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jay
New Member
11 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Aug 2010 : 09:25:12
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Hi guys,
I'm heading out to sunny sharm again in a few weeks and I think I need a new prescription mask (obviously to see the whale sharks better!)
I got my last one from the opticians, but that was years ago now, I've had a look on specsavers website but don't seem to be any, though I've not been in and asked yet. I've also seen TUSA masks that can be fitted with lenses, but the seem to be standard +/- 0.5 where i think my prescription is 2.75/3.75. I don't know how much difference that makes though
Has anyone got any advice/tips etc please
Many thanks in advance
JH
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stripey
Full Member
United Kingdom
85 Posts |
Posted - 27 Aug 2010 : 21:17:28
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| Although it's 4/5 years ago I ordered for the missus and myself on ebay. IIRC cost about £45 each from a us supplier |
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Christian-and-Kirsty
New Member
United Kingdom
15 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2010 : 18:41:57
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Jay,
Have you thouht of trying contact lenses? I use monthly ones, which you can keep in while you sleep as well.
If you get your eyes checked for them, then you can buy just enough to cover you while on holiday, if you do not want to wear them all the time. |
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jay
New Member
11 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2010 : 20:40:19
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@Christian And Kirsty - I must admit, I had thought of contacts, I tried them quite a few years ago and spent weeks trying to get in to them but just couldn't get on with them - I'd been watching out for a few years to see when Daily Disposables came out in my prescription and at last a few minths ago, i went and tried them out but again had similar problems so don't think that's going to be the answer alas - maybe I'll try them again in a couple of years, but in the mean time I'll keep on down the prescription mask route.
I went in to Specsavers and Boots yesterday - Specsavers do some that have like a pair of glasses inside them, but were unwilling to get some in to try and see. Boots however did a few variations and will get some in to try out, so hopefully that will work out
In the mean time, if anyone else has any experiences or tips etc, please do let me know
thanks
JH |
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tec@camel
Administrator
Egypt
169 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2010 : 11:47:15
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Hi Jay,
One of our local dive shops used to supply the Tusa masks with prescription lenses, I will call them to fin out if they have them still and in your range. I assuming that both eyes are the same prescription or they different!
will let you know what I find out.
Ian |
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gm43
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
432 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2010 : 14:53:03
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Prescription lenses....where would I be without them.
Great fun when I started diving with standard lenses....always knew where the bottom was....my fins or knees let me know
Tried the Tusa off the shelf range but it's an art to get the right manification and can end up expensive.
I now have the solution in 2 different masks....the ever faithfull Oceanic Shadow and indeed a Tusa but with prescription lenses made up via my local dive shop.
So I would recommend taking your eyetest prescription along to a reputable dive shop for them to price ( not all mask lenses will accept bonded prescription lenses fitment )
Mine cost £120, but then I do have bi-focals....more expensive and more great fun between taking off my glasses and putting mask on at the back of the boat......blind as a bat for those few steps.
On my last course with Camel I needed to carry a backup/redundant mask and managed to mix them up and ended up diving with standard lenses, and to this day my instructor still doesn't know the real reason for the cockups I made was down to not seeing sod all....but he might know now 
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scubajo
Advanced Member
Portugal
3248 Posts |
Posted - 31 Aug 2010 : 19:54:00
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Hi jay,
Wise words from gm!
When it comes to eyesight don’t mess with the cheep stuff or with anyone that is not a professional. the pros will advise you free of charge and they know what they are talking about.
I highly recommend you contact Geoff at t his link and you will understand what I am saying.
http://www.sight4sport.co.uk/catalog/index.php
The better you see the longer you dive
Enjoy
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Edited by - scubajo on 31 Aug 2010 23:04:10 |
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camelnut
Moderator
United Kingdom
1518 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2010 : 03:12:49
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or plan B get a set of non-prescription eyes 
I got mine from a from a seagul that had crashed into Phil's balcony and almost beheaded itself, they work just great but since I tried em I cant help throwing myself at sardine shoals from cliffs and standing on lamp-posts shreiking loudly while I cr@p on parked cars.. oh yes and swooping down to nick ice creams off kids  |
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gm43
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
432 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2010 : 09:38:53
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You really do know how to live up to your name Nut
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tec@camel
Administrator
Egypt
169 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2010 : 11:45:58
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And there I was GM thinking you were doing it on purpose!!!!
So Jay, it would appear that you now have a couple of options;
1.Go Pro as per GM and SJ's recommendations, (not a bad option)
2. Go mad and follow Mr. Nut and rob some poor bird and start stealing ice-cream. (Likely to get abuse from a protective parent).
If you don't manage to do either before your visit, one of the local dive shops (Scubatec) have in stock some Tusa masks with minus lenses from .5 to 4.0. They don't have positive lenses. All this for approx 300Le so pretty cheap compared to optician supplied lenses.
I would get one anyway as a backup just in case I put the wrong one on during a course and avoid some cockups...
Ps. Good to see GM has found his way to the keyboard again, welcome back.
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fryboy
Starting Member
2 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2010 : 12:03:05
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Jay , hi...
further to scubajo's recommendation of 'sight4sport' for masks with prescription lenses, try going straight to their dedicated diving website at www.divesight.co.uk, it'll be quicker than going to the main sight4sport website. I'm sure they'll give you the dive sight you need!
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gm43
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
432 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2010 : 13:49:14
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Ok....2 mask related stories ( and to show just how devious Camel tech instructors can be  )
1) Before the 1st dive on my Trimix course, the instuctor, who spoke with a strong german gutteral accent ( yes Tom...you)said "I might not always be truthful with you" and "you might come across an unexpected problem". No pressure then.
He then expained that I was to completly de- kit on the bottom in, everything that is, 2 side gasses, wing with twin cylinders, fins, and replace my mask with a blacked out version he would hand me BEFORE de-kitting. Now for the "unexpected" bit...the mask skirt was in tatters AND with no vision and the mask flooded he needed me to kit back up AFTER he moved all the kit and mixed it up.
2)As part of the skills testing during my Advanced Trimix course, the devious diving diva Ariel (also known as Cath ....love her to death really), needed me to rescue a convulsed diver whilst swimming a lined coarse along the bottom, and yes youv'e guessed it dudes....mask off. So at the end of the exercise Cath handed me back what I took to be my mask. Now....remember the bit about devious tech diving instructors....it was a standard lensed mask , not my prescription lensed version.
So there was me thinking...oh no!! the salt water has taken my sight amoungst the choice thoughts of vengence running around in my head.
All joking to one side....the depths and extremity's of technical diving with the associated dangers require the training to delve in to this state of awareness, and with the right attitude to this training you do actually enjoy it....I just love it, and my problem is that I can go no further....Iv'e reached the pinacle....shame....should I do it all over again ?
Camel technical...they're the best, wouldn,t go anywhere else and they have taken me to the top  Thankyou Ian, Cath, Rod,and Tom |
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scubajo
Advanced Member
Portugal
3248 Posts |
Posted - 01 Sep 2010 : 18:59:18
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Just a thought,
How reliable are the lenses sold by dive shops? Can they do any damage to one’s eyes if not suitable?
Can you return them if they don’t suit you?
How safe is it to recommend these lenses to divers?
Last but not least is there anyone out there that can explain the pros and cons of prescription lenses versus dive shop lenses in layman’s terms as I am quite ignorant on this subject and would like to buy a prescription mask myself.
quote:
Originally posted by tec@camel
And there I was GM thinking you were doing it on purpose!!!!
So Jay, it would appear that you now have a couple of options;
1.Go Pro as per GM and SJ's recommendations, (not a bad option)
2. Go mad and follow Mr. Nut and rob some poor bird and start stealing ice-cream. (Likely to get abuse from a protective parent).
If you don't manage to do either before your visit, one of the local dive shops (Scubatec) have in stock some Tusa masks with minus lenses from .5 to 4.0. They don't have positive lenses. All this for approx 300Le so pretty cheap compared to optician supplied lenses.
I would get one anyway as a backup just in case I put the wrong one on during a course and avoid some cockups...
Ps. Good to see GM has found his way to the keyboard again, welcome back.
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air pig
Moderator
United Kingdom
1314 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2010 : 00:38:20
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haha! being an ex short sighted one, i got my lenses via my local dive shop. I tried contacts, but they were a bit of a pain if flooded mask or the buggers made your eye itch, so my personal choice is to stay away from them (my opinion only). I had lenses in three diff types of mask and never had a problem, it was never a problem apart from when you took the mask off, trust me you would feel a plank walking around the boat with them on.
Nut is pretty spot on, sorry to say folks. I had laser eye surgery two years ago and it really does make life easier when diving, expensive but when you say £40-60 per lense set over X amount of masks it starts to add up a bit, also perscription lenses in sunnies, which are a must for the red sea (rule 1 of diving - look cool). If surgery is not a viable option, do not go an your opticians as they can work out dear, try your local dive shop and they get inserts that can be stuck in, they cover your area of vision, even though they only take up part of the lense. The only problem with that is that if that whale shark is on the edge of your vision via the corner of the mask, it may still be just a blurred shape. Inbuilt lenses instead of the actual glass - well, its going to be cheaper to go under the knife. hope it helps |
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air pig
Moderator
United Kingdom
1314 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2010 : 00:40:27
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by the way Jay, get an up to date eye test and then hand over the info to them (most optical places will supply this) and it should take about a week to get them fitted, maybe less, so you would have them in time for your trip
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jay
New Member
11 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2010 : 09:05:34
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Hi All...
Many thanks for the help and advice so far.
@camelnut - Oh - so it's you that keeps ploping on my nice new shiny black car is it!
@ tec - thanks for the tip about Scubatec - that does seem very cheap - great to know incase of a disaster - my prescription is minus so that's good for me :)
@airpig - good advice - if investing in a prescription lens mask, you may as well make sure that it's the correct/current prescription - I try to have my eyes checked every couple of years and they seem to change a little every time. My last check was in May so I'm good at the moment :) I do know that a good optician won't make up a set of lenses with an out of date prescription
@airpig again - I hear what you say about laser surgery - I might consider that one day, but given I can't even get contact lenses in my eyes, I'm a bit scepticle that I'll actually be able to go through with it LOL Also agree with your comment about looking cool - that is most important - I do have a pretty good pair of Nike prescription sunnies so am OK on that score for now 8D
My main concern is, like scubajo said above, about the difference between the standard dive shop lenses like the TUSA ones vs a prescription lens. I don't think that (for the time the mask would be in use) it would cause any damage to your eyes, but more about the clarity of vision with them. So far Boots Opticians have been really good - The dispensing Optician tried calling me twice on Tuesday (but both times I was unable to take the call) A non-technical guy called me back again with prices and stuff yesterday, but explained that the actual dispensing optician was off and would try to call me again today to discuss the technicalities in detail. I'll post up that info later so it's of help to anyone else interested :)
Thanks for the link to divesight/sight4sport - they seem a bit cheaper than the prices that the Boots guy gave me yesterday, years agao when i first started diving, I was strongly advised to always try a mask on before buying, and Boots have said they can get the mask in for me to try before putting the lenses in which i think is a benifit
I'll post up more when I've found out later - thanks again guys
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Topic |
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Prescription Masks
