Contact Lenses

[klpicktown]

How annoying is it to have to deal with contacts while on the AT? Did anyone choose to just go with glasses and forget the contacts? Just curious....got an opinion?

[4eyedbuzzard]

I don't wear contacts, but my daughter does. She just brings a spare pair of lenses, enough solution and drops for the trip(real little bottles), the little cleaner/storage thing, and a little lexan mirror with her - but still brings her glasses. She can't leave the contacts in at night - too much protein buildup. She hates wearing glasses all day though. I think it's mostly a vanity thing.

I wear glasses, and carry a spare pair. If I didn't carry a spare I think I'd carry the little repair kit thing.

I'm thinking about getting LASIK surgery. It would be really cool not to have to wear glasses or contacts.

[Skyline]

If you have to take them out every night, put them in a chemical solution in a lens case, and put them back in the next AM, you may regret going with contacts. This is a recipe to possibly lose lenses and/or contaminate them in the woods unless you are very careful and/or very lucky.

However, if you go with disposable contacts that you leave in overnight for at least a week at a time (mine are good for 30 days, with one refreshening mid-month) you will avoid these issues almost altogether. I carried a spare set and had more available via resupply or bouncebox, and carried an old, slightly out-of-Rx pair of glasses in a cushioned eyeglass case as extra "insurance."

But the disposable contacts were perfect for the Trail. You just need to use rewetting drops right before bed and just after waking up. It's that simple! Switch them out once or twice per month while in town.

[SweetAss03]

I hiked my thru with contacts. My Dr. hates me but I NEVER take them out. I didn't even bring a spare set. Getting a little older now but not much wiser I now carry a spare set if I remember but still never take my contacts out until my eyes start to hurt.

[PJ 2005]

It's pretty unsanitary out there. Try it, but take your glasses. You'll figure it out what you like better pretty quick.

[BipolarStroller]

I dont like glasses,I know-they give you protection from stuff poking you in the eye, and the perscription sunglasses are cool, but I am accident prone and it gets expensive-quickly. I wore my contacts and had minimal problems. My eye doctor switched me to the 2 week breathable ones and said that I could leave them in at night and just use rewetting drops in the morning, but I also suffer from allergies and makes them ucky so I opted to take them out when I needed to use allergy drops. I also brought plenty of back up pairs, and the only concern I had was when the temp dropped below freezing and since they are in a saline blister pack, but all worked out fine, they didn't freeze, but they were cold! I am always careful to wash my hands and use the no rub multipurpose solution before messing with my eyes, I'd much rather go deaf than lose my sight, and eye infections are no fun! Take care of those eyes, there's lots of beauty to see out there!

[sasquatch2014]

I just had the pleasure of blinking a contact out of my eye while on my last trip. On the trip before i had somehow managed to loose my glasses so I did not have the option to just switch over to these.

I do have to say that hiking with only one in adds extra challange as my depth perception really went. I was in the middle of a good size thunder storm or i would have stopped and put in a new lens. I am one that has trouble just popping them in and out and really need a mirror. On top of that with all the rain it would have been really hard as my hands were so wet.

It did give a light hearted moment when I strolled into the shelter we had all talked about stopping at to stand peering with only my good eye open at the crowd. In typical hiker fashion everyone said there was always room for one more, i said thanks but that still doesn't make any of you the people i had been hiking with. We all laughed when we decided that my group had all stopped 1.8 miles back at the other shelter.

If you do go with contacts make sure you either taken them out regularly at night or get the type that are designed to sleep in. AS someone who has keep the other type in too long i can tell you a coronial ulcer is no fun and at times they can become a permeant blind spot. As it was it took a few months for mine to heal completely and it hurt like hell for a few weeks.

[gumball]

I use daily disposables and pack my glasses for evening. No solution to mess with, cost is negligible, as I buy them in a bulk pack of 90, and I don't have to worry about what happens when someone steps on my glasses and breaks them. I just pack them out and pop a new pair in every morning.

Lasik would be the ultimate fix.

[Lellers]

I have horrible vision. And I do mean horrible. I have a field of clear vision that is about 3 inches deep and is about 2 inches from my nose. I can't wear soft lenses. They don't do the job for me. But, I have nifty bifocal hard lenses that do the trick. The whole lens thing is a pain. I have to be very, very careful. I have to do a really good hand washing and set up for putting in and taking out the contacts. I have a small bit of plastic that I use only when I'm putting lenses in or taking them out. I use the plastic as my clean surface and hope that that's where my lenses will land if I drop them. I wear the lenses about 12 hours a day and then take them out and put on the glasses. It takes me about an hour to adjust my vision from the contacts to the glasses, and I stumble around during that time, so I try to be in camp when I take out the lenses. Yep. The contacts are a pain. But I can't see anything at all without some sort of vision correction. I always bring my glasses in a hard case. I need them, too. But for daily vision correction, I prefer the lenses. A stray branch could easily catch on my glasses and fling them into the woods. (I've learned from experience and now wear my glasses with a leash on them.) If it's raining, I can't see. If they fog up, I can't see. I can't wear my sunglasses over them. So, despite my contacts being such a pain to deal with, I take them.

So, I think the answer to the question depends a lot on how bad YOUR vision is, and what corrects it best.

[Fiddleback]

As long as I've worn contacts, I've always taken them on the trail; either hard contacts or RGPs. Although I'm more careful about taking them out/putting them in, I otherwise have not treated them much different than when I'm at home...handling and cleaning is the same. I use a combo of either soap and water or, more usually, hand sanitizer and water to clean my hands. When using the sanitizer I take extra care to rinse my hands. I then set up things so that if one is dropped, it drops on a towel or something where it's easy to find. If I'm tent camping, I do all that in the tent. If I'm hammock hanging, I make doublely sure that the contacts can be found if dropped and that I'm out of the way of wind and sudden gusts. And I do the changing while there's light.:)

For me, wearing contacts on the trail is just like being on any other trip...I take a spare pair and a pair of glasses with me.

FB

[Hikes in Rain]

I've worn contacts most of my life; I'm more comfortable without my pants than without my lenses. I'm legally blind without them, and the glasses are so thick and heavy they distort my vision as much as they correct it, especially since I "graduated" to bifocals. However, pop in my Bauch & Laumb Multi-focal lenses, and it's like having real eyes.

As mentioned, cleanliness is a top priority. I use a wash basin made from the bottom of a one gallon milk jug (idea of the Frolicing Dinos - thank you!) to wash up. Small bottles of solution, spare lenses just in case, glasses...it's all just unavoidable weight.

[Time To Fly 97]

I did a similar method to Skyline (what's up my friend?)

The trick for my was using one of those contacts storage containers that you put the contacts inside down onto a holder. I think this was from an old AOsept kit?? The cool thing was that I could pinch the contact lens out of my eye and place it in this holder and never touch the inside of the lens.

I left the lenses overnight in one of those solutions that gets rid of protein - Renu?
I used weekly contacts and had two sets of spares in my med kit. Very important - stay hydrated, and bring sunglasses that block wind.

I have since done Lasic PRK surgery and I have never seen so clearly.

Happy hiking!

TTF

[sonic]

Hiking and Kayaking were the two main things that encouraged me to get Lasik. I am so glad I did. Previously I had worn contacts for 30+ years and the outdoor activities just made it difficult sometimes. As mentioned the cleanliness was my main concern. I would often revert to the old glasses to ensure my eye health and eliminate the hassle I felt contacts had.

[Farr Away]

I wear the two-week disposable kind of contacts, and usually take just my glasses as backup.

[BobTheBuilder]

I've worn RGP contacts for 30 years and have hiked a few hunderd miles in them, being careful and clean, etc. Just a warning, though. I tried hiking with just my glasses one time, didn't even bring my contacts. Was out for seven days and noticed my vision, with glasses, getting worse every day. Got so bad that on the drive home I couldn't read the highway signs. My vision was back to normal the next day with contacts back in. According to the eye doctor, my rigid lenses were acting like eyeball bras, keeping my corneas in shape. Without them, my eyes sagged, making my vision even worse. Who would have thunk?

[Blissful]

If you do bring glasses or contacts, carry your prescription. My glasses broke the first night out and I was unable to get them repaired without my prescription.

[hopefulhiker]

Started out using contact lenses, kept a set for emergency use but ended up using glasses most of the time.. but I needed reading glasses anyway.

[otterman]

I wear Bausch and Lomb Purevision Tonic contact lenses. I can wear them 30 days at a time whether I'm hiking or not. They only come out at the first of the month. I love them.

[ShelterLeopard]

I've suffered through contacts, but honestly, it isn't worth it- if you don't have a really good way to sanitize and all, it willl just cause a million problems. (I just bring my glasses). Even the ones you can wear for ages still frustrate me.

[theinfamousj]

I used to prefer contacts for everything. However I started carrying glasses on backpacking trips because sanitation is a real headache and eye infections are a bummer. I told my glasses-maker that I needed the glasses to be trail-tough and have a pair that has not scratched once in the past four years of very rough wear. It has built in UV protection. And is crush-proof. I paid a pretty penny ($500) for it but use glasses only when backpacking. At night, I just tuck my glasses into the ditty pocket that almost every tent is bestowed with.