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DiveOptx allows divers to easily see objects at close range underwater. If you have a hard time reading your dive gauges or camera settings underwater, these lenses may be for you.
DiveOptx are installed without any adhesives, using just water. Molecular bonding allows the lenses to stay on any dive mask as long as you want them to, even when flooding your mask. This allows you to move your DiveOptx lenses to different masks, or to different areas within a mask. Underwater photographers will find this beneficial.
DiveOptx are available from 1.00 to 3.00 diopters. (Order the same diopter as you use for your reading glasses.) One of the nice things is that you don't have to send your mask away to have the lenses installed.
Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from High Springs, Florida on 9/24/2008
I followed the intructions and some other user comments. First, get the mask glass really clean, I used dishwashing detergent, then install under warm water and let dry overnight. I just completed several dives in the Keys and the magnifiers did not move out of place.
I have these on my Clear View mask and love them, I can finally see small print, just like reading glasses. I am getting another set for my Big Eyes, that I use for photography. It's nice to see things clear and up close again.
from Rochester N.Y. on 8/7/2008
Followed directions several times and could not get lens to stick in mask. Never took them diving.
from Uruapan, Mexico. on 8/7/2008
Before descovering the DiveOptx lenses, I used to have custom lenses grinded by my optometrist (always thick and ugly looking) and glue them with cyanoacrilate (crazy glue). Hard to do a clean job, always trapped bubbles and would regularly come off. DiveOptx are a piece of cake to install --just make sure to wash everything, mask, lenses and hands very well, and to use very warm water. Lenses will stick like they're molded to the mask until you take them off. A few precautions are needed: Follow the instructions to the letter. Do let the mask dry perfectly for at least 24 hours before using and NEVER leave it in the sun or you will lose the DiveOptx lenses on next dive. Finding these great invention led me to the standard topside model (Optx2020) and let me enjoy again brand sunglasses off the shelf, without needing my optometrist to cut special bifocals. Now, I can read my gauges and computer comfortably underwater, even with my +2.5 diopter requirement at less than 2 ft. BTW, I always keep a new set in my dive bag just in case.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from Washington, DC metro area on 7/12/2008
I previously used a single, small round magnifier lens on my mask that had to be installed using an epoxy. Viewing area was very small, and moving the lens was next to impossible (if you had any epoxy left).
I tried the Aqua Dive Optx lenses and am very pleased with the results. Just got back from a trip to Wakatobi, Indonesia, where pgymy seahorses are the main attraction; I found I could get within a few inches and see them very clearly!
A few recommendations:
1) Wash you new magnifier lenses gently with toothpaste, same as you do for a new dive mask. I didn't do this at first, and they fogged up on my my first dive. Post toothpaste treatment, they worked great.
2) Set the lenses a little higher than the manufacturer recommends. I set them low at first (top to the lens aligning with the bottom of my eye), but found I had to tilt my head back quite a bit to view through the lens. I finally set them so the top of the lens was about even with my pupil. Since you dive in a prone position, you end up looking through the top of your dive mask anyway, so there's no problem.
3) If you have to remove and reset your lenses for any reason, make sure to wash your mask out well (recommend toothpaste, again) and ensure the lens sets tightly against the mask before it dries. I didn't, at first, thinking the small voids around the lens perimeter wouldn't be a problem. Wrong! Once you put defog on your mask, it works up under the lens and breaks the bond. Took me several tries, but finally got them firmly affixed and I'm very happy with the product.
from Ashburn, VA on 7/7/2008
These lenses are excellent, but installing them is tricky. I saw some comments about problems fixing them to the mask, and I would like to share my experience. If you look at your mask, and it "seems" clean and clear, it doesn't mean it actually is - the defogger leaves invisible tiny film that will prevent the lenses from sticking to the glass. To clean the mask, I started with 70% alcohol, but soon realized it still leaves some greasy marks, so I switched to dishwashing liquid. I cleaned until obtained "squeaking" clean glass (after checking the "squeak", you clean yet again! :-)). Only then I filled the mask with water, and put the lenses under the water, thus preventing any air to be trapped between the lenses and the glass, then drained the water (here is the tricky part – the lenses will shift at this moment, so you have to be careful how to drain the water), and left for 12 hours to dry.
After this, I treated the lenses as they do not exist - used defogger, rinsed, cleaned like no lenses at all, and they are still firmly attached. Visibility is excellent not only to the console, but even to the nearby environment. Very good product!
from Northern Mich. on 6/26/2008
These things are great. Now I can read my dive watch. Stuck them on and thats it. Have several dives on them already and they stay right in place.
[0 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from Escondido, CA on 6/16/2008
I placed the lenses as recommended and they worked well on land. However, once I was underwater, they distorted things and seemed like they were too high in my mask. When I looked down or back, they made the bottom seem much closer than it was and I became slightly disoriented. I did not like the way they made things appear underwater. Maybe if I had moved them down in the mask they would have worked better but instead I just took them out.
[1 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
from Long Island on 6/12/2008
they do not stick when wet!
from NJ on 5/28/2008
Worth the extra price compared to cheaper, smaller ones. Much better field of vision.
from PA on 4/25/2008
It is the most inexpensive way to be able to read underwater, ie., your instruments console!
from Kentucky on 1/24/2008
I use the optx lenses on my back up mask. They are easy to apply, provide good magnification and remain in place. I've lost one in the last year on an ocean dive. Definitely more economical than perscription lenses. Used them this week in 42 degree water and they worked great!
from Portland, OR on 1/21/2008
Used these for the 2nd year in a row, since I had to replace one lost lens and upgrade to stronger diopter value. Followed very simple instructions more closely this time and they worked perfectly. Lenses didn't loosen or slide around during two weeks of diving and hosing off gear. Doesn't obstruct view when installed correctly and they made operating my camera controls and macro photography composition VERY clear. Finally, no more squinting! I found these to be easier to adjust to using than bifocals on land. These work in any mask.
from El Salvador, Central America on 11/12/2007
Easy to set on mask but hard to use/perform underwater. Used them only once.
from Brielle, NJ on 11/10/2007
I am at the age that I need reading glasses. The lenses come in several powers and can be removed easily if one wishes to put them in another item. Only complaint is that it takes some time to get the lenses in the right place for optimal vision.
Service was excellent. Product was in good condition and arrived promptly. Did not need customer service.
from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on 11/10/2007
Just make sure that they are very clean. My first dive with them, they fogged, the rest of the mask was o,k,. I cleaned them again and they worked great. They do what they are suppose to do, magnify your computer numbers.
from Winnipeg, Manitoba on 11/9/2007
These are a great value and easy to install. I recommend them to anyone who has trouble seeing. I need glasses to read and these make it so I no longer have to stretch my gauges to the extent of the hose to have a chance to read them.
from Syosset, NY on 11/9/2007
I used the Dive optix 1.5 Diopter and they did work but I think magnification on my Consol would be better or larger characters like the Sherwood Wisdom. I found that I had to scan my Gauges carefully to ensure myself of the reading.
from HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC on 11/8/2007
THIS SMALL LENSES ARE EASY TO INSTALL AND ARE EASILY REMOVED. THEY FIT AT THE BOTTOM OF MY MASK AND DO NOT INTERFERE WITH MY VISION.
WHAT IS NOT MENTIONED IN THEIR ADVERTISING IS, YOU HAVE TO WAIT 24 HOURS BEFORE DIVING WITH THEM TO ALLOW THEM TO SEAL. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS ARE CLEAR AND CONCISE.
from El Paso Texas on 10/23/2007
Being blind without glasses or contacts, the Dive Optx magnifiers allows me to see my computer and gauges with out difficulty. They are a life saver.
from Kansas City on 10/12/2007
Lenses applied to inside of dive mask fairly easily and position could be adjusted. It is important to pay attention to where the directions say to put them. Takes some getting used to ... sort of like bifocals, I suspect, though I don't use bifocals. I just need reading glasses for up close and this does help me see my gauges -- when I remember to look through them. I think they may fog up a little easier than the rest of my mask. Some defog is starting to collect around the edges of the insert, too.
from New England on 10/12/2007
They seems like a good idea for improving my view of my camera's LCD. I found them to be small and either annoyingly in my field of view or too small to really see what I wanted. Also lost one while clear my mask.
from Taiwan on 10/10/2007
I have tried and tried again and again with these lenses. I bought two pairs of Optx and was given one other pair by a buddy as a gift. I followed the instructions to fit these lenses to the mask to the letter. I even doubled and then tripled the length of drying time before use. Each time they fell out and were lost after the 2nd or 3rd dive. In desperation I even tried supergluing the corner of the lense into my mask. This did not work either as water came under the lense.
from Maumee, Ohio on 9/25/2007
Just what I needed for my 67 year old eyes. Allows me to see gauges clearly without the expense of custom optics.
from wash, dc on 9/20/2007
They worked and stayed on the mask.. I love having magnification to read my dive watch.
[2 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
from New York, NY on 9/12/2007
These little gadgets make an aging diver a young diver again.
from Johnstown, PA on 9/11/2007
Probably not quite as good as some of the expensive bifocal masks, but definitely does the trick and not nearly as expensive. Just be careful to install well ahead of use. This seems to ensure they'll stay in place better.
from Gulf Shores, AL on 9/5/2007
Work well. A quick fix if you are having trouble reading or seeing gages, watch or computer while diving.