View Full Version : Glasses
Monkeywrench
06-13-2008, 09:28
I wear glasses. In fact, I'm helpless without them. I even have to put my glasses on when I get up in the middle of the night to pee.
My usual routine is to put my glasses dangling inside one of my boots when I go to sleep. This has worked fine for me so far, but I wonder if it might be leaving my glasses too susceptible to damage to do so for the hundreds of nights of a thru-hike.
What do other glasses wearers do? Should I carry a hard-case for my specs?
Appalachian Tater
06-13-2008, 10:21
My Rainbow Tarptent has a built-in mesh pocket, and that's where the glasses go. If I bought a tent that didn't have something similar, I would sew one in.
Kerosene
06-13-2008, 10:26
Certainly I would think that your glasses would be safe inside one of your boots at night, but do you really want to stick them in there when they're soaking wet and muddy?
You might also consider going with flexible wire frames that are much less susceptible to damage.
If it were me, I'd probably bring a pair of prescription sunglasses (useful above treeline and before the trees leaf out in the spring) that can serve as a backup to your glasses as you are so dependent on them.
I wear glasses as well.
My BA tent has a mesh pocket I use at night. While I hadn't realized the greatness of this feature before I got the tent, I'm with Tater, that I'd have to sew one in if another tent didn't have it. (My headlamp stays in there, too.)
I also have a hard case, for whichever pair of glasses I'm not wearing... sun glasses v regular, so at night my sunglasses are in the hard case in my pack top pocket. The pack stays in the tent, and with the hard case, I don't have to worry about them when I'm moving the pack around.
Mercy
budforester
06-13-2008, 10:44
I use the tent’s glasses- pocket, too. I wear a Croakies- strap to avoid loss or damage during outdoor activities. My distance- vision is good enough for emergencies, but my arms are too short for detail- work. I pack Ti- framed reading glasses for backup, ever since I set the hook and the fly line flipped my glasses overboard.
I've been wearing glasses since age 4 and am similarly blind without them. That being said, I do carry a lightweight case for them and slide them into the pocket of the tarptent for the night. I carry the case in case of cowboy camping, staying at a hostel or shelter for the night, etc. They are too important to damage/lose.
Old Grouse
06-13-2008, 11:09
In the army I always put my glasses in my boot. Never made the mistake of jamming my foot into my boots without taking my specs out (and also checking for scorpions, etc., in some places). I still do it, plus now I carry a spare pair in a hard case.
I put mine in my shoes during my hike and did not have any problems. But my eyes are not as bad as your so you might want to get a hard plastic case. It would make for an interesting hike if yours got broken.
Blissful
06-13-2008, 12:02
Carry a glass case. I have had my silicone nose pads chewed off by critters leaving it outside the case - unless you plan to keep your boots in a tent at all times. Mice can get into your shoes and they like salt.
And carry your prescription in case something breaks (mine did on the first night)
What do other glasses wearers do? Should I carry a hard-case for my specs?
10X yes.
I wear glasses as well.
I also have a hard case, for whichever pair of glasses I'm not wearing...
Mercy
Same.
I use one corner of tent, by door, on zipper pull side, for glasses and flashlight. Easier than pocket.
Way in corner, reach out and grab. They do sometimes fog up, but it clears while you frig with the door. usually. Glasses are a drag, but I am glad my vision is correctable.
I carry a lightweight case, and the case goes into my ditty bag overnight. That way I don't have to worry about anything happening to them, and I always know where they are when I wake up, whether I'm in a shelter or my tent.
It's also nice to have the case because when it's raining horizontally, I can take off the glasses and I have a safe place to stow them in my pack.
i'm a hammocker, which might give a different perspective... they just go on the ridgeline overhead... when i tented, they went in the gear loft or pocket. my daughter uses a hard case in her tent.
Tennessee Viking
06-13-2008, 18:08
I wear glasses. In fact, I'm helpless without them. I even have to put my glasses on when I get up in the middle of the night to pee.
My usual routine is to put my glasses dangling inside one of my boots when I go to sleep. This has worked fine for me so far, but I wonder if it might be leaving my glasses too susceptible to damage to do so for the hundreds of nights of a thru-hike.
What do other glasses wearers do? Should I carry a hard-case for my specs?
I have non-scratch lenses with memory frames. I have been known to sleep with them on at home. And they are ok. If you leave them on the floor, then I would worry. But if you causious type, just get some cheap spare set of glasses.
I have non-scratch lenses with memory frames. I
Best I have been able to find are scratch-resistant.
ChinMusic
06-13-2008, 23:43
I once was wiping my face, while sitting on the edge of a bridge, and knocked my glasses off and into the water below. Had I been by myself I would have been in serious trouble. Fortunately a fellow hiker was with me and able to find them for me.
I since have had Lasik surgery and don't have to worry about that anymore.
Cookerhiker
06-13-2008, 23:48
I just place them next to me in a pile along with my watch & headlight. I only bring my scratched-up ones hiking, not the good pair.
I'm guessing that most glasses that get broken on the trail, get broken in shelters when people leave them on the floor next to their sleeping bag and someone walks on them in the middle of the night.
Panzer
ChinMusic
06-14-2008, 00:58
I'm guessing that most glasses that get broken on the trail, get broken in shelters when people leave them on the floor next to their sleeping bag and someone walks on them in the middle of the night.
Panzer
Great point. I'd guess that you would be right. Shelters would be a dangerous place for glasses.......
briarpatch
06-14-2008, 01:17
I once was wiping my face, while sitting on the edge of a bridge, and knocked my glasses off and into the water below. Had I been by myself I would have been in serious trouble. Fortunately a fellow hiker was with me and able to find them for me.
I since have had Lasik surgery and don't have to worry about that anymore.
Me, too. I was kayaking in the surf near Charleston and had my glasses knocked off by a wave, even though I had a Croakies strap holding them on. And I had left my backup pair at home in the shaving kit that I forgot to bring :mad:. I went from 4PM till 10AM the next morning with basically no vision while I waited for a 1 hour glasses place to open and for my OD in Atlanta to fax my prescription. That experience made me think about what would happen if I lost my glasses on a business trip, or on a solo hike. I started to look seriously at LASIK and had the surgery a few months later. Its been wonderful, even if I did have to have 2 treatements to get completely corrected. I'm 20/25 in one eye and 20/15 in the other.
berninbush
06-14-2008, 01:34
I'll put in a good word for LASIK too. I was half blind most of my life, and it gave me 20/20 vision (though I still have slight astigmatism in my right eye... not enough to be a problem). It was worth every penny for the liberation that comes from not having to keep up with glasses/contacts, and the weight off my face.
Great point. I'd guess that you would be right. Shelters would be a dangerous place for glasses.......
And if you leave your glasses on the floor and someone walks on them in the middle of the night, I don't you have a valid claim against that person. As the floor is for walking. The owner would be the negligent party.
Panzer
minnesotasmith
06-14-2008, 09:46
1) Yes, a hardcase for them is wise IMO, too.
2) I didn't bring photoreactive-darkening ones with me in the past. My thinking was that their going totally transparent is not instantaneous nor total as I went into lower light. Too, I could always put on sunglasses in exposed areas on sunny days. However, after wearing a pair daily for a year, and seeing how well they do, I'm not against the idea anymore.
3) Wear ones made of glass, not plastic, so scratching is much reduced. Glass has way more resistance to scratching than any plastic, including polycarbonate with "scratch-resistant" coating.
4) Bring a spare pair (in your pack, NOT in a bounce box). In Virginia, I ran right into a small low-lying branch that was right at the level of the bridge of my nose, twisting my frames. I'm seriously dependent upon my eyeglasses, and would have been in trouble had I not had a spare pair with me.
ChinMusic
06-14-2008, 12:23
I'm 20/25 in one eye and 20/15 in the other.
And at your age (my age too) that combination works pretty well at limiting your need for reading glasses. I bet that 20/25 eye allows you to read a computer or even a menu.
Once you hit the 45 area having one eye slightly UNDER-corrected is a benefit, in my opinion.
briarpatch
06-14-2008, 19:57
Yes, a slight under correction works to my advantage. I'll turn 50 at the end of July and had been in progressive lenses for several years. I can read most anything in bright light, but still use +1.5 reading glasses for the newspaper if I'm inside. No need for glasses for the computer, either.
On a thru-hike, spare glasses are probably a good idea. If your spare is your last prescription vs. your current prescription, you may want to carry a hard-copy of your prescription, should you lose your primary set of glasses and need to replace those.
I hate glasses. They always break on me. Never last more than a year.
I'm only near sighted for the moment, so I just do without them.
Every now and then when I have some extra money I try again. Such a waste.
For the money you spend you would think they would make them stronger.
Montana Mac
06-14-2008, 20:57
In MY tent on the floor near the corner - in a shelter in my boot. When I thru hike in 2009 spare pair will be in my bounce box. I can survive (but not read) without glasses
Great point. I'd guess that you would be right. Shelters would be a dangerous place for glasses.......
Swimming holes are what scares me.
I hate glasses. They always break on me. Never last more than a year.
I'm only near sighted for the moment, so I just do without them.
Every now and then when I have some extra money I try again. Such a waste.
For the money you spend you would think they would make them stronger.
JAK, Spend the money on a cherry pair of frames. Titanium, and memory metal are good, but Flexon frames take alot of abuse. I have flattened them by walking into a framing member while looking back over my shoulder. The shop straightened them. (But once they do break, no fixing!)
Look for the word Flexon on the inside of the temple. Pearl will tell you they are the same thing, but they are like "store brand" groceries.
ChinMusic
06-14-2008, 21:18
Since I am 50, and have has Lasik, I need readers to read a map. I carry a +3.5 reader (hard case also) in a side pocket of my pants. I actually carry those with me all the time.
I would not want to read a book with +3.5s (they are REAL strong) as I would have to almost hold the book to my nose. But, for short reading it is fine and the extra magnification comes in handy for stuff like splinters.
theinfamousj
06-15-2008, 01:43
I fourth (is it fourth?) the mesh glasses pocket.
Never knew what the pocket was for before I discovered that with all the trail dirt, it was probably better to bring glasses than mess with contacts.
cutman11
06-16-2008, 21:19
I put my glasses in one of my crocs at night, along with my headlamp and watch. I put my toiletpaper/wipes ziplok in the other one. If I need to get up at night, its all conveniently in one place next to my head. My Crocs stay a lot cleaner and drier than the boots. I do carry an extra pair of glasses in a hard case(at the bottom of my pack) but have not had to use them. A few extra ounces of weight, I know, but if you're as near sighted as me, loss of glasses would be a near emergency.
I take two pairs of glasses, one prescription sunglasses, one regular bifocals. Hard case, corner of tent at night, in pack if at shelter.
i'm a hammocker, which might give a different perspective... they just go on the ridgeline overhead...
I'm also a hammocker and I used to do the same. I have since realized that I always sleep on my back in the hammock I can leave my glasses on while sleeping and I have been doing this for the last few months - its an advantage not to have cold glasses fog up when I need to get up in the middle of the night in cold weather.
minnesotasmith
06-17-2008, 11:01
Note that I have NOT used them. However, they are supposed to be as cheap as eight bucks for a pair of prescription glasses. You have to get your interpupillary distance measured, in addition to normal data (diopters, etc.), but any optometrist should be able to get that for you, I would think.
www.zennioptical.com
100% hard case. I set my glasses in mesh pocket on ridgeline in hammock or tent. I am -12.25 ands the doc just told me that I am double blind, what ever the hell thats suppose to mean.I also wear contacts and because I cant see w/o corrective lenses I usually take two hard cases with me camping :D yet that be another thread.
Now that's a prescription. You did mean twelve?
johnny quest
06-17-2008, 12:26
get one of these http://www.rei.com/product/728859
i carry a backup pair in a hardcase
I'll stick to my hard case.
I wonder if any body has had athletes nose, from stucking their glasses in their germ filled boots?