protective prescription eyewear during hunts

[orson]

I am curious as to what my fellow hunters who wear rx lenses are doing in the field. Are you just wearing your current rx frames in the field? What about the western hunters camping 10 days? Are you wearing contact lenses and packing in lense solutions? How are you solving this dilemma? I currently wear contacts in the field along with a pair of high contrast shades for eye protection. I despise having to wear contacts especially during camp out hunts because of the necessity to remove at night and reinsert them the following morning. Anyone else share my bane?

 

[jmav58]

I wear contacts in the field when hunting and rarely use my glasses. That being said, I have to pack in glasses, solution, contact cases and some alcohol wipes. The alcohol wipes are for my hands so I don't get an infection in my eye. At night, I put the solution and contacts in my sleeping bag with me so they don't freeze and then first thing in the morning, I use the alcohol wipes to clean my hands and pop in my contacts. My biggest problem with my contacts is when I'm glassing, my eyes will dry out and by the end of the day it's like there is a fog over my eyes. According to my eye doctor that is because my eyes aren't getting enough oxygen to the cornea which causes the "fog" issue. Going forward, I think I will get a nice pair of glasses suited for backpack hunting. The flexible, sport rate frames. I prefer contacts than glasses, but would rather not have to pack in my entire eye care stuff. Hope this helps.

 

[Jn78]

I wear my regular rx glasses most of the time, but in some conditions, they fog up, so I use contacts. Also, when it snows, sunglasses are a must, so I use contacts then as well. When day hunting or backpack hunting, I always have plenty of disposable contacts in my backpack. Getting fingers clean enough for contacts can be difficult in the backcountry. Putting contacts in gets challenging after backpacking for a few days in a floorless shelter, with stove, using fingers that butchered an animal. Purell is a must for me.

 

[TheGDog]

I have a special set of glasses I setup specifically for hunting. They are NOT progressives! Don't use progressives for hunting, just don't. Use Bi-Focals. Especially don't use Progressives if you're going to do something like MTB/DirtBike anything where you'll be judging distances rapidly. Don't do Progressives for that! And make the lenses be the tougher PolyCarbonate. Get the UV coating. Don't bother with the blue filter coating.

I specifically chose a frame style that affords large eye openings that go just about to my brow, and close to the tip of my nose on the below.

I told my local opthamologist to make the majority of the bi-focal be a magnification level geared towards being better at helping me see things at distance. Then... for the close-up part you can custom choose how much height you wan't to allow for the bi-focal close-up part of the lens. I went with 9mm to get it completely out of my normal FOV. I could have probably gone with maybe 11-12 for optimal.

If you backpack hunt, and wear glasses, I HIGHLY suggest you always have a backup set with you. For myself personally, my vision has degraded so much in the past 5 years since I began hunting, that I feel it would be dangerous if I tried to hike back out without glasses on. It's easy enough to have a bad misstep out there even when you can see and are just crazy exhausted. I have to wear glasses all the time now in order to see anything clearly.

For me personally, I'm not a great candidate for contact lenses. The whole time I'm wearing them my eyes are not liking the fact that some foreign object is stuffed in them. Also... where I hunt.. a sh*t-ton of allergens/particle waft thru the air. Like sometimes it ends up taking my voice away. That... is a no bueno situation for contacts. Buncha irritating particulate matter? I can't think of a worse time to have contacts shoved into your eyes. Also... I sure would hate to have to fuss with a contact out there. Probably end up giving myself an eye infection from touching with unclean hands.

Oh and BTW... when setting up a pair of glasses for hunting... take two seconds to think about the frames and their ability to remain concealed with the rest of your gear. No shiny metal stuff. No shiny Satin or Polished metallic frames. No overly thick frames which draw a very distinct circle around both your eyes. You want frames that disappear and can't be seen very well from a short distance away. Well, that's specific to one of my ambush hunting areas, anyway, where they pass by at 20yds and even less sometimes.

 

[UtahJimmy]

I use daily contacts. My eyes are not bad enough to need glasses in camp once I remove my contacts, do those stay in my vehicle. I will usually "clean" my index and thumb with the solution when I open the first one up. I do pack non-rx sunglasses in the lid off my pack to reduce sun exposure to the eyeballs.

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[*zap*]

Good sports glasses that have a band which goes around your head to hold them rather than part of the frame that goes around your ear to hold it are a great addition for anyone who wears glasses and/or uses contacts. Especially useful if you can see very well up close without your contacts or glasses on, just lift them up onto your forehead. I use them a lot 365.

Glasses and contacts both have positives and negatives to them.

 

[TheGDog]

I wear my regular rx glasses most of the time, but in some conditions, they fog up, so I use contacts.

Whoo lawdy the fogging can be a real bear sometimes. Usually only during the hike-in. I've learned to do a lot of breathing directing my exhalation and inhalation to point downward, away from the glasses. But yeah... there's that... and sometimes when ya go to raise your binos to your face. I have to even more concentrate on exhaling away from the binos and glasses. Always have a wiper cloth in a jacket pocket, on hipbelt of pack, and I always wear liner gloves anyway, so often can just rub the smudges out quickly with a gloved finger, and then when time better permits.. take 'em off and use a wiper cloth.

 

[TheGDog]

Good sports glasses that have a band which goes around your head to hold them rather than part of the frame that goes around your ear to hold it are a great addition for anyone who wears glasses and/or uses contacts. Especially useful if you can see very well up close without your contacts or glasses on, just lift them up onto your forehead. I use them a lot 365.

Glasses and contacts both have positives and negatives to them.

Hrmm... I like the idea of the band around the head... but... after thinking about it. That would probably not work well in my ambush situation. After slipping the leafy facemask on, I slide the glasses back in at the end. And it's helpful to be able to quickly remove the glasses, in order to wipe em clean again. Sounds like that might be a little more troublesome to do if talking about the facemask and band around head scenario.

But I do like the idea of a band though. My glasses have thick lenses now and if leaned fwd, such as processing over an animal, it's a PITA how much they slide down. Especially after some days of sweating.

 

[*zap*]

I wear those glasses with a beanie and neck gaiter or a balaclava all the time and just put the glasses over those items.
The lack of ear pieces makes them extremely comfortable.

 

[Michael54]

I can only wear contacts for about 6hrs at a time. So normal eyeglasses it is for me when im hunting. I pack 2 pairs. One on me and one in the truck. I can get away with not having them on when hiking but i need them when it comes time to glass or shoot.

 

[TheGDog]

I can only wear contacts for about 6hrs at a time. So normal eyeglasses it is for me when im hunting. I pack 2 pairs. One on me and one in the truck. I can get away with not having them on when hiking but i need them when it comes time to glass or shoot.

I would suggest getting in the habit of having that extra pair on you. I look at it like this. How upset would you be with yourself if the only reason you weren't able to take an animal that nature was nice enough to make pass by close enough.... was because you didn't have some extra glasses with you?

 

[TheGDog]

I wear those glasses with a beanie and neck gaiter or a balaclava all the time and just put the glasses over those items.
The lack of ear pieces makes them extremely comfortable.

In a PM, could you please shoot me a description of those glasses? we're in a new benefits year again, so I'm thinking that just might be worth looking into on my end. Thx

 

[Jn78]

Whoo lawdy the fogging can be a real bear sometimes. Usually only during the hike-in. I've learned to do a lot of breathing directing my exhalation and inhalation to point downward, away from the glasses. But yeah... there's that... and sometimes when ya go to raise your binos to your face. I have to even more concentrate on exhaling away from the binos and glasses. Always have a wiper cloth in a jacket pocket, on hipbelt of pack, and I always wear liner gloves anyway, so often can just rub the smudges out quickly with a gloved finger, and then when time better permits.. take 'em off and use a wiper cloth.

When it is cold outside and I am creating a ton of body heat by hiking, no amount of directional breathing is gonna keep my glasses clear, especially when I stop hiking and peek through my binos. Also, I have an unfortunate inability to sit for very long, so my hike-in never really stops most days, especially elk hunting. Maybe I just need to get in better shape so I don't huff and puff so much. Or better yet, I could suck it up and get Lasik. That is probably the best answer to this thread - we should all get Lasik.

 

[*zap*]

In a PM, could you please shoot me a description of those glasses? we're in a new benefits year again, so I'm thinking that just might be worth looking into on my end. Thx

 

[Antarctica]

Those are cool! Who makes them?

I use regular frames in the field, but I also have a pair of ancient polarized rx (Bolle) glacier glasses that were issued to me 20 years ago while working on the ice. I have been addicted to them since the day I got them (and rebuilt them from eBay parts several times). I get weird looks with the leather side covers but they are absolutely awesome on a bright day or in glare situations.

 

[TheGDog]

Those glasses with the headband look like the hot ticket.

And yeah... I feel you on hiking in, especially on a high humidity - cloud cover kinda day. Ugh...It's extremely hard not to fog up my glasses as my body gives off sh*t-tons of water vapor from head and face and just everywhere. I end up having to partially remove my facemask so all the vapor can escape.

And...When I get back to the truck in the night and do my sponge bath in the pickup bed before the drive home.... I steam like crazy!

Also I've learned as long as it's only like 45-50F... and not too windy... I can do just a single shirt on the hike-in/up. The backpack and very little ventilation to my back keeps most of me quite warm for the 6 miles up. That way only that one shirt gets all terribly wet from the sweat. I have a spot like 1000yards back where I change out to a dry shirt... and I leave the wet one draped over a Greasewood pointing at the Sun, and just pick it back up on my way. That way helps reduce the sweat stink gettin' in the air. Sometimes might even spray a little scent killer stuff again, like if it's bow season.

RE: inability to sit for long - I cannot sit directly on the ground for very long at all. Long Story Shorter, recent MRI's revealed discs bulging and discs not centered and shifted... as much as 5mm in some spots. So Spinal Stenosis and Retrolisthesis.

In terms of your sits? Get you an REI Macro FlexLite chair. Make sure it's the Macro one! If you can still find them. They are built bigger. VERY comfortable. That's for my sit in ambush spot. For the hunts that are more...um... like side-hilling? I've been using a Predator Seat Cushion with back support. The Beard Buster one (turkeys go figure) seems to be padded thick enough. A previous one I had, had to supplement with a ThermaRest Z-lite pad. Everyone should bring a Z-Lite pad out with em. Sometimes in the steeper parts... I'll put the predator seat cushion on top of a hunterspec little Turkey/Predator chair. The legs are purposefully different sizes so it helps with getting a decent long-term sit on a slope while calling or glassing. You put the longer legs facing down the hill.

In terms of sitting in ambush. Think of it like playing chess. And.. on prior visits, take some time to groom that sit spot. if you do it right. They don't see you... (or the occasional humans either) and you see them well ahead of time, and there are enough objects for them to pass behind at key locations that it'll give you time to draw your bow or raise your weapon unseen by them.

 

[Jauwater]

This is interesting. I'm really liking those glasses with the headband as well. To my knowledge I never had eye problems, till recently. Recently looked through one of my red dot sights the other week, and was seeing a snowflake. Looked through my other two red dots, and same thing, a snowflake. So it turns out I have an eye astigmatism. So now for about a week I've been looking for some glasses to comfortably wear while shooting. Some prescription glasses setup like that would be ideal I think. Its shooting glasses or switching out optics. I'm hoping the glasses will be a cheaper route.

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[Titan]

I buy all my glasses online. I use Zenni, but there are plenty of other places. I buy polarized RX sunglasses for about $60-80. Last time I checked some Oakley units, they were $800 or so.

Anyway, I ordered some about a month ago and saw they also have impact rated lenses now for only $9. You could get prescription impact lenses for less than $35 depending on the frame. You can tint them for another $5.

 

[Lawnboi]

I run a set of Wiley x rx sunglasses and same frame with clear lense. I got the clears initially for shooting but end up using them hunting as well.

The model I use has foam inner seal that is removable. Great for dusty hunts.

 

[Blockcaver]

I wear progressive lenses around the house and shop but hate them for hunting, glassing, skiing, driving, hiking, shooting the bow, etc. I don’t like regular bifocals either for those activities.

I use an old pair of frames and get mono-vision distance only corrected lenses. My most recent pair are yellow tinted with scratch resistant coating that I got for shooting sporting clays on cloudy or foggy days and in the trees. They cost $105 C at the local Walmart Vision Center and work great. Also, my bow sight pins and target haven’t been this sharp lately! For hunting, driving, skiing etc I get the mono’s with gray transition (photo-gray) as I find they are universal.

I do not like polycarbonate lenses as they are not as clear in my prescription as regular plastic lenses. A bit of research on the net showed that to be the case. I realize for safety glasses they are superior. I wore them on the job and had Decot shooting glasses with polycarbonate, but really dislike the loss of the sharpest vision possible with them. Good luck!