The Best Prescription Snorkel Masks

Most peoples eyesight will gradually deteriorate over the years – It’s an unfortunate but common occurrence as we age.

But.. your snorkeling doesn’t have to suffer as a result!

So in this guide I will break down for you the different options available to you for being able to see clearly underwater if you, like myself, don’t have that 20/20 vision like you used to!

Here are the best prescription snorkel masks in 2023.

Best Prescription Snorkel Masks [2023]

• Cressi Focus – Best Overall
• Promate Scope – Best Budget
• Atomic Subframe – Best High End
• TUSA Ceos – Best for Narrower Faces

the best prescription snorkel masks reviewed

Cressi Focus – Best Prescription Snorkeling Mask

• [Lens Options: from -1.0 to -8.0 in 0.5 increments]

Cressi are a brand that are usually right at the forefront in terms of making really good snorkeling and dive gear at a competitive price.

And the Cressi Focus mask is one of the best prescription snorkel masks if you’re on a tight budget.

The Focus mask has been a popular option amongst snorkelers and divers for years which is thanks to it’s comfort, reliability and excellent price point.

The corrective lenses for the Focus mask are some of the best priced I’ve seen (half the price of many others), and they can be fit and replaced by the user very easily within a few minutes.

Promate Scope – Best Budget Prescription Snorkeling Mask

• [Lens Options: from -1.0 to -10.0 and up to +4.5 in 0.5 increments]

The price you pay for the Promate Scope with corrective lenses included is around the same cost as most snorkel masks on their own before you’ve even purchased your corrective lenses!

The lens options also cover the widest range of prescription strengths that you can get off the shelf; from -1.0 to -10.0 for nearsighted and from +1.0 to +4.5 for farsighted. (This is as strong as you can get before needing to look into buying a custom mask).

As well as the above they also have an option for gauge readers (bifocals essentially – where the top of the lens has no prescription, and the bottom of the lens contains a bifocal for reading gauges etc).

Needless to say, unless your prescription is very high then the Promate Scope should cater for most, and at the best price I’ve found anywhere.

The mask itself is of good quality, with a nice soft silicone mask skirt – My only one nagging issue is that i’m not a fan of the adjustment buckles. They’re not as quick/easy to use as the buckles you get on higher end masks, (but it’s certainly not a deal breaker).

Atomic Subframe – Best High End

• [Lens Options: from -1.0 to -8.0 in 0.5 increments]

If you’re after a premium prescription mask, then there are a few options but there aren’t many that come close to the high quality of the Atomic Subframe.

When you purchase a high end snorkel mask the difference from it’s cheaper counterparts should be noticeable in the build quality, the choice of the materials, and the performance – and the Subframe ticks these boxes.

What stands out in particular are the ultra clear lenses. Cheaper masks have inferior clarity and light transmission (this is usually evident by a slight green tinge that they have).

The Atomic however has very clear high quality lenses, and the field of view on the Atomic is also excellent for a twin lens mask!

The silicone mask skirt is extremely soft and comfortable and the adjustable buckles are of a really nice quality making it very easy and seamless when adjusting the masks straps.

In terms of overall build quality the atomic subframe is extremely robust and certainly one of the most durable dive masks. It’s constructed with stainless steel within the frame to improve durability and Atomic also offer a lifetime warranty against frame breakage

Finally what I like about this mask is that it’s one of the few that are available in multiple different sizes (three to be exact: regular, medium and slim fit), so you should be able to find one in the right fit for you.

There’s nothing to dislike about the mask itself – It’s a very good mask that will last a really long time, it just happens to be very expensive!

TUSA Ceos –

• [Lens Options: from -1.0 to -8.0 and +1.0 to +4.5 in 0.5 increments]

The TUSA Ceos is one of the more popular prescription masks on the market which is thanks to it’s good quality at a reasonable price.

The Ceos is another mask that offers a fairly wide range of lens strengths which includes going up to -8.0 for nearsighted and all the way up to +4.5 for farsighted.

In terms of styling the Ceos also has both clear and opaque mask skirt options and it comes in a large variety of colors so you’ve good some really nice options to choose from in terms of customization.

The skirt of the Ceos has varied silicone thicknesses which provide thicker rigidity where needed for strength and durability, and thinner silicone for less pressure in other areas for more of a focus on comfort.

It’s round edge skirt is also designed with comfort in mind and to reduce leaving your with a ring around your face when you remove the mask!

The replacement lenses for the Ceos are a little on the pricey side (on par with the Atomic subframe), however I think the subframe lenses are superior in terms of lens quality.

[The fit of this mask is geared more towards those with narrower/smaller faces].

Prescription Snorkel Mask – Buying Guide

Contact Lenses

In my opinion the simplest option available is to wear contact lenses.

As someone who needs corrected vision myself, I personally prefer to wear contact lenses with my Hollis M1 mask.

The reason I prefer them is that I can comfortably wear my contacts for the whole day, I love the convenience of them, they provide perfect vision, and it allows me the option to be able to wear whatever snorkel mask I like.

If you plan on going this route too, then just ensure that you are diligent with your contact lens cleaning, and that you have at least one spare pair with you!

Now with that being said not everyone likes or tolerates wearing contacts lenses, so if you fall into than category then one of the below options should be considered instead.

Custom Prescription Lenses

There are companies out there (Prescriptiondivemasks.com and Divesightltd.com are two popular US & UK based examples) that will custom create and then bond prescription lenses to your mask for you.

You can either buy a mask directly from them, or, you can send them your current mask if you already own one.

The benefits of using one of these services are;

• They will tailor make your lenses to your exact prescription and bond them to the mask.
• They will fit lenses into ANY snorkel or dive mask (this includes single window and full face snorkel masks)
• They can cater to prescriptions that are far over and above what you can buy “off the shelf” which includes correction for astigmatism

The only real drawback of buying a custom made mask is that it is very expensive! We’re talking $3-500 dollars, which is quite a bit out of most peoples price ranges.

If you need a specific prescription over and above what you can buy off the shelf (above -10.00 / +4.5), then a custom made prescription mask may be your only option.

Drop In Lenses

Drop in lenses are the most popular option along with wearing contact lenses, and the masks that I recommend on this page are all this style of snorkel mask.

The main positives about these masks are;

• They cover a wide range of prescriptions strengths (up to -10.0 and +4.5)
• As you buy each lens separately you can get a different prescription strength for each eye if needed.
• These interchangeable lenses can be easily removed and replaced by the user themselves in only a few minutes, so you won’t have to keep buying a new mask every time your prescription changes.
• They are significantly cheaper than a custom prescription snorkel mask

The main downsides are;

• You are restricted on the type of mask that you can buy, as drop in lenses suit dual lens masks only.
• They only go up to certain strengths as mentioned above (-10.0 / +4.5) and in increments of 0.5.
• They do not cater to those who have strong astigmatism.
• With this being a generic lens the correction may not be centred exactly where you need it (a potential issue for those with wider or narrower eyes).

Bifocal Lenses

Bifocal lens options are also available whereby the bulk of the lens area will have whatever correction you need for seeing distance (if any), with the base area of the lens having a magnifier for correcting close vision.

Many divers or underwater photographers like to have a bifocal option in at least one of their lenses as it will allow them to easily read their dive computer or camera settings.

You can also purchase small stick on lenses (such as these DiveOptx bifocal magnifiers), which come at a much lower cost (but also with the potential to come unstuck!).

In Summary

Prescription masks are a fantastic and affordable way for glasses wearers to be able to enjoy snorkeling, and finding a good drop in lens prescription mask is as simple as knowing what your prescription is.

If you’d prefer to wear contacts then check out my guide to the best snorkel masks that are currently on the market.