Glasses vs contact lenses?

[Mrs Oakie]

Because of fogging up and visibility issues in rain, I'm looking at trying contact lenses instead of my glasses when I ride. Is anyone out there able to comment on the difference having used both?

[MIXONE]

I wore contacts for about 30 years and they were great on a bike (and all round).Back to glasses now as my eyes can't handle contacts anymore and they are a pain as you well know.I'd have laser surgery if I didn't want to spend my money on bikes and stuff all the time.

[Kevnz]

I find glasses best but they have to be good solid framed ones otherwise they bend or the arms come loose from squeezing them into your helmet all the time .Contacts dry out pretty quick with all the air flowing through your helmet

[rocketman1]

I have used contacts but back to glasses now, putting contacts in & out was a pain.
Has your helmet got vents around the visor, these help to keep the fog out of the visor, otherwise lift the visor when going slow, this helps keep the glasses from fogging.

[Number One]

I've used both and have IOL as well which does complicates things.

I found contacts would dry out on the bike, even with the face vents on helmet closed...in the end I gave up and just do the glasses thing.

If you haven't worn them (contacts) before I would definitely give them a good practise run before heading out on the bike for a long trip.

ALSO check that your eyes tear/flush regularly...I apparently have irregular 'tearing' in one eye so that one is always drier than the other. The contact in this eye became excrutiatingly painful to wear in the end.

[PrincessBandit]

Have just recently gone back to contacts after about 4 years away from them. One of the prime reasons for reverting to them was because I found it a real pain not being able to wear decent sunnies due to already having a pair of specs on my nose. (I did buy some polarised clip ons but still found they weren't large enough to cut the glare adequately).
Mine are disposable monthly ones which I believe have a better "wetness factor" than regular soft lenses. As far as fogging is concerned, cat crap worked really well on my glasses lenses. I am happy using either form but enjoy not having to go through the rigmarole of glasses on/off every time I put my helmet on or remove it. Plus when I wear my ear plugs the arms of my glasses plus the ear plugs sometimes made my helmet a little uncomfortable at the sides of my head on a longer ride; not a problem with contacts.

[Swoop]

http://aucklandeye.co.nz/

I'm sure there is a version of this in Chch!
Look into it.

[Pussy]

Hey Mrs Oakie... I recently got a set of Nike frames for my progressive specs. I haven't worn them much with my motorcycle helmet, but have with my flying helmet, and they're bloody brilliant.
Not much help to you in the fogging issue, but hopefully a bit of help in finding a set of frames that easily fit in/under a helmet

[The Pastor]

I find contacts way better,

Basicly the pain with glasses are

Fogging,
hard to put on with helmet
can drop and break them

Problems with contacts

if they come out your blind
if a bug or somthing gets in ur eye it can stuff up ur contact
you cant useally change them mid ride

i wear contacts and dont have nearly as much problems as i did with glasses but there still bit of a pain.

[FzerozeroT]

Contacts were always a pain in the ass for me, I get hayfever and they were a trap for pollen and dust. Went for a trip to India last year and got Lasik (Class C), $600NZD, better facilities and service than I have ever seen in NZ.

[PirateJafa]

Because of fogging up and visibility issues in rain, I'm looking at trying contact lenses instead of my glasses when I ride. Is anyone out there able to comment on the difference having used both?

Glasses win hands-down for me.

Never had any fogging issues.

But mostly because I ride pretty much everywhere with my visor up(which I suppose helps with the fogging.

[Redline_8749]

I have disposible monthly contacts, and have never even considered this problem untill now. I don't seem to have any problems, infact I often climb in to bed, then have to get out again cause I forgot I still had my contacts in.

[laRIKin]

I tried contacts and thought they were good until they seemed to float on the eye's sometimes if you hit a lot of jarring bumps in a row.
Or at speed as I got double vision and that is not nice.
I may have had watery eye at the time (hay fever).
Never used them again after that.
Scared me no end as I could not see the corner or cliff.

[James Deuce]

I got contacts once I saw what was left of a mate's face when the glasses he was wearing dug furrows in his skull.

He wasn't going to survive the head on with a truck, but geez, if he had......

I have none of the dramas with my contacts drying out, or moving around, and the increased field of vision is magnificent. I think half the battle with getting used to contacts is just hardening up and ignoring those sensations until you "normalise". Swapping back and forward between glasses because contacts are uncomfortable just lengthens the process, and there are a vast range of contacts vendors selling really different feeling materials. Try different brands or even optometrists if they prove uncomfotable or the eye doctor is unhelpful.

[MD]

If you can ,get laser surgery.

I wore glasses for years, then tried contacts. Contacts were a pain in the arse- yes, maybe I should have inserted them in my eye instead of the bum region?
Contacts when riding would dry out. Or they would irritate and my eyes would over compensate with a flood of water. Either way it was unsafe to ride at times. The cleaning and costs of contacts was too high maintenance.

I've had 14 years of clear, sharp vision since lasek. The ageing process will eventually see me needing glasses one day, but for the joy of not waking up blind, stumbling to find specs or inserting foreign objects into your eye is...priceless. I can remember the fun of coming out of the surf and not being able to find your spot, towel, the beach! And missing out on talent spotting.

Actually Lasek is now about $2500 an eye! Was $1500 but covered by insurance when I got mine done.