View Full Version : Do you you wear contacts on the trail?
SkeeterPee
11-09-2017, 18:43
Just curious, I saw some posts where people do not wear their contacts on the trail. I could see this being more convenient, but since I have poor vision 12.75 diopters. I see better with contacts so I wear my gas perms on the trail while hiking and change over to glasses for evening. I've only hike a week at a time. Do contacts become more of a nuisance with time? For me if I did a thru-hike I figured I might need mail drops to find the right solution, and perhaps carry a second pair in case I lost one.
I’ve switched from contacts to glasses for section hikes though I started with contacts. I was originally planning on getting lense replacement to remove cataracts but the glasses work well enough and save me from needing to carry sun glasses.
Track3307
11-09-2017, 20:18
I wore contacts on my entire thru hike without issue, but was very particular with hygiene. Some things I did to prevent eye infection:
- Washed hands with Dr. Bronners soap, 3-4 drops, then used water bottle squeezed between legs to lather & rinse. This was done before I touched the contacts, going in or out.
- Replaced contacts as prescribed; every 2 weeks per the instructions for mine
- Replaced contact case at least once a week; if I couldnt, then I would clean the case itself with soap & water at a hotel or hostel
- Originally I had them mailed to me as I needed them, but a delayed maildrop messed that plan up. I ended up carrying all the contacts I needed for the rest of the trail after Buena Vista, VA and made it to Katahdin with zero issues
- Contacts came out every night
- In town I would leave them out and wear my glasses. I had a plastic pair I kept in bubble wrap
- If your eyes start to burn or itch, remove contacts and wear glasses for a few days to let them rest
It is certainly doable, but if you qualify/have time for correctable surgery, I recommend that
I wear mine the entire 8-10 days we are generally out. I discussed with my eye doctor that it was probably safer leaving them in rather than contaminating them.
Track3307
11-09-2017, 20:20
I forgot one thing - If possible, your backup glasses should have transition lenses. Mine did not so I was more willing to deal with blurryness and wear standard sunglasses than have the sun in my eyes
Hikes in Rain
11-09-2017, 20:41
For those of us who grew up with contacts (me! been wearing them for over 50 years!), your eyes just don't feel right without them. Anything less than wearing your contacts is second-best, at best. Without the contacts, you just don't see as well. The key is good handwashing. Nothing more than that. I use the bottom half of a gallon jug, to make a wash basin. Use whatever soap you use at home (Ivory for me).
rocketsocks
11-09-2017, 22:56
Don’t they make disposable contacts now?
HooKooDooKu
11-09-2017, 23:03
I've tried hiking with glasses and with contacts. Overall, I prefer contacts. Glasses get too dirty too easily. I used contacts for my JMT thru and included small bottle of contact solution and saline solution at my resupply at the half-way point.
Starchild
11-09-2017, 23:05
I've wore contacts continuously on El Camino trail for a month, it was dry, dusty and lost of sun and wind. I had soem issues and had to use eyedrops but it worked out. On my AT thru I didn't need them but hygene was much harder on the AT.
evyck da fleet
11-10-2017, 01:29
I wore contacts the whole way. I had a box of replacement lenses for each eye mailed about somewhere in VA. I took them out just about every night and wore them for two weeks. Be diligent cleaning your fingers before taking out and putting them in and you won’t have a problem.
Got contacts in the early 80ties and used them on all my early travels. One problem was the huge amount of care accessoires, esp. the fluids. For one 3-months journey the fluids covered about a quarter of the whole luggage volume.
During a 4-months desert trip with the motorcycle I developed a eye infection due to poor hygiene and was not able to wear the contacts again for several years.
Tried some of the modern throw-away contacts much later with good results, but this is quite an expensive thing.
Now having grown old, as my born-with shortsightedness is accompanied by a developed longsightedness, so if I would use contacts I would need glasses for reading and using the smartphone, so its easier nad cheaper to just use no contacts but my standard glasses.
After all I think hygiene is the biggest task when wearing contacts.
Hikingjim
11-10-2017, 08:48
I wear my glasses and bring disposables for when I need them. eg: it's going to rain, it's going to be 90f and I'm going to make it rain with sweat, etc.
Never had issues
Most places on the west coast I pretty well never need them.
I use daily wear contacts and can't imagine hiking in glasses. I do try to get them out soon after arriving at camp while its still light out, after a vigorous hand washing and a light application of hand sanitizer. I never take them out in my tent but I store the lens case in the overhead tent pocket so I can locate it quickly and pop them in first thing in the morning.
SkeeterPee
11-10-2017, 10:20
Some interesting points made above. I am one of the few that still wear the rigid gas perm lenses. My vision is too bad for soft lenses. My kids have soft and I could see how that would be nice for trips.
Also, the reading glasses issue would be a good reason for glasses, but so far they have been able to handle that with contacts by adjusting one eye for up close vision and the other for distance. my backup glasses are progressive lenses.
Oh and always bring at least one backup pair.
eabyrd1506
11-10-2017, 11:39
I wore rigid gas perm for years and my astigmatism also precludes glasses as an effective alternative.
Earlier this year I was fitted with Scleral lenses which are a tremendous improvement. They are incredibly stable and as large as soft lenses so easier to handle. They are disinfected nightly with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution Removing them requires use of a suction cup and you can use this to hold the lens while inserting too so you don’t ever have to touch the lens directly. They use saline instead of expensive solutions as well
I have used them for up to 10-days at a time in the back country and had no issues
For me they are a great improvement for my lifestyle
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Rex Clifton
11-10-2017, 15:46
It seems like evey time I bring my glasses I break them. I have contacts I can leave in for up to seven days, so I wear them.
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handlebar
11-10-2017, 22:26
I've worn extended wear contacts during all my hikes---nearly 15,000 miles. These are designed to be worn day and night and now are available as multifocal lenses eliminating the need for reading glasses for us advanced middle age folks. I doubt these type of lenses are available for the correction of the OP. I use rewetting drops before retiring for the night and upon waking in the morning. I remove the contacts when in town for a nero or zero and can use proper hygiene (once every week or two). I do carry backup ocular antibiotic drops and backup glasses in case I develop an infection. Knock wood, I haven't had an infection while on the trail yet.
bstiffler
11-12-2017, 07:19
I wore rigid gas perm for years and my astigmatism also precludes glasses as an effective alternative.
Earlier this year I was fitted with Scleral lenses which are a tremendous improvement. They are incredibly stable and as large as soft lenses so easier to handle. They are disinfected nightly with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution Removing them requires use of a suction cup and you can use this to hold the lens while inserting too so you don’t ever have to touch the lens directly. They use saline instead of expensive solutions as well
I have used them for up to 10-days at a time in the back country and had no issues
For me they are a great improvement for my lifestyle
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Off topic but how did sclerals feel getting used to them? I have irregular astigmatism and have had a hard time adjusting to gp lenses. My dice recommended sclera lol lenses a while back.
eabyrd1506
11-12-2017, 08:14
Off topic but how did sclerals feel getting used to them? I have irregular astigmatism and have had a hard time adjusting to gp lenses. My dice recommended sclera lol lenses a while back.
They feel so much more comfortable from the first moment you wear them it is amazing. The process for putting them in takes some practice as you must fill each lens with saline and hold it level as you raise it to your eye. Your head must be parallel to the ground so the saline doesn’t spill. Once in though your eye is in a saline bath all day with no contact (literally) between the lens and the cornea.
My GP lenses would move in my eye on occasion and even pop out at times if I looked hard to the side or blinked wrong. These have been totally stable. Not a single issue with them. I do also think the risk of contamination is less
As you may be able to tell, I am a fan
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handlebar
11-12-2017, 15:49
Now having grown old, as my born-with shortsightedness is accompanied by a developed longsightedness, so if I would use contacts I would need glasses for reading and using the smartphone, so its easier nad cheaper to just use no contacts but my standard glasses. About 20 years ago I noticed I was having difficulty focusing for long periods and solved that with reading glasses (in addition to my contacts to correct nearsightedness. Found some great, extended wear contacts that I wore continously for about a week on the AT and PCT with reading glasses to be able to read maps. About 8 or so years ago, the same extended wear contacts became available in multi-focal versions so goodbye reading glasses. You are correct in hygiene being a big task for contacts, but being able to wear them continuously, day and night, for a week moves the hygiene issues to towns. I use rewetting drops morning and night in between.
bstiffler
11-13-2017, 06:55
They feel so much more comfortable from the first moment you wear them it is amazing. The process for putting them in takes some practice as you must fill each lens with saline and hold it level as you raise it to your eye. Your head must be parallel to the ground so the saline doesn’t spill. Once in though your eye is in a saline bath all day with no contact (literally) between the lens and the cornea.
My GP lenses would move in my eye on occasion and even pop out at times if I looked hard to the side or blinked wrong. These have been totally stable. Not a single issue with them. I do also think the risk of contamination is less
As you may be able to tell, I am a fan
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thank Ill have to talk to him about them next time.
I wear the 30-day lenses that you leave in while sleeping (actually it is recommended to take them out and clean them, and put them back on in the morning about halfway through the 30 days).
These have worked well for me while backpacking. Better than trying to take them out and/or clean them each night in a tent.
DuneElliot
11-16-2017, 21:33
Contacts for hiking...can't hike in glasses when they constantly slip down my nose...hate them
I switch out at night and wear glasses. I wash my hands before I touch my eyes but I'm also terrible about washing my hands before removing them most of the time anyway so not super worried.
I always carry a back-up pair AND my glasses.