweigh the cost when looking longer term and for absolute certainty that, once in the water, you can focus on the dive itself rather than any other obstacle.

Our prescription scuba diving mask lenses are specifically made for three main types of vision and distance requirements - single-vision, bifocals or reading – to your exact prescription.

As they are UV bonded into the mask, there is no risk of them being lost or even dislodged and so do not need replacing. The lenses can be made to suit all types of diving and underwater work, so even the detailed and precise close-up vision needed for photography can be catered for.

There is no cleaning required before you use the mask, as any film on the glass will have been removed through the bonding process.

And the beauty is that you can choose the mask yourself so you will already have confidence that it will be a perfect fit for comfort and practicality.

We believe, a prescription scuba diving mask is the only alternative for those who cannot or choose not to wear contact lenses, and the most cost-effective long-term solution for anyone who needs sight correction at any time.

Click here for our range of masks, and more information as to how the lenses are manufactured and fitted.  Or to have a chat, please just give us a call on 0114 327 3140.