contacts or glasses???

[Jay H]

A full time contact wearer myself. I bought contacts a long time ago when I figured it was a helluva lot cheaper buying cheap MTB glasses than prescription Oakleys or Rudy Projects, etc. etc. Turns out to be a good move after finding out what prescription glacier glasses cost.

I am near sighted but not too bad (-6.5/-7.0 contacts). I have the 2-week disposables that you can sleep in, but I avoid that unless I am backpacking.

When I'm backpacking, I will usually bring spare lens and some saline and I'll bring my eyeglasses too on most multi day backpacks. What is bad is campfires, the smoke dries them out so having glasses is nice at camp, and a way to clean your hands.

Jay

 

[MEB]

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

-MEB

 

[jmegillon149]

I only wear glasses when camping out, contacts most other times

I am susseptable to infections so cleaning them with dirty hands is not something I want to risk, I've never had too much problem with them, maybe its because I was relatively old(15) when I first got contacts, and had been doing lots of things with them on, so it did not bother me too much

I've also always been someone who wears glasses more often than most contact wearers, I will wear them all day at least once or twice a weak, just for the hell of it, so I am very used to both, therefore it makes less difference to me

as far as the ski goggle thing goes, they have special one for glasses, not only do they fit better, but vent as well to prevent fogging

 

[MichaelJ]

I used to wear contacts 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, from age 14 to around 28. At that point, my corneas were so oxygen-deprived that I had dozens of blood vessels growing in to try to get oxygen to where it was needed, and I was forced to stop wearing them or risk blindness.

When I started hiking at age 30 I only had problems in the winter with fogging, but in the summer didn't mind my glasses at all. However, as I started winter hiking more and more, and then started skiing, I needed a better solution, and for past few years have been wearing daily disposable lenses. They weigh almost nothing, come individually packed, and the only trick is that in the winter I have to keep the next day's lenses in a pocket.

I know some folks use these but keep them for several days; I might consider that if I ever do a >5 day trip, but for now I just do a pair a day for hiking or skiing and otherwise wear my glasses.

 

[dug]

This has always been a problem for me to figure out. I wore contacts for about fifteen years. I would bring a little bottle of saline and a case. A handy wipe to clean my fingers before sticking them in my eyes. But, at night, I'd need glasses anyway. In the last few years, I've switched to glasses full time (except for soccer matches). I battle fog issues in the winter, so I this year I switched back again. I can't find a comfortable mix.

 

[dug]

read somewhere that laser surgery could keep folks from high altitude climbing ?

Beck Weathers says "HI"!

Not a problem in the Northeast. Also, with improvements lately I was told no longer an issue.....

 

[MadRiver]

I’ve been wearing glasses since 2nd grade. I tried contacts in the mid 80’s but didn’t have enough moisture in my eyes and the constant swearing in the morning while trying to keep the dirt out of the contacts upset the neighbors so much that I finally gave up. If my glasses fog up while hiking I remove them. After about 10 minutes, the blurry rocks become more discernable and I can hike without worry. If I need to see something in the distance, I will put them back on. It sucks, but I do not see any other alternative except surgery, which I’m not ready to try as of yet.

 

[carole]

I started wearing glasses when I got my driver’s license (16). When my daughter opted for contacts I knew I couldn’t put something in my eye. Years later I relented and almost cried the day I came home with contacts in and went for a walk. The world around me looked so crisp and lovely. I wore contacts that could stay in for a week, soak overnight and put them in for another week, change to new ones after a month. That was 10-12 years ago. What could be better?

best gear purchase ever

 

[DougPaul]

read somewhere that laser surgery could keep folks from high altitude climbing ?

Radial keratotomy is contraindicated if you expect to go to high altitudes. (This was what Beck Weathers had.
http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline...&issue=01&page=0053#i1080-6032-013-01-0053-b1)

I've seen claims that laser vision correction is not affected by altude, but I don't know how well tested this info is. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=laser+vision+correction+"high+altitude"&btnG=Search brings up a bunch of references, including one from the CDC: http://www2.ncid.cdc.gov/travel/yb/utils/ybGet.asp?section=NIR&obj=altitude.htm

Doug

 

[Daniel Eagan]

If you have an astigmatism, that is, oval-shaped eyeballs instead of more circular ones, laser eye surgery could leave you more susceptible to detached retinas. My brother had surgery in September, noticed a shadow effect in December, and was diagnosed with a detached retina. His surgeon said it was because of the shape of his eyeball.

The solution for a detached retina is so horrible that I won't describe it in depth here, but it involves inserting needles into your eyeball while you are watching, and in my brother's severe case removing the eyeball from the socket to work on it. Now he is resigned to permanently damaged vision.

I am nearsighted with an astigmatism, and my glasses fog up a lot during hikes, mostly going uphill. I find if they get oversaturated with condensation, they will work fine. A little blurred at times, but I just wipe them a lot--not to dry them, but to clear them. Same in the rain.

Ice is more of a problem, but saliva can get rid of ice temporarily.

My vision is so precious to me that I could never consider undergoing eye surgery unless it was to prevent blindness.

 

[Aviarome]

There are definitely differing opinions about laser eye surgery. I've always wanted the convenience of laser eye surgery, especially for hiking. But the deciding factor for me is that the majority of surgeons and ophthalmologists that I have met still wear glasses and will not undergo laser eye surgery. It seems that the technology and procedure is continuously improving and evolving, but there still isn't good data of long term results.

For backpacking, I still wear my contacts and bring my glasses for the night.

aviarome