what to do about eyewear?

[Max L]

Anyone out there thru or section hike with glasses or contacts. Ideally I would have switched to extended wear contacts that one can wear 24/7 but my eyes are pretty sensitive... even wearing daily contacts more than 16 hours a day for a few days in a row irritates my eyes. I tried a few different brands out this fall but contacts are something I just can't wear in long stretches.
This means I have few options;

1) bring daily contacts on the trail and need to remove and put in contacts every morning and night (not a very sanity option)... along with bringing saline solution and a contact case.
2) rely on my glasses. wear my new frames. deal with getting them dirty all time from sweat/fog/ect, risk breaking them, and also carry a my old frames as back up and a case (i have really bad vision can't go with out back ups).
3) bring contacts and contact accessories, wear those regularly and also bring glasses/case along as a back up.

In past canoeing and hiking trips I went with contacts. Putting them in and taking out were tedious. but those where only 7-10 day trips not 5+ months. I really doubt option #1 is viable. Any suggestions?

[Blissful]

I hiked with glasses the whole time and had the lenses pop out once. Need to bring your prescription in case something happens.

[Marta]

I took option two. (I don't have or wear contacts.) Good thing I had a backup pair of glasses because I lost my main pair--probably dropped them in a water source, but I never found them.

[Hosaphone]

I go with option #3, but I'm new to using contacts so that might change as I get better at putting them in.

Putting in contacts gets easier with practice. A friend of mine can do it on the first try pretty much every time and it takes him all of 30 seconds or so to put them in. Consider bringing a small mirror (I have a signaling mirror that weighs 1/2oz. Big enough that you can prop it up against something while you do this, lets you see how dirty you look, and can be used as a survival tool).

Look into the 1-day disposable contacts. No need to carry solution or a case, don't need to worry about losing them, and you don't have to worry as much about sanitary problems (but still, wash your hands before you go poking those grubby fingers in your eyes). 5 pairs of the 1-day's weighs in at around 1/2 an ounce. You could maildrop or bounce a supply of them along the trail.

Haven't done a thru hike. Possible that I would get sick of putting in contacts all the time and maybe only use them on rainy days when having glasses on is extra miserable (I HATE rain on my glasses...), or maybe I'd get so good at it that putting them in would be a non-issue.

Also, I'm sure you've tried everything already, but the 1-day lenses are supposed to be a lot more comfortable on your eyes. Since you change them out every day, there isn't really a chance for protein and other crap to build up on them. There are also drops you can get that are supposed to help. I dunno, I'm still pretty new to wearing contacts.

[HooKooDooKu]

I always hike in my contacts and bring along a pair of glasses as backups as well as quick vision if I have to get up in the middle of the night.

[Lyle]

I hike with glasses. Clean bandana for cleaning. New scratch resistant lenses are way less fragile, and new spring frames do not bend out of shape. Ball cap for rainy days.

On my face during the day, in my shoe at night.

[Rocket Jones]

When hiking I keep my glasses on a croakie lanyard around my neck. In my case, I need the glasses for distance and have to take them off to read, so it's handy to just slide them off and let them hang while checking maps, guidebooks, etc. For anti-fogging I use Cat Crap. It's not perfect, but it does help. I also carry a small piece of glasses-cleaning cloth, and that's the only thing I use it for (no dual use for this!).

And definitely a brimmed hat of some sort. Ball caps work better under a hood, but I prefer a boonie.

[Hikes in Rain]

I've been wearing contacts long enough that I'm more comfortable without my pants than without contacts. The new miltifocal lenses are terrific for "mature" eyes. And it does get easier with practice. To me, it's pretty much the same as brushing your teeth; I don't even have to think about it.

Just make sure you wash your hands well. A good lightweight wash basin can be made from the lower half of a gallon plastic jug. I tried various combinations of towels, because I don't think a bandana is quite absorbant enough (plus you'd want a dedicated one just for the eyes), and finally settled on the smallest packtowel. The size is right, it feels like soft chamious on my eyelids, and it's easy to keep clean.

Bring a spare pair, and your glasses, if your vision is such that you can't see to find your way around, like me. I'm free to make whatever I want of the world beyond a few inches, especially at night when the whole world fades to a black blur. I also carry a tiny mirror, even though i can easily insert the lenses without it. Never know when you might get an eyelash or whatever in your eye. You've already likely found out how uncomfortable that is! My mirror is a little 1" by 3" strip. It's glass, I haven't been able to find a non-glass one with enough quality for me. (Suggestions, anyone??)

Any water fit to drink will also be fine for hand washing. Since I'm using soap, I generally don't treat the handwashing water, and so far, haven't had a problem. I like Ivory soap, and carry a sliver of a bar in a ziplock, and haven't been able to figure out a way to keep it from getting squishy with use. The bit of soap is too small to justify a plastic soap box, or find a smaller box that would work, and after a while, I just dip out a small finger-full of goo.

If it gets cold, bring your contacts into your bag with you. Having the lenses freeze wouldn't be good, and putting an icy cold lens in your eyes is a real eye-opener! Better than strong coffee with a double shot of espresso for a wakeup!

[rusty bumper]

For several years prior to my AT hike I wore rimless glasses. I didn't think those would be tough enough for 5+ months on the AT, so I bought a new pair prior to heading for Springer. I purchased "memory metal" frames with full rims that are extremely flexible and durable. I wore them all day, every day, and at night they were stowed in the mesh pocket in my tent. I couldn't have been happier with my choice!

[buff_jeff]

At first I'd hike with prescription sunglasses and glasses, but I got sick of the lenses fogging and I can't stand the way glasses feel during everyday wear.

I've also worn contacts for multi-week hikes without issue. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I feel that the hygiene concerns with contacts are overblown. I've worn contacts throughout pretty unsanitary army training as well and never had an issue. Just make sure to rinse your hands off with water to get rid of grime first, and then use some hand sanitizer and you should be good to go.

[leaftye]

This year I bought some $7 prescription eyeglasses from Zenni Optical. At that price, I can afford to go through a few pairs on a hike. Each pair comes with a hard plastic case and lens cloth. A couple extra bucks will buy clip on shades and seemed to be trimmed to fit the frame.

If you go this route, keep in mind that it takes a couple weeks for the eyeglasses to arrive, so you'd probably do well to order a few pairs in advance and have them sent from home as needed.

[evyck da fleet]

Hiked with contacts this year. Wore the two week disposals. Tried to take them out every night but forgot a few times and wound up popping a few out when I got up in the middle of the night to water the bushes. Other than that it doesn't matter if they are monthly or daily lenses you'll still be touching them everyday. I'd Purell my hands before removing them from the solution and never had any eye problems. I brought a little mirror with me but never used it (or mailed it home for that matter).

I did wind up ordering more contacts and having them sent in a mail drop with maps to me becasue of losing a few popping them out. Of course I didn't pop another oneout after ordering more.

[MuddyWaters]

I wear glasses, they are just simpler.
I dont take any backups
There is no reason to ever lose your glasses , kind of like losing your pack. Get over that fear. You cant have a backup for everything.
Dont do something stupid like look down over the edge of a cliff with them on though. If you do you might lget whats coming. Be smart and youll be fine.

Tighten screws, and put a drop of superglue on them. And dont worry.

You can lose a lens and still see with the other eye to get to next town. So you already have some redundancy.
You can also hold that lens up to your eye when you need to see distance.
You can follow the trail in most areas, even without glasses. Its pretty darn distinct
You can ducttape things together if you have to as well.

Ive never had a problem with dirty glasses on the trail. Rinse with a little water to remove dirt, wash with a drop of soap, rinse again. Dry in minutes
Never wipe lenses with anything out on the trail if you want them to stay scratch free.

[leaftye]

There is no reason to ever lose your glasses , kind of like losing your pack. Get over that fear.

Sure there is. If you're not blind and can get buy without eyeglasses most of the time, it's very easy to lose eyeglasses. It's not like shoes or a pack that I couldn't possibly fail to notice. It's more like the bandana tied to my shoulder strap that I might only notice when I go to use it.

I temporarily lost a pair in a trail town. Fortunately I had stayed with a friend, so I was able to retrieve them later that year.

Even so, I don't carry an extra pair of eyeglasses, but I do have extra pairs at home to have mailed out to the next trail town.

[Slo-go'en]

You can lose a lens and still see with the other eye to get to next town.

I lost a lens leaving the GSMNP and no way could I hike with only one lens. Totally messes up depth perception. I even tried making an eye patch so as not to use the eye with the missing lens and that did work very well either. I had had a lot of trouble with that lens falling out before the hike, so it was kinda stupid for me not to have had it fixed before hand.

Ended up hiking with the world out of focus all the way to Erwin before I could get a replacement made. And then only because I happened to meet 10K on the trail and he was able to get me a ride to a mall in Johnson City with a 1 hour place. It really wasn't all that bad having the world out of focus for a couple of weeks.

I also usually store my glasses inside my boot at night, especially in shelters. I carry a microfiber cloth for cleaning. It's also a good idea to carry a repair kit to replace screws. That has saved me a couple of times.

[Tinker]

I wore soft contacts way back in the '80s. I hear that they are much better now.

I tore one once and it scratched my eye, and I lost one inside a tent when the outside temps were in the teens.
I didn't bother looking for it - assumed it had been rolled over on and shattered in the cold.

I wear glasses now - light metal frames and plastic (aren't they all now??) lenses.

I would wear my glasses if I had the option to thruhike, and maybe bring a pair of clip on sunglasses (made for my glasses, not generic).

[Tinker]

Sure there is. If you're not blind and can get buy without eyeglasses most of the time, it's very easy to lose eyeglasses. It's not like shoes or a pack that I couldn't possibly fail to notice. It's more like the bandana tied to my shoulder strap that I might only notice when I go to use it.

I temporarily lost a pair in a trail town. Fortunately I had stayed with a friend, so I was able to retrieve them later that year.

Even so, I don't carry an extra pair of eyeglasses, but I do have extra pairs at home to have mailed out to the next trail town.

Good answer.

I lost a very expensive pair of glasses in the back of a covered dump truck in a pile of brush (they got snagged on a branch and I just thought that my face had been brushed). I didn't notice that they were gone until the truck was fully loaded and I got back in the sunlight outside.
I looked for them for an hour when we dumped the truck - never found them.
I'm nearsighted - can see fine up to about 8-10 feet. Things get fuzzy after that, and I need glasses to drive, and bifocals help me to read.

[Miner]

When I hiked the PCT, for different sections, I swapped between using my eyeglasses and wearing extended contacts. When wearing my glasses I always had spare contacts with me as a backup and visa-versa.

For 2 months on the AT this past fall, I just wore my eyeglasses which had transition lenses (ie. darken in sunlight). I carried a pair of contacts as a backup with more in a bounc box. I had no issues except having to tighten the screws on the earpieces when they loosened up (bought one of those small eye glass repair kits from a pharmacy). I had a small strap attached to the ear pieces so that the glasses woud hang around my neck in case they fell off. I have found that wearing a baseball cap under a rain hood does a better job in keeping rain off the glasses as you hike and recommend the ATC's mesh AT Logo baseball cap for use on the trail.

[Miner]

Forgot to mention, I also always carried a small bottle of lens cleaner (smallest they sell and it lasts most of a hike) and a cleaning cloth. Was nice to have for cleaning my glasses everynight since they quickly get dirty during the day. I originally brought it for my camera lens since I carry a large camera. Having dirt on a camera lens that catches sunlight can ruin a photo.

[Double Wide]

I only need glasses for driving, watching movies, etc., but have worn prescription sunglasses constantly when outdoors. For my hike next year (I finally get to say that!) I'm going with plastic/polymer frames with transition lenses in them, along with Croakies to hold them on, or hang them from around my next when not needed.

Even without using my optical insurance, it's only like $160 for a pair. Gonna buy two before I go, keeping one at home until I eventually break or lose the first pair.