Wearing glasses on the river?

[Jobu]

Ok I am guilty of being forum newb and asking alot of questions, its so fun!

Seriously I am new to glasses and wear a light script but now that I wear them, taking them off sucks. If anyone else wears them what the hell do you do when you go kayaking?

Contacts?
Sports glasses?
Goggles?

Just haven't figured it out yet. Thanks

[COUNT]

If you do, either use disposable contacts (cheap ones) or a REALLY good croakie. I used to wear mine but I found the water on the lenses was more distracting than just dealing with not having my glasses. I bring my spare pair with me on long trips or ones that I expect to be doing a lot of scouting technical and difficult drops. Kinesthetics is the most important thing kayaking. MO.

COUNT

[gh]

contacts

[Id725]

I've worn my glasses on about 150 runs over the last four-plus seasons. Never had a problem -- the strap keeps them where they need to be, and I'd never want to sacrifice vision on the river. I wear contacts when I'm not in my boat, but I got real tired of losing contacts on the river so I switched to glasses for paddling.

my 2 cents

[Jobu]

you dont have any problems seeing through your glasses when they are dripping?

[kayakArkansas]

I don't wear glasses, and hope I never need to. But I have paddled with several people who do really really need some form of optometric help. My experience has been....glasses tend to break a lot in very inconvenient situations, so if you're gonna go that route, def bring a back-up pair. I've had several people who lost their contacts when rolling as well....also not a pretty situation. If your sight isn't that bad, I would probablly learn to live without glasses on the water. Otherwise, however you decide, bring a back-up at all times....

my fairly useless 1.5 cents

--Zach

[cbrobin]

I wear my third pair of prescription sunglasses. Work great. No problem with water on them. Have straps permanently afficted.
Only hassle is when it gets dark.
My vision is around 20-70, so i could get by without, but i feel i'm safer with the glasses.

[pbowman]

i have used both glasses and contacts. when i first started i would wear the same glasses i wore daily, but then i got a new pair and used the old for boating. never lost a pair in 3+ years, had a good strap system (not croakies). then i got a pair of rx safety glasses that were good and nerdy looking. i lost them the first time out - my old strap wouldn't fit, so i put some croakies on them for my first run of the year on gunni gorge. lost them in the first swirly play spot, and had to run the lower half of the run blind.

for the past two years i have been wearing contacts. i keep my eyes closed when rolling, and wear sun glasses that keep the wave splash off my eyes. i have never lost a contact. my contact rx is the same in both eyes, so if i loose one i can move the other to my dominant eye (right in my case) and see enough to make it home. if i lost both i would be screwed.

i actually prefer wearing glasses, and i would just splash my face regularly to keep them clean and fog free. i also feel my vision is more precise through glasses, as that is what i wear all the time. i only wear contacts when biking, skiing and boating. whatever strap you decide to use, include duct tape for added security.

[dvc]

Been wearing glasses with good strap under the helmet for three seasons. While I admit to being only intermediate, I have never had a problem even when getting pushed around under water. As Phil said, just splash some water on them from time to time and they'll stay pretty clean. And bring an extra set in your boat just in case.

[davidcrockett]

I am a big fan of the night and day contact lenses. I have actually opened my eyes underwater (in a lake) and swam around. The lenses did not budge, but they were totally ruined afterwards. My point is that lenses will stay on your eyes when you are boating.