Hiking and Eyeglasses

[prain4u]

Two questions for those hikers who wear eyeglasses--especially bifocals/trifocals and similar lenses......

I have worn bifocals since age 20. I now wear progressive lenses instead of wearing trifocals or even QUADFOCALS (lucky me!). I have noticed that my eyeglasses impact my hiking speed almost as much as my level of conditioning. Because of my glasses, I really have to be somewhat mindful of each step that I take and be conscious of where I place my foot--- especially in rough--or uneven--terrain. This slows me down just a bit. I can't just casually stroll along like my hiking companions who don't have bifocals (or who don't wear any eyeglasses or contacts at all). I literally have to look where I am going.

QUESTION # 1: Has anyone else noticed a similar phenomenon? Do bifocals (trifocals, progressive lenses, etc) slow down your hiking pace just a bit?

I am wondering if the situation might improve if had a special pair of glasses made just for hiking. Get rid of all of the bifocals/trifocals and have a pair of glasses to correct just my distance vision (or maybe special "bifocals" with the lower part being for seeing the trail area near my feet and the other portion being for seeing farther off in the distance. (I would have to carry a pair of my "regular" glasses for things like map reading, writing a trail journal, reading a menu etc.)

QUESTION # 2: Has anyone else done this (and how did it work)? What do you think of the idea?

[swjohnsey]

I can get by hiking without glasses but I carry glasses to read stuff. Glasses are a pain to keep clean.

[Lyle]

I wear my progressive lenses all the time. Never noticed any real problem. Once I got used to moving my head as needed to focus where I needed, it just became second nature. Don't even think about it now. How long have you had the progressives?

[Karma13]

I've got extremely strong progressive lenses, and no doubt at all, they slow me down. Not a lot, but discernibly. The ground wavers, and I constantly put my feet /almost/ where the ground is.

My prescription is so extreme (with some other issues as well), that I couldn't afford another pair of custom lenses, although I've considered it. But I like being able to switch from near to far vision quickly -- for instance, to look at a snake slithering off into the underbrush, or a butterfly, or doing a quick check for a tick on my arm. Having to whip out the other glasses, I'd miss that sort of thing, or it would become inconvenient. Also, I'd have to carry the extra glasses somewhere handy, which would be a minor logistical irritation. And a pair of bifocal progressives just for hiking would cost me a thousand bucks.

[Lyle]

Should probably add, I'm not a speed hiker. Generally between 2 and 3 MPH. If you tend to go faster, maybe it becomes an issue.

[Cookerhiker]

My eyesight is pretty poor. I've been wearing glasses for nearly 50 years and progressive lens bifocals for about 15. But I don't believe the latter has affected my hiking pace. The times I stumble or fall are due to carelessness more than not seeing obstacles.

[Hosaphone]

This is a bit of a tangent, but I find that a wide-brimmed rain hat works great for keeping water off your glasses in the rain. There are few things I hate more than getting rain on my glasses.

[Odd Man Out]

+1 on the wide brimmed hat. I never take mine off.

Currently using this one: http://www.barmahhats.com.au/images/1018HS_w_text.jpg

As for the glasses, I have progressive lenses and have a similar problem that gets worse with age. It seems to me that they optimize the lens for long distance and reading distance. My eye Dr. says that the progressives are also good for working on a computer monitor (focus at about 2 feet). But I find there is a place in between 2 ft and long distance where it is hard to focus. This probably corresponds to the ground right in front of you. I also notice this when I play the cello. As a cellist, my instrument sticks a couple of feet in front of me, so the music stand has to be beyond that. Recently, I find that I can only get maybe one line of music in focus at a time, making it very hard to read from line to line. I was thinking that if I were a professional musician, I would look into getting special glasses made for focusing on music stand distance (about 4 feet). I suppose the same might be true for hikers.

[prain4u]

I've got extremely strong progressive lenses, and no doubt at all, they slow me down. Not a lot, but discernibly. The ground wavers, and I constantly put my feet /almost/ where the ground is.

My prescription is so extreme (with some other issues as well), that I couldn't afford another pair of custom lenses, although I've considered it. But I like being able to switch from near to far vision quickly -- for instance, to look at a snake slithering off into the underbrush, or a butterfly, or doing a quick check for a tick on my arm. Having to whip out the other glasses, I'd miss that sort of thing, or it would become inconvenient. Also, I'd have to carry the extra glasses somewhere handy, which would be a minor logistical irritation. And a pair of bifocal progressives just for hiking would cost me a thousand bucks.

I am essentially in the same boat as you--very extreme prescription (with other issues too--including prisims). Like you, my glasses are easily $800 to $1,000 a pair. However, if I can somehow afford it, getting "hiking bifocals" intrigues me (especially for a thru hike--where hiking would be my primary task every day for 5-6 month). I would set up the "bottom" lens to see things 4-10 feet away--like butterflies, snakes, and where to place my feet on the trail. The top lens would be to see far away things like sunsets, storm clouds, White blazes etc. The problem would be keeping my other pair of glasses handy and not losing them--in order to read maps and similar "close up" items.

[prain4u]

This is a bit of a tangent, but I find that a wide-brimmed rain hat works great for keeping water off your glasses in the rain. There are few things I hate more than getting rain on my glasses.

Yes, I have worn a wide-brimmed hat for years when hiking. Same reasons as you. Water on glasses is a pain. Water on glasses that have progressive lenses and prisms--makes the world look like a really bad acid trip from the 1970's (or so I've been told ).

......How long have you had the progressives?

I turn age 51 next week. I started wearing glasses at age 9 or 10. Started wearing bifocals at age 20. I have worn progressive lenses since at least age 45. Progressive lenses (with prisms to correct double-vision) since age 46. (I had a lot of eye surgeries and procedures in my early to mid 40s--and I developed double-vision as a complication from all of the surgeries and procedures).

[daddytwosticks]

I wear my progressive lenses all the time. Never noticed any real problem. Once I got used to moving my head as needed to focus where I needed, it just became second nature. Don't even think about it now. How long have you had the progressives?

Same experience. Took a short time to acclimate when I first got the lenses. No problems now. May want to talk to your optician.

[Raymond James]

Do you have the current prescription and an old one? I would take an old pair for the spare before I spent money to purchase a new one.

If I were to purchase a new pair I would try and get the progressive, I think they are great. If I did not have any old ones and money were the issue I would consider getting a distance glasses with a sturdy frame.


I have had to wear glasses for distance since I as a kid. When I started having trouble seeing up close I got reading glasses to use for computers and reading. I found it easier to switch between the two pairs the bi focals ith line did not work for me. I now have progressives and love them, have had them for at least 8 years . Untill recently though I have worn my old single precriptions when hiking, boating or doing dangerous work (firefighting /EMT). My old prescription is so old I no longer can use them though I do keep an old pair in the boat, camper and in every vehicle. Can't see very well with them anymore but better than not having them at all.

I am now on my second pair of progressives and wear the current prescription while carring the old as a spare.

[theoilman]

I've been wearing progressive bifocals for nearly 10 years. My distance correction is minor, but my reading is fairly strong. Occasionally I hike without the glasses but I find that slows me down even more (I am a slow hiker anyway) - close distance of a few feet away goes out of focus. I play Clarinet and am able to use half glass readers for playing and get along better for that than with the progressive bifocals. I am yet to find a hat that works well for rain protection for my glasses.

[pnkwolfe]

I, too, have found that playing the clarinet while hiking slows me down.

[grateful 2]

++1 I carry my glasses - They slow mw down and get drops on them when it rains.

I can get by hiking without glasses but I carry glasses to read stuff. Glasses are a pain to keep clean.

[prain4u]

One thing that I am PERHAPS beginning to notice here is that the SEVERITY and COMPLEXITY of the eyeglass prescription perhaps makes a difference with progressive lenses and hiking. The few writers (including myself) who have indicated that their glasses slow down their hiking also seemed to indicate that they have pretty significant prescriptions and also wear progressive lenses.

For me, I have very SIGNIFICANT differences between my distance vision prescription and my near vision prescription. Thus, there are VERY big changes in my vision as I look through the various different spots on my progressive lenses. The "sweet spot" (of ideal vision) for any particular distance is actually a very small area on my particular lenses. I am told that people with less severe prescriptions usually have a more subtle (and less noticeable) "transition" in their transition lenses. Maybe that accounts for the differences in various people's experiences with such lenses and hiking.

[Deadeye]

I have progressive lenses and wear them all the time. I find it throws my depth perception off somewhat, and it seems like I'm looking down a tunnel sometimes (just like the scene in Fellowship of the Ring when the hobbits have their first run-in with a black rider after tumbling down the hill). I don't like places where I have to jump from rock to rock. I've learned to live with it, but I keep meaning to try my single-vision glasses for hiking.

[Snowleopard]

I'm very near sighted. At about age 50 I lost focusing accommodation and needed reading glasses and computer glasses, and eventually progressive bifocals. If you can see the ground reasonably well with the distance part of your glasses, single vision glasses would work best. If you can't see at distance and at ground with the same prescription all solutions are a compromise. For me, the bifocals are OK for hiking, but not great. Since I'm nearsighted, I can see well close up, I can just take off my glasses to read a map 6" away. You could also try a $2 pair of drugstore reading glasses for closeup (not hiking).

For using a desk top computer, bifocals are terrible -- you need to bend your neck and it hurts eventually. Computer glasses are set so that the normal distance between your eyes and the computer screen is in focus. Bifocals work somewhat better with a laptop.

[Prime Time]

Prain4u - I know exactly what you mean. The problem is you have to lower your chin into your chest in order to be looking through the proper part of the lens for the distance from your eyes to the ground. Try sliding your glasses a little further down your nose to "correct" the distance. Try it on some stairs (carefully!) at home to get a feel for it.

[Pendragon]

What you do is salvage the terrain avoidance radar from an old F-1112, install the video turret on the bill of your ball cap, and project the trail onto a heads-up display built into your glasses. The weight of it all will slow you down enough that you shouldn't trip over anything, even wearing progressives.