UKC

Who wears specs whilst climbing? Any tips from experience? Do people have prescription lenses put into sunglasses frames?

I've finally conceded I should really be wearing mine whilst climbing but i'm a bit worried they'll get smashed / steam up etc; especially in the winter.

(Eyes are too dry for contacts; I’ve clearly seen things no man should ever see in a previous life.)

In reply to aldo56:

Hi - been in glasses all my climbing life and never had a problem with them.

Got a pair of julbo glacier glasses with cat 4 lenses (don't ever ask Specsavers for these, they claim cat 4 is impossible to achieve)

Pair of sunglasses with some inserts for standard none mountain use.

Normal glasses with insurance £25 up front from Boots - I can trash them to my hearts content and get a free replacement.

In reply to aldo56:

I have prescription sunglasses, and a pair of ski goggles that are made for wearing over a pair of glasses (so are quite big).

I also have daily contacts, but don't use em much.

Biggest problem with glasses is probably when I knock them off on the rock, or with the rope. Haven't dropped them yet though!

In reply to ro8x:
Great advice, especially with the insurance.

Do you guys have a pair you use for climbing and a pair for normal use?

In reply to aldo56:

Tip from experience... Laser surgery.

LD

In reply to Lurking Dave:
Unfortunately, that isn't an option for me.

In reply to aldo56:
I'm short sighted as hell but indoors everythings so painting-by-numbers i don't usually need to get the goggles on, although i have accidently invented new cruxes due to occasionally not spotting the odd hold.

Outdoors I use one of those old headstraps with a toggle, the ones with the loops that fit over the arms of your spectacles. Can sometimes be mildly annoying with a helmet and hood but 9 times out of 10 if you've layered ok its not a problem. Other alternative is use a small tough/pelican box as a glasses case, clipped out of the way it keeps yours specs handy for descents etc.

Oh and yeah have a standard pair and a pair of prescription sunnies.

In reply to aldo56:

I've worn speccies for all my climbing 'career' - around 20 years, and haven't had too many problems. Have knocked them off a few times, which added a bit of spice when leading trad routes. But this probably only happened 4 or 5 times.

In reply to aldo56:

If you need them for driving always have a spare set in the car incase you damage a pair climbing. I always buy two for one, for that reason.

I don't bother with insurance. Wearing a helmet helps protect them, and reduces the chances of knocking them off. Oddly I find the most likley time to knock them off is seconding catching them on the rope!

In reply to aldo56:

the only other tip is in winter, if you get yourself some os map software and a laminator, you can print on both sides, one at normal 1:50K, the other vastly expanded of the summit areas, so that if your glass steam, or freeze up you can still read the map.

In reply to aldo56:

I have worn specs from being a small child. (result of measles, good reason for MMR injections) I am as blind as a bat without them. I started climbing in 1967 so have had time to get used to wearing them on the hill. I have two pairs, a small 'best' pair and a larger 'reactalite' (or whatever the current in brand name is!) pair which I change into for climbing/skiing/walking etc. By having them as a large pair they have thicker lenses so when the weather is bright the sunglass effect is enhanced. In really bad weather I wear a pair of ski goggles over them to prevent steaming up/freezing up. They are on a loose neck cord, so if I do knock them off they are still round my neck where I can find them. They only time they have come off (I ensure they are fitted correctly) is in falls, but they are easily put back on before I have even finished swearing.

In reply to aldo56:

Gave up on glasses and finally went to contacts after knocking glasses off a few times then having so much ice on them in a whiteout on Ben Nevis it was easier to take them off, but then I couldn't read the map or compass. Did find that a Croakie was the most comfortable way to secure them. Interestingly I now have to use reading glasses so need contacts and glasses when I'm reading a map, oh the joys of aging, the worst of both worlds.

In reply to needvert:


Neoprene retainers (e.g., Croakies) do the job here. Good on a bike too.
For 'sunglasses' I've used shades which fit over my normal glasses (e.g., Cocoons) - not posy, but work well.

In reply to aldo56:

I've worn mine from time to time and only had them come off once when I forgot on and Went to wipe my face and knocked them off.

Will yours not fog up when your bashing your way up some slushy chossy mess?

In reply to aldo56:

Hey - yeah I do, I have 2 old pairs I can use for climbing & 5 aside.

In reply to aldo56:

I wear vari-focals for normal life and generally find them great, but for climbing they are useless - they focus at infinity straight ahead when I need to see my hands and nut placements, and they focus close up when I'm looking down and need to see my feet. And they make me dizzy on any scrambling terrain.

I have a fixed focus pair for night driving when the vari-focals are not good - something to do with enlarged pupils using more of the lens I think. My one -before-current fixed focus glasses now focus at my feet so I wear these for climbing. They've fallen off a few times at the climbing wall (as someone said above they get flicked by the rope when top-roping) but never outdoors where I always wear a helmet. And if I do lose them, they're an old pair anyway. For placing gear I look over the top of the glasses (pushing them down my nose). Odd, but it works.

I really struggle now in driving rain or snow - I just have to abandon glasses and cope as best I can. Fortunately I can read the map well without glasses. Interestingly I can orienteer well in my vari-focals provided the terrain is reasonably flat.

Contacts are a no-no for me as well unfortunately.

Martin

hi there
I've had glasses, contacts and now laser surgery.

Its very convenient in odd places - snow, ice, big walls, when other eyeware needs a bit more care and planning.

Before you rule it out, are you sure its not an option for you? The surgery is advancing all the time so that astigmatism and other things that were previously not possible can now be done - as a climbing mate of mine found out to his joy

In reply to aldo56:

I've never had any problems climbing with glasses (since about the age of 22). I always use a retaining cord, but I have found that even when I have fallen off, my glasses have not come off. That may be because I always where a helmet when leading, which keeps the glasses more or less in place.

The only trouble I have had has been whilst skiing in very cold conditions (< -28 C). Then the vapour from one's breath freezes in a very thin film which can not be wiped off at those temperatures.

In reply to Martin Hore:

I had specsavers build me a pair up side down. (I am long sighted). They are about +1.75 in the top quarter and about zero in the bottom three quarters. I can now see RP placements and the footholds.

In reply to aldo56:

When it gets drizzly and windy my glasses fog right up and I sometimes just give up and put them in a pocket. Sometimes if you get some nice mucousy spit and rub it over the lenses they work for a while (yum).

For alpine I have fancy prescription sunglasses (~85% and mirror coating). With my astigmatism lens curvature is a real issue, so go to a good eye doctor for them, it took a while to find me a suitable pair, but ended up with some motorbiking sunglasses with a removable "air dam" to seal around the eye. I also have a pair of photochromatic prescription sunnies for general outdoor use in California where it was bloody sunny. They go from yellow high contrast tint (~15%) to super dark (~80%, almost Cat 4). Both pairs are polarized which is good unless reading digital screens.

I climb in my normal glasses (summer and winter), but I have high impact lenses and all the anti-scratch coatings after needing to replace them after a bike crash and the optometrists people taking pity on me. I don't use any sort of cord, I've never had the things fall off. But I did climb once in my backup pair with old, heavy lenses and they felt noticeably less secure.

As far as steaming up, you need to get as much ambient air as possible to your face. No nose covering, ideally no hood. That usually works for me. I wear normal ski goggles with the most ventilation I could find, but have cut a small notch out of the foam on each side to relieve most of the pressure on the arms of the glasses.

In reply to aldo56:

I wore glasses while climbing for many years. After multiple circumstances of fogged/iced up lenses while trying to climb, I finally got LASIK surgery. 12 years later, and I couldn't be happier. Eye sight is still perfect, and climbing (and pretty much every outdoor activity) is so much better.

Here is an old blog post on prescription climbing glasses. It's old, but much of the information is still relevant.

http://www.larsonweb.com/backcountryeyewear/id1.html

In reply to

Prescription sunglasses. Check out Optilabs.

In reply to aldo56:

I climb in them, normal glasses, no problems. (Definitely no problems with them steaming up! at least not until you get to the pub.)

I keep intending to add a strap - you know, just in case - but haven't got round to it yet.

In reply to Orgsm:

I like the look of these; might be able to get something I can wear on the bike and climbing.

In reply to aldo56:

I've ever only had them come off once. That was on a technical vertical boulder problem when I was changing direction and as I moved my head I clipped them onto a hold. I still thought I'd keep on climbing though and made the high ball finish very exciting! (that way I bet it also increased the standard from about V3 to about V11 give or take)

In reply to aldo56:
Yep i just wear them as normal. I even wear them kayaking and they stay on when i've had to roll on rivers, not when kayak surfin tho.
When climbing i have a really old school pair, like Corries Deirdre. Because the lens are so large, i find i dont have to turn my head as much to focus on stuff at thw edge of my field of vision.

In reply to aldo56:

I usually take them off when climbing. It means they won't get dropped, and I don't need them to see the rock in front of me as I'm not that blind.

Neil

In reply to Babika:
There are a few things it can't ever do, though - such as people whose prescription is not stable, as it would need to be done repeatedly. Or interestingly some jobs - you cannot be employed by the railway (in an operational job, not a desk job) if you have laser eye surgery, for instance, only glasses are allowed.

Neil

In reply to Martin Hore:


>

YES yes yes. Thank you for saying that. I am a numpty on slippery paths, and I keep saying that part of the problem is my varifocals, which make the ground shift when I move my head. I have tried a distance-only pair for walking and climbing and I *think* they are easier, but then of course I can't read the guidebook. I remind myself how grateful I am to have glasses at all!

In reply to BusyLizzie:

Tried multifocal contacts? Can get them as daily disposables (so long as you're not significantly astigmatic), not terribly expensive. Might be the thing for you.

In reply to aldo56:

There are now some very good lenses for dry eyes - Dailies Total 1 - if it's been a while since you last looked into it. I'm not a contact lens salesman btw, but I am an optom and would always recommend contacts for sports like climbing. If you're wearing shades then no point, just get prescription shades.

In reply to aldo56:

<Who wears specs whilst climbing? >

There's history, of course - and in the days when eye-kit was much less sophisticated:

Livesey
Holliwell
(Ron)James
Crew
Siddiqui

But there'l be more knowledgeable types along soon to add more.

In reply to Greenbanks:

And there is Mr Andy Kirkpatrick. Not that he ever goes anywhere cold or windy or difficult.

In reply to aldo56:

also have always had glasses. For winter climbing unless weather is benign I climb without them.

Have had several pairs of prescription shades. just had an excellent and very expensive pair stolen so looking at julbo or Adidas quite soon

In reply to Greenbanks:

Doug Scott seemed to manage okay, too ...

In reply to Neil Williams:


Is it true that laser surgery is also affected by altitude? It'd be a bummer to find I'd need to revert to glasses/contacts in the Alps - not to mention my daredevil ambitions in the Himalayas

In reply to nufkin:

There's some anecdotal reports from mountaineers, and the scientific literature reports some reduction in visual acuity above around 6700m due to hypoxia ( so you should be fine in the Alps). I haven't read the papers in detail so not sure exactly what reduction you should be prepared for should you go above that altitude.

I'd also note that it's been approved for flight crew by the US Air Force, which makes any restrictions by UK railway companies seem a bit ridiculous.

See here for a few papers on the subject.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=lasik+altitude

In reply to aldo56:

It's contacts for me in winter or the Alps, just wear the glasses if I don't need sunnies. I have recently started wearing a pair of sunnies over my glasses when I'm driving as I can't be bothered to put contacts in to drive.

Feel your pain, if your prescription isn't changing much I'd prob consider shelling out on a pair of decent prescription glasses. This company may help, they seem to offer decent glacier glasses...

http://www.sportsprescriptionglasses.co.uk

In reply to aldo56:


I can't wear a contact lens indoors or summer rockclimbing but I've had few problems in winter when everything is generally damper. If wearing glasses get a pair with as big a lens as you can, then you can often find a bit of it that's clear.

Overall if you have better vision with glasses than without its still usually better with glasses even when they're wet.

(also has the added bonus of eye protection)

In reply to rogerwebb:

At WCJ on the Bomb Is Coming,my glasses got knocked off and broken,I continued up the route,partly sighted.The rope was a 50 foot length of tatty ten mil.Obviously,not a sponsored climber....

In reply to aldo56:

Halfway up Nervous Laughter at Telegraph Hole on of my lenses fell out so I was effectively blind on an unprotected E1/2 and unable to really see any detail of the marginal holds. With my nose pressed up against the rock I was just able to make out some slight detail to continue the ascent, and relief at getting to the top.
On another occasion on a MTB winter assessment on the Grey Corries and my glasses broke across the nose, probably because of the cold. Reading and maps and navigation went out of the window in what was quite testing conditions.
I keep thinking that contacts would make life easier but I am sure that I would probably lose them. I shall just blindly go forth...

In reply to planetmarshall:

If I recall the facts correctly, Beck Weathers on Everest in '96 had the same problem which caused him no end of difficulties as he went blind, and led directly to his benightment and being left for dead.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Jon, what would you recommend to those of us who are starting to struggle to make out complex contours and other details on 1:25,000 maps when navigating at night in rain (on specs) and wind?

In reply to Gary Coggon:

Hi Gary. I'd really have to know a fair bit more, especially age and prescription, but in general I think I'd say a better headtorch! Guessing that you're an early presbyope (mid 40s?), then if you're short sighted you could take your specs off, if you're long sighted you might benefit from multifocal contacts. Would need a lot more info, sorry!

In reply to Gary Coggon:

You can also get an electronic map and print the 1:25 k on a 1:10k basis. a bit of faff but if your a climber you only need gorms/snowdonia/nevis and glencoe ?

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Fair play, Jon. Thanks for replying. Gary

In reply to alasdair19:

Thanks, Alasdair - that's definitely one for the to-do list.

In reply to paul mitchell:

That's why I carry a spare set!