Contacts vs. Glasses

[bobcat13]

I usually were contacts, however, I don't know that I want to fool with them on the trail. For those of you who wear contacts regularly, did you were them on the trial or just go with glasses? If you did wear them, what kind of difficulties did you have, if any?

[bobcat13]

I guess I will respond to my own message with...learn the difference between Where, were, and WEAR!!!

[River Runner]

I wear contacts on the trail. Last year I lost one for the first time. I always carry a spare pair, so it wasn't a tragedy.

Lesson learned - if it's windy, make a windbreak before trying to put your contacts in under a hammock tarp.

[gumball]

I take my glasses for camp wear in the evening, but wear contacts during the day. I buy daily disposables in bulk and toss them every evening. They are relatively inexpensive, especially if you are only doing a one or two week section.

I hope to get the Lasik surgery before thru-ing in a few years.

[Hikes in Rain]

I wear contacts all the time, using glasses only to find the bed from the bathroom and vice versa. Same with the trail. Just takes a bit of attention to cleanliness and hand washing, but that's not a bad thing.

[gsingjane]

I go back and forth on this and it is one of the gear issues I have thought about most. Next hike I will probably take both.

Glasses are good because.... you can tuck them someplace near your head in your tent or bag and find them quickly in case you need to see in a hurry at night. They don't present sanitation issues. You don't have to worry, within reason, about ripping or tearing them. Unless you want to bring a case, there's no equipment.

Glasses are bad because... they can fall off your head at an inopportune moment unless you wear a band. They can steam up in the rain or humidity.

Contacts are good because... they won't fall off or out. In some cases, the quality of vision is better.

Contacts are bad because... you really have to watch cleanliness, as HIR notes. You may need a mirror to put them in (I do). You have to lug solution, the case, extra lenses and hand sanitizer to give a quick scrub to your hands before you put them in. Eye infections on the trail are a bear... my son had a doozie last fall and it ruined his whole trip. If you forget a spare pair, which I've been known to do, you spend the whole time worrying about whether you're going to rip one or both. You can't see in a hurry at night if you need to.

I guess this also depends on the level of your vision impairment. I would have to leave the trail at the next opportunity if I didn't have correction, but I know other people don't have that level of disability. If it were me, I was going to thru, and I had the $$, I'd be at the Lasik clinic this afternoon!

Jane in CT

[Seeker]

i've not thru-hiked, but have deployed to some pretty nasty places for months at a time. i prefer safety-glass glasses. if you get one of the better frames with the spring hinges, it will take some pretty wild horseplay to get them to come off accidentally, even without a strap. you can wipe them off on a t-shirt tail, a bandanna, or with a piece of TP, drop them in the mud, get hit with a branch, or whatever, and they keep on ticking. no muss, no fuss, no saline, no cases, no cleaning solution. just put them on in the morning and go all day.

[Jason of the Woods]

Glasses. They are much harder to lose.

[taildragger]

I guess I will respond to my own message with...learn the difference between Where, were, and WEAR!!!

Easy on yourself, no need to yell at yourself, thats what the political forum is for :D

Back to subject, I wouldn't wear contacts, mainly because I always had problems with wind, or grit bothering me. I loved the vision that they gave me, but about halfway through a day of being in the outdoors, I looked like I was high, and my eyes would start to itch, it was more annoying than dealing with glasses.

[jersey joe]

I wore contacts on my thru.
They add to the weight, carrying solution, case, glasses, extra contacts.
Hard to keep your hands clean and I got dirt in my eyes every now and then.
Still beats the heck out of wearing glasses though with the rain, fog and vision reduction.

[Speer Carrier]

I used to wear contacts while hiking. I agree with those who have discussed the drawbacks. If it were me, and the choice was between contacts and glasses, I'd go with glasses. However, I went for lasik and that's really the best. I'd beg, borrow, or steal ( or set some priorities, and save ) the money to get lasik surgery if I were you. You'd wonder what took so long to step up to the convenience.

[jlore]

i use contacts. i have the ones that i keep in for a week at a time. when they start to bother me i take them out for a night while i sleep, and i'm good to go in the morning.

[Fiddleback]

I always wear contacts on the trail too. They've been hard or RGP lens so I take them out at night. I'm careful with respect to clean hands and very careful with respect to taking 'em out and putting 'em in. I also carrry a spare pair and spectacles for use in the tent/hammock. I've experienced the aggravation in the posts above but it's no more than the aggravation I use to experience with glasses. I very much prefer contacts on the trail.

About four years ago, an exam revealed my vision had taken a sudden turn for the better. This after declining acuity starting around the 4th grade... The only lifestyle change I can think of is more time spent on the internet, i.e., staring at a monitor. Who knew? White Blaze is better than carrots!!:D

FB

[liminalgrey]

I'm going to use extended wear soft contacts on my thru this year. I can wear them for up to 30 days, but I plan on taking them out - at least for a little while - whenever I go into town. Since I can keep them in for several days at a time, I won't have to worry about sticking my dirty fingers in my eyes on the trail.

I went with contacts because I want to be able to see in the rain, wear regular sunglasses, and see immediately when I wake up. I will be carrying glasses, another set of contacts, solution, and a little bit of soap in case I have to take them out on the trail.

I've been using the contacts for several months now, and haven't had any serious problems. The lenses dry out a bit sometimes, but I live in the desert. Using rewetting drops or taking them out for a day fixes the dryness.

[Auntie Mame]

I also have gotten a few pairs of the 30 day lenses, and have been trying them. I, too, think that for a 4 or 5 day stretch, with removal and cleaning in town, I might be all set. I think I might not need the extra glasses for bedtime that way: just wear the lenses to bed.
I think since I need reading glasses, that 30 day lenses are better than lasik: I would still need the readers after the surgery, so its less appealing to me now .
Plan B is to wear glasses with contacts as backup. Thus no spare pair needed. Tricky thing to figure out, though.
Good luck finding a way that works for you.

[Speer Carrier]

I also have gotten a few pairs of the 30 day lenses, and have been trying them. I, too, think that for a 4 or 5 day stretch, with removal and cleaning in town, I might be all set. I think I might not need the extra glasses for bedtime that way: just wear the lenses to bed.
I think since I need reading glasses, that 30 day lenses are better than lasik: I would still need the readers after the surgery, so its less appealing to me now .
Plan B is to wear glasses with contacts as backup. Thus no spare pair needed. Tricky thing to figure out, though.
Good luck finding a way that works for you.

Auntie, This might not work for you, depending on the uncorrected strength of each of your eyes, but, I had 20/200 in one eye and 20/70 in the other. I got lasik for the 20/70 eye and corrected it to 20/15. I left the other eye alone. Now, my brain uses the lasik eye for distance and the uncorrected eye for reading. It works out great. I do not have to use reading glasses. But like I say I was lucky, and it would not work out for everyone

[Ashman]

I have something called CRT (Corneal Refractive Therapy) It is contacts in reverse. I wear hard contacts at night which reshapes my eyeballs as I sleep. (Think retainer for your eye) Nearsightedness is caused by the eye being the wrong shape. In the morning, I take them out and I have 20/20 vision for the day. During the course of the day, it deterirates but not enough to notice unless you are reading alot. The good news I can see great during the day, the bad news, I have no choice but to do contacts even when hiking. I second the part of setting up a windbreak. I lost one on my last trip because I didn't (first night no less!) I just wore one contact in one eye one night and switched the next. The biggest downfall with contacts is the solutions you need to bring.

[gumball]

Yes, like with everything else, this has to be something you are comfortable with and that fits your own visual issues, as Ashman notes above. I would probably be a lot better off, visually, if I wore glasses. But they are not always comfortable and they break--and, I have 20/400 vision without corrective lenses. If my glasses break on the trail, I'm screwed. That scares the beejeezus out of me. And my method works okay for me and my issues. I'd do a couple of test runs and see how you feel comfy with various ways of doing it. I like to use the dailies and I always take more than I need, just in case, and it doesn't require solution, just packing out the light little things they come in. The security of having them and my glasses, given that I am literally blind without them, makes me feel better. You'll find a method that works for you too.