Choices for the vision impaired

[Joel1982]

I'm about to embark on a 7 night multi-day hike and am having a hard time choosing between bringing my glasses and contacts. I'm near-sighted, so seeing some pretty landscape and vistas will require one or the other. I'm not so bad that I couldn't see a snake 5m in front of me....just need them for more enjoyment for the walk.

I would prefer my (disposable) contacts as then I can still wear my sunnies, not worry about them falling off, and I get a full field of sharp vision.

The glasses are good because I don't have to put in and take out contacts once they get irritating after about 8 hours, it's less stuff to carry around (although the weigh penalty is minimal), plus I'll be getting muddy and dirty and don't have to worry about cleaning my hands when putting in contacts.

What does everyone else (who needs glasses / contacts) do?

Cheers,

[neilmny]

Don't use contacts, do use glasses (bifocals) and I'd be stuffed without them.
If you fear loosing your glasses get one of those things the yachties use.
You poke the arms into the ends and it hangs around your neck. It also floats which probably isn't an issue when walking.
For sunnies get a pair of clip on polarised lenses from someone like OPSM.
I don't wear my clip on sunnies very often unless the glare is really bad. Vision is better and colours more natural without them.

[ChrisJHC]

I used to wear contacts in the bush but the hassle factor (and increased chance of an eye infection) made me go back to glasses.
As Neil said, clip-on sunshades work well as do the polychromatic lenses.

On a 7-day hike I’m not sure I’d trust my hygiene regime enough to trust putting my fingers in my eye!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cajun]

Sounds like our vision issues are similar, I need glasses and carry both sunnies and seeing glasses, often swapping between them.

Like Neil, I use a strap to keep them around my neck. The pair not being used reside in my front shirt pocket which is zipped or velcroed down. Sometimes I put the polaroids on my cricket hat (Greg Chappel style)which has loops to hold them securely.

[rcaffin]

Well, normally I just take my driving glasses, but for ski touring I go for contacts. That way I can wear wrap-around sunnies rather than great big ski-goggles. Don't try wearing glasses under big goggles: they fog up immediately!

By the time we have washed ourselves and then washed up after dinner in the evening, my hands are clean. So in the morning I have clean hands to put them in - first thing. Since I use one-day contacts, they are always clean and new.

Cheers
Roger

[Orion]

What about extended wear contacts? That's what I use. At home I take them out every night because it's easy but on walks I leave them in for up to about a week or so, which covers the vast majority of my trips. On the occasional longer trip it is a little more work to swap out a pair without a mirror but not that big of a deal. And it's an excuse to wash my hands with hot water once a week.

[Moondog55]

Before my Lasix I made damned sure I also had a spare set in my emergency gear and my reading glasses.
My "Normal" specs were photochromatic and I had Fit-Overs as back-up

[Biggles]

Glasses. Just glasses.
I speak from experience as a photographer working in the best and worst nature has to offer. I would never for a moment consider contacts. Others that have joined me have had no end of horrors with contacts, particularly outback dust and very cold temperatures. I guess some people swear by them, and others still are sworn off them!

[GPSGuided]

I guess some people swear by them, and others still are sworn off them!

Hence the earlier point that the decision will need to depend on the individual. Some people can barely handle half a day of contact wear indoors due to red eyes and irritation while others can wear them for days on end. At the end of the day, well corrected contact opens the visual field and without distortion far better than glasses. This differential obviously also increases with increasing diopter.

Fact is, if the OP's eyes usually tolerate contacts well and can be careful with hand cleaning, then there's no reason why contacts can't do very well on walks. With glasses, whilst robust, they are awful on rainy and sweaty days as well run the risk of being smashed in accidents. Further with disposables, one can have multiple spares in reserve and replaced when required. Just use some alcohol based sanitation fluid to clean one's hands and fingers.

[ribuck]

... it is a little more work to swap out a pair without a mirror ...

The selfie viewfinder on your phone is a mirror. Just prop the phone up against a rock. If your camera app doesn't allow zoom in selfie mode, you can download Mirror apps.

[Orion]

... it is a little more work to swap out a pair without a mirror ...

The selfie viewfinder on your phone is a mirror. Just prop the phone up against a rock. If your camera app doesn't allow zoom in selfie mode, you can download Mirror apps.

How obvious! I got my very first smartphone a few months ago and haven't yet learned to think of it first when looking for a tool.

[Warin]

... it is a little more work to swap out a pair without a mirror ...

The selfie viewfinder on your phone is a mirror. Just prop the phone up against a rock. If your camera app doesn't allow zoom in selfie mode, you can download Mirror apps.

How obvious! I got my very first smartphone a few months ago and haven't yet learned to think of it first when looking for a tool.

There is an Android app .. something like 'Swiss army knife' ... all sorts of 'tools' ... magnifier for one.
And another 'GPS Status' - that has light meter, bubble level tilt meter, light level ...
Others for vibration analysis, sound level and spectrum .... lots of things

[ribuck]

Also, if I turn my phone off, the screen is so glossy that it works quite well as a mirror.

[rcaffin]

What about extended wear contacts?

To each his own.
I started with monthly hard lenses, but there were endless problems, including discomfort and smearing. The switch to soft disposables was nothing short of a miracle for me.
Ymmv

Cheers
Roger

[Joel1982]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I think I'll mainly use contacts but also bring the glasses as a backup in case the contacts get a bit too annoying. Guess this will be a good test run for what works best for me.
Cheers

[rcaffin]

You might want to consider carrying a pair of really cheap service-station-class really compact 'readers'. No scrip, juts try them on. That way I can take a close look at the map with my contacts still in my eyes.

Cheers
Roger

[Orion]

What about extended wear contacts?

To each his own.
I started with monthly hard lenses, but there were endless problems, including discomfort and smearing. The switch to soft disposables was nothing short of a miracle for me.

I was talking about soft disposables.

For some reason I have far fewer issues with them and can comfortably leave them in longer on bushwalks then at home. I've wondered why. Is it due to cleaner air? Regular exercise? Lack of artificial light? It's a mystery to me.

[GPSGuided]

For some reason I have far fewer issues with them and can comfortably leave them in longer on bushwalks then at home. I've wondered why. Is it due to cleaner air? Regular exercise? Lack of artificial light? It's a mystery to me.

Keep them moist and those soft contacts can just keep going. More exercises, more sweat, more tear production?