Summer is the perfect time to discover the beauty of nature. And one of the most reasonably priced and magnificent form of the natural world is the ocean deep.
But what if you don’t know how to swim? Or what if you wear glasses? You can’t swim while wearing glasses but you won’t see the underwater beauty either if you don’t wear them.
Fortunately, there are different styles of snorkel masks available today. They suit every need among swimmers or scuba enthusiasts.
Some are the dry top snorkel, Easybreath snorkel masks, and the prescription snorkel mask. If you have blurred vision without your glasses, you need a prescription snorkel mask.
The Price of Prescription Snorkel Masks
You could spend up to $250 or more for customized RX masks. This can be very expensive and time consuming especially if they’re only rarely used.
There are other less expensive solutions that can correct the vision underwater. The approach should be to take into consideration the right variety for your needs to choose the proper prescription mask.
Types of Prescription Snorkel Masks
The good thing is the price of most prescription snorkel masks are almost the same as any other types of snorkels. And you don’t have to buy an expensive brand if you only need to see objects in the distance.
This is the case with most divers. The kind of prescription snorkel mask they need is the so called negative corrective lens masks which enable them to see at a distance.
For some snorkelers and scuba divers, they need the reverse so they need the positive corrective lens for nearsightedness. A positive corrective lens mask is recommended for these kinds of sight issues.
Sometimes, scuba divers need a bit of help for reading their gauges, camera controls, or dive computers.
The best kind of help for them is the “bifocal” or gauge reading, corrective lens mask. This bifocal corrective lens mask is clear or planar on top and a lower pane with positive correction for reading.
A full bifocal prescription lens mask is the most specialized or customized prescription snorkel mask. This is necessary for people who need both distance correction to see the underwater and near correction to read dive computers and gauges.
If you are uncertain of what kind of prescription snorkel mask is suitable for you, consult an optometrist. They will tell you which type is right for you.
Prescription Snorkel Mask Options
If you are getting a prescription snorkel mask, you might also want to take into consideration the following options:
Bonded Corrective Lenses
A bonded lens is a corrective lens that is attached directly to the inside of the dive mask.
It is normally done by local dive shops; you simply need to provide them with your mask and prescription. They will grind the lens that meets your specifications and cut it to the shape of your mask lens.
Then, the lens is glued to bond it inside the mask. The whole process of customizing this bonded corrective lens takes 7 to 10 days.
Bonded corrective lenses are usually cheaper than other custom lens methods. The corrective lens may not be the exact same shape as your mask lens, however, so you may not have a full field of view.
Custom Prescription Lenses
The custom prescription lenses replace the entire lens of your mask with a new one that is custom to your prescription. It usually costs more but it results in a superior quality mask and meets higher prescription.
Custom prescription lenses prescription snorkel masks fit perfectly and weigh less. It usually costs around $250 to $300.
Drop in Lens Mask
These are newer kinds of prescription snorkel masks that costs less and are more convenient. Drop in lens mask is a method designed to use lenses that are easily removed or placed using premade corrective lenses.
If you know your prescription you can simply buy these lenses and install them yourself. However, they are not recommended for people who have higher prescriptions or astigmatism.
