It is the most common anxiety for new divers. 

You book a trip to the Great Barrier Reef or sign up for a course in Sydney. Then you realize you can't see without your glasses. 

You wonder if you have to wear contact lenses. You worry they will wash out if your mask floods. You wonder if you have to spend hundreds of dollars on a custom prescription mask from an optometrist. 

The good news is that solving this problem is cheaper and faster than you think. 

The contact lens myth 

Many people dive with contact lenses. It is generally safe, but it carries risks. 

If your mask floods or gets knocked off, the salt water can wash your lenses out. Suddenly, you are underwater and blind. This is disorienting and can lead to panic. 

Also, soft contact lenses can absorb salt water and impurities, which can cause eye infections if you are diving for several days in a row. 

The safer, more permanent solution is a mask with corrective lenses. 

You don't need a custom build 

In the past, you had to take your mask to an optical lab. They would grind glass lenses to your prescription and bond them to the mask faceplate. It took weeks and cost a fortune. 

Today, major dive manufacturers like OceanPro, Tusa, and Cressi make masks with "drop-in" lens capability. 

These masks are designed so the standard glass can be popped out. Pre-made optical lenses can be popped in. 

These lenses come in half-diopter increments (e.g., -1.5, -2.0, -2.5) just like reading glasses you buy at a pharmacy. Because they are mass-produced, they are a fraction of the cost of custom lenses. 

How it works at Frog Dive 

We stock prescription compatible masks and a full range of lenses in store. 

You don't need to wait. You come in with your prescription. We check the numbers. We pick the lenses off the shelf. We fit them into the mask frame for you on the spot. 

The whole process takes about 10 minutes. 

Different eyes? No problem. 

Most people have different prescriptions for each eye. Your left eye might be -2.0 and your right eye -3.5. 

Because we fit the lenses individually, we can match your prescription exactly. We simply put a -2.0 lens in the left side of the frame and a -3.5 in the right. 

What about reading gauges? 

If you have "old eyes" (presbyopia) and just need help reading your dive computer or gauges, we also stock "gauge reader" masks. 

These have plain glass in the top two-thirds for looking at the scenery, and a magnifying "plus" lens in the bottom third. It works exactly like a pair of bifocals. 

The verdict 

Don't let poor eyesight stop you from diving. And don't risk losing a contact lens at 18 metres. 

A prescription mask is one of the best investments you can make. It lets you see the texture on the coral and the expression on a fish's face. It turns a blurry blue world into high-definition reality. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Can I put lenses in my existing mask? Only if it is a specific "optical compatible" model. Most standard masks have the glass moulded into the frame and cannot be changed. 

How high do the prescriptions go? We generally stock lenses from -1.0 up to -8.0. We also have "plus" prescriptions for long-sightedness, usually up to +4.0. 

What if I have astigmatism? The off-the-shelf lenses correct for sphere (near/far sightedness) but not astigmatism. However, unless your astigmatism is severe, the water itself helps correct vision, and most divers find the standard spherical correction works perfectly well. 

Do they look different? No. They look exactly like a normal dive mask. The lenses are tempered glass and are just as strong as standard lenses.