Has anyone here gone snorkeling with eyeglasses? I see that some snorkeling tours offer prescription diving masks. Do they work?

Thanks!

You cannot snorkel with glasses on. You either have to use a mask with prescription lenses built-in or wear contacts.

I don't know if it is the distortion of the water or the combination of the glass on the mask and the water but your vision underwater will be corrected to 20/20 without corrective eyewear.

Gus,

I found out very quickly in Hawaii that you CANNOT snorkel with eyeglasses. The first trip, my wife and I just went without glasses and snorkeled. We were extremely disappointed because we couldn't see anything. Don't believe what xxxxx says about your vision being corrected to 20/20, because that is absolutely NOT true!

The second trip, we both had contact lenses and finally were able to see while we snorkeled. It was much better!

I've never used the prescription mask, but I'd rather do that than nothing at all. Perhaps others have had experiences with the masks. I just wanted to correct what xxxxx said about your vision being corrected to 20/20" with a mask on in the water.

xxxx must have been smoking some serious drugs if his/her vision was corrected to 20/20 underwater.

Vision corrected under water......yea right! The perscription masks are excellent,better than contacts because you don't need to worry about loseing or getting foreign matter(sand) between the contacts and your eyes.If you wanted to purchase a perscription mask go to a local dive shop,the perscription lens cost is @ $50 plus the cost of the selected mask.If you like to snorkel and plan on going more then once its a good investment that will last for years.

I've used the prescription mask offered by tours and it worked well for me. I have a very mild vision correction so if you need something particularly strong, I would call ahead to the dive shop to make sure they have a mask suitable for you. You can also wear contacts with a snorkeling mask. Even if you don't normally wear contacts, you could get a few one-day disposable ones for this purpose.

I'm not sure where that other poster got their information but I know from personal experience that my vision wasn't corrected by the distortion of the water. I was still near-sighted under water.

I am near-sighted. I did not wear glasses when I was snorkeling in three different places. I saw so clear underwater. The Snorkel rental guy told me that our eyes were like fish eyes under water. I think that mean it correct our vision to 20/20.

No way. You must have had a photo of the ocean pasted to the inside of your mask.

Most people are correct in this thread. Eyeglasses cannot be used underwater with a mask. Correction can only be done with contact lenses or prescription masks, of which there are two types. One with exchangeable prescription ground lenses and the other where regular eyeglass lenses are bonded to the inside of the glass.

When someone referred to your eyes being like fish eyes, he was referring to the fact that everything appears 25% larger underwater due to refraction. I don't believe we know if fish are 20/20 or not.

Although sometimes you can get 100 feet or more visibility, you usually are looking at things which are quite close. So those who are nearsighted have an advantage. Generally only farsighted people need or want underwater correction.

I can't see the big E on the eye chart, so I wear my contacts while snorkling. If I didn't, I probably couldn't find my way back to the boat!!

I'm an avid scuba diver and former instructor, and I always wear my soft contacts while diving (many times to depths of 110+ feet). The risk is that a flooded mask could result in lost contacts, so I pack an extra pair and I'm super cautious and vigilant about protecting my face. For example, I lead the group or stay back from other divers so an errant fin doesn't knock off my mask.

My parents snorkel in custom Dacor masks with corrective lenses built-in; they love 'em and have never had a problem.

And of course the water does NOT correct your poor vision, although the refraction does make everything appear larger.
Enjoy

I am very nearsighted and I have been wearing presciption goggles for years. Just being underwater will be beneficial somewhat but if you have a serious vision problem like I do, the water will not be enough. I could never wear contacts so I can't speak to that. Maybe if you do, that would work. The prescription lenses, mine kind of look like the "Terminator", are fairly expensive but well worth it if you snorkel a few times a year.

Wow, didn't think I would get many responses about this! Well, I'm gonna try the prescription masks they rent and take it from there. I am nearsighted...we'll see!

Thanks!

Water does refract and correct your vision to a point, but 20/20 is a joke.

I tried the disposable contacts for awhile, but were hard to take out on a bouncing boat when I was done and they were made for distance and I also need close up so I was pretty sick by the time we got back. I have since graduated to a prescription mask and I love it. Some dive shops have the lenses if you know what your Rx is. I had mine made at Anguilla Vision Center.

Have really bad uncorrected vision - 20/400 - rented prescription mask at Snorkel Bob's on Maui and found it made all the difference in the world. I think it cost another $10 for the week over the cost of a regular mask. Definitely worth it.

Water can only "correct" (more likely only change, and not for the better) vision if it comes in contact with your cornea. If there's a mask in-between the refraction is still based on the difference (in speed of light, if you remember your physics) between the cornea and air, same as on the surface. It does have the effect of making objects seem closer, as others have mentioned.

I am very nearsighted, but I can see well underwater with a mask. Don't know as it's 20/20, since I can't see 20/20 even with glasses or contacts. Maybe something to do with my severe astigmatism?