For those of you with glasses: Do you wear contacts or glasses while hunting in Alaska?

My visual acuity is significantly better with glasses. I'm debating if keeping them dry/unfogged will be troublesome enough to wear contacts. Will certainly bring both. Just wondered about the experiences of other Alaskan hunters with either.

Thanks in advance.

stunt,

I wore glasses for 20 years, fought them in the rain and fogging on cold mornings. In 2001 a month and a half before I took my first trip to Africa I had Lasik surgery done. It is without a doubt the best money I have ever spent!!! The procedure is different now as they no longer cut the lense of your eye, and the price has come way down. Trust me, it is a life changing event.

Mike

I haven't ever had problems with my glasses fogging. I don't even bother wiping them off. When I am in an open boat I usually wear goggles over the glasses. 'Bout it.

I like contacts for hunting due to fogging and raining issues.

I wear my glasses when ever I hunt or shoot. I try to avoid the rain drops on them by keeping my head slanted down slightley. My hat helps alot. Only had them fog up once, thats a pain.

I have never been able to get used to contacts so I only wear glasses. I carry several lense cloths to wipe them with. Sunglass Hut has nice 10"x8" cloths that work well even wet. It is a pain in the @$$ when it rains no matter what you do. With a driving rain I find it helps to wear a hood with a nice visor built in - like on Cabelas MT050 stuff. It is a compromise though as it limits your periphery.

quote:

Originally posted by stuntpilot2:
For those of you with glasses: Do you wear contacts or glasses while hunting in Alaska?

My visual acuity is significantly better with glasses. I'm debating if keeping them dry/unfogged will be troublesome enough to wear contacts. Will certainly bring both. Just wondered about the experiences of other Alaskan hunters with either.

Thanks in advance.

If they fog you are going to fast, If there wet wipe em off

use to wear contacts but them bugs or other "foreign" objects just don't do me any good. Wish I had wiper blades on my lenses-a fast wipe of the hand works just fine.

stuntpilot,

I've worn glasses for 45 years including 22 years in the Alaska bush. They are a pain but I'm so used to them that I don't notice a problem unless it is a driving rain storm and then you better off in your tent. I've tried contacts a couple of times and never felt that the hassle was worth it or as you say that the visual acuity was as good as eyeglasses. My long term partner Sadie once lost a contact on a sand bar, in a rain sorm. It just popped out and the ground and vegetation was covered with large water droplets that all looked like her contact. Amazingly we found it but what if it happened when sneaking up on a bear. "Oh! Excuse me let's stop this stalk on this 10 foot brownie while we all look for my contact". Not! Finally I just have found that over the years my glasses have often protected my eyes from damage just because they cover them.

Mark

I could never get contacts to work for me because of astigmatism so always suffered with glasses. When it was raining they always seemed to be covered with water at the most inopportune time and when doing any physical activity in the extreme cold, they would frost over. One year ago from this last September, I had called in a bull moose and could hear him getting closer through the brush. As I was moose hunting, it had to be raining. My glasses were covered with water and I was trying to get them cleared off so I could see. I was finally able to get them cleared off just as the moose broke cover 35 yards away. After that day I decided to check into Lasik. I had it done 1 year ago and its one of the best decisions I've ever made. Hunting season this year was so much more enjoyable without messing with glasses, although I still carry safety glasses for when in thick brush. It will also be nice to cross country ski and snowshoe this winter without my glasses frosted over.

I have worn contacts for 30 years. I have worn hard contacts and have always found my visual acuity better; in fact, I cannot be corrected to 20/20 in my left eye with glasses. I tried soft contacts but didn't think I could see as well.

My problem with contacts is that I frequently have sore eyes after being afield in the wind. wearing a pair of safety glasses helps. I don't like wearing regular glasses because they are a pain when you glass (although my Leica binos are good with snap down eyecups).

A few days ago I was deer hunting in MN. I shot a deer and returned to the shack to get some help with the deer; I had shot it 250 yards into some thick stuff. I switched to my glasses. Like idiots, we went after that deer with only my flashlight and no compass or gps. By the time we got to it was pitch black, and we got turned around big time. Then my flashlight broke. Next, a branch hooked on my glasses and flicked them off my head. Luckily my partner found them with his lighter. I can honestly say I have never lost a contact lens in the field, but I almost lost my glasses.

I am debating lasik, but would still need reading glasses anyway.

stunt.....

I guess it depends on what level of visual acuity (or lack of) you've got. My sight has gone with age, earlier had tremendous vision and it's faded so I've learned to adjust. Can't read a cartridge headstamp without glaases anymore and certainly lack visual denfination at anthing over 20 meters although I can still notice movement pretty good.

I've learned to live without glasses for hunting, for a number of reasons, raindrops, snow, fogging, using scopes & binos. I carry a set of glasses in a small hard case in my pocket with a Zeiss cleaning cloth that is great for wiping all lenses, eyeglasses, scopes and binos.

I purchase scopes with a European type focus adjustment and set it for my eyes and use binoculars with individually adjustable eyepices so I actualy have excellent vision when using these implements.

I've tried contacts but like others have mentioned they are "particle" intensive plus make my eyes hurt when used at for longer period of time.

When hunting I carry a combination of glasses & contacts but usually don't wear anything in the field.

I hunted in Alaska this September and did just fine with contacts. It takes a little doing while living in a tent, but I wouldn't take for my contacts. I'm very near-sighted and have astigmatism. Lasik or something similar may be in my future, but I seemed to pull of the "contacts in the bush" just fine. My buddy wore glasses and was always drying them off.

BTW, I've always had better vision with contacts than glasses.

I wore glasses 25 plus yeears what pain in the ass. I had Lasik done about 4 years ago.

I still try and wear shooting glasses when hunting but as this last week in SD pheasant hunting I had then off more offten then not because of fogging issues.

Coating your glasses with anti fogging compound helps.

I find that when hunting thick brush I do miss my glasses for safety. They do keep a lot of stuff out of your eyes. That where the shooting glasses come in.

Never could wear contacts.

I guess if I were still wearing glasses and contacts I would take them both.

I have rather good night vision, and my eye doc told me I wouldn't if I had lasik.

I am an Alaskan, and lived in Barrow, and Sitka, and Wyoming, Montana, and Wasington and never had a problem with glasses from 120 to -80.

Night vision is important.

I live and hunt here in Alaska. Honestly, it was because of hunting and my field work in the bush that I had Lasik surgery done a few years ago. Glasses have always been a pain hunting here, in my opinion. Between the snow, rain, bugs, bug dope, taking them off to glass, etc... I finally had enough and had the surgery. Couldn't be happier, so far.

My night vision is very good, though for the first year or so, I did have some distortion around lights, "starburst effect".

If I were able to wear contacts, I might not have had the surgery, but just never could get used to wearing contacts. After 20 years of glasses for near sightedness, Lasik has been a great improvement.

Before having the surgery, I did ask about high elevations and extreme temps. I do want to hunt Marco Polo sheep and if Lasik would have kept me from doing that, I would not have done it. I don't think Lasik is a perfect procedure, but is better than glasses.

I,m about as blind as a bat . I also generate enough steam to operate a sauna and I fall timber in southeast and coastal alaska. I have hunted and worked in glasses until 3 years . when I got good contacts. I had tried them years ago but had problems putting them in I really prefer contacts for hunting and any work where I will be warmer than the amb ient temp. They arn,t perfact but they don,t fog or get covered in rain snow and chips..

I live and work in S. E. Alaska and wear glasses. I also wear contacts, but in my experience I prefer to wear the glasses. I also wear a good rain-shed hat, and keep a piece of clean, dry cotton cloth in my pack and in an inside pocket.

There are also compounds that you can purchase to prevent fogging of your glasses, and they work fairly well. I do not usually have much of a problem with glasses, but contacts can become a problem without proper care.

Good Hunting!