Eyeware for Bushwacking

[skiguy]

After bushwacking for three days in a row earlier this week and thinking what a drag it must be to have a Scratched Cornea I found out. Kind of interesting but I didnot realize that anything was wrong until the next day after I got back. I was feeling quite normal until about twenty-four hours from my last bushwack and my eye started getting red and feeling like I took a tennis ball in the eye. Thinking it was not that bad because the onset of symptoms had taken so long I waited a day thinking it would clear up on it's on...Wrong! A few Google searches later I found out that Corneal Abrasions are very open to infection. Bingo..time to head to the Docter. After examination and a comfrimation of what I thought to be true; I walked out of the Doctor's office with a prescription for an antibiotic ointment for my eye. Good news is it usually heals in 1-3 days.
After bushwacking on and off over a few decades without Eye Protection things are going to change. My Question is what if you do, and a highly recomend it now, wear for Eye Protection when you Bushwack? Any suggestions or solutions? Gotta go my Docter said I should be resting my eye.
Feeling LUCKY!

 

[bobandgeri]

We wear sun glasses that have differant color lenses - yellow or clear. We use the same ones that we use for cycling.

EMS Convertable Glasses

 

[Hillwalker]

whakin gear

Just plain old safety glasses from the hardware store, leather gloves and long sleeves and pants. I have been thinking about having Jack Stevenson's shop make me a pair of lightweight whacking chaps with velcro fasteners that can just be wrapped on when I don't want to wear long pants, or zip offs. As I'm sure you have found out, even with long pants you still will get stabbed in the legs to the point of bloodshed

 

[onestep]

I rely on my prescription glasses... seems to work well. They now remind me of Gerry Cheevers' trademark "stitched" goalie mask though.

Onestep

 

[Nate]

I second the goggles. I've recently been wearing a pair of safety glasses (that I picked up in Home Depot) that look very similar to sunglasses, but I presume they're make of a more durable material. They certainly came in handy this past weekend on the Bakers and Lily Bays.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Another vote for safety goggles -

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

While goggles may provide more protection than glasses, they're a lot less comfortable on a hot sticky day.

I use amber lensed shooters glasses. Great ventilation, they don't fog, and adequate protection.

Like with most things...everyone has their preference.

 

[dms]

Never worn any eye protection at all, never had a problem. Just lucky I guess.

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Never worn any eye protection at all, never had a problem. Just lucky I guess.

Same here...till a few months ago.

The emoticons tell the story.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

I rely on my prescription glasses... seems to work well.

Mine worked well for a number of years.....but one day....while alone...somehow a branch poked in at an angle, and got my right eye good. I couldn't see a thing.

"Holy Xxxx! Well, at least I have another eye." I told myself.

A couple hours later, I was tired.. I was going through a thick blowdown section, postholing frequently.... and my left eye got it good.

"Holy Xxxxx!" I said to myself.

Know what? When in a situation like that, adrenylin dilates the pupils, allowing me to make it out.

At the hospital, the emergency room doctor laid me down on a table, put drops in my eyes, then shone a colored light at me.


"Holy Xxxx!" the doctor said, "I never saw anything this bad. I don't know what to do." And he walked out the door.

I felt good. I later found out that he went out to consult a specialist. He came back, bandaged both my eyes. I couldn't drive for 3 weeks. Couldn't ride a bicycle for two.

I thought my regular glasses were good enough.

 

[Neil]

When I bushwhack in the Adirondacks I just keep both eyes tightly shut. After all, once you've waded through one field of new growth Balsam you've seen them all.

 

[trailbiscuit]

Maybe I'm a sissy, but this thread has confirmed my desire to stick to the well trodden trails.

 

[Barbarossa]

Pain is temporary, glory is forever & chicks dig eye-patches.

 

[Frodo]

I will stick to wearing my safety glasses (or goggles in winter) while bushwacking...

I can live without most things, but I put my eye sight quite high on the list with things I can't live without... That and Simpsons re-runs...

 

[Kevin Rooney]

While goggles may provide more protection than glasses, they're a lot less comfortable on a hot sticky day.

"Goggles" come in many flavors these days - some are conventional goggles (like ski goggles), others are wrap-arounds. Some of us wear prescription glasses, so whatever we get has to fit over those.

The important points are that they have a safety rating and that they include some type of side shield as well. Easy to get poked from the side -

 

[Pete_Hickey]

... chicks dig eye-patches.

Hard to tell when you have them on BOTH eyes.

Easy to get poked from the side

That's what got me.

but I put my eye sight quite high on the list with things I can't live without... That and Simpsons re-runs...

tTry going a few days without seeing, and you realize how valuable it is. I couldn't go to work. I couldn't read... AND I COULDN'T WATCH SIMPSON'S RERUNS!

When they started to get better and I could see a bit, I went out to a supermarket with my wife, and lost her.

 

[evilhanz]

My prescription glasses offer a false sense of security. A twig always manages to find it's way in from the side. I wear a pair of old shop glasses made of hard plastic with an elastic band, but only when absolutely necessary.

 

[peakbagger]

One thing to keep in mind is that even if you arent bushwhacking, wearing glasses are a good idea (even if you dont need them for vision). The UV that is present at altitude even on cloudy days can lead to glaucoma in the long run. Basically any plastic glasses will screen out mos tof the UVa and b, but a lot of the safety glasses are also rated for extreme sun exposure.

There are a lot of options for satety glasses these days as most employers discovered that if they offered employees goggles that look good, they will tend to wear them. Usually an industrial supply store will have a better selection than a big box hardware store. The fog proofing on a lot of theses glasses seems to have improved, altough its still tough to find anything that doesnt fog up on a hard climb uphill.

 

[chuck]

Yellow tint sun glasses. I have tried safety goggles but they fog up too much on me.

 

[skiguy]

Thanks for all the great info and related links.I'll be the guy in the woods with the protective eyeware.