UKC

Im not sure Id want it but anyway am not eligible for eye surgery so have always had to choose between glasses or contact lenses, neither are ideal but im still grateful i have the option (unlike people of old). I could just about get by without but would likely get injured.

When cycling especially I find it important to wear eye protection, but it seems daft to wear contact lenses to then put glasses on anyway, so often I just end up wearing my glasses. Similarly for running, and climbing, glasses get steamed up or rained on, but then getting falling stuff in your eyes is never good, especially then with contacts in.

If its wet or raining, contacts.

Otherwise glasses. 

I can't vote, because it's activity specific.

Cycling - always glasses, because I want eye protection.

Running - glasses unless it's raining, then I put contacts in.

Climbing - always contacts. Multifocal lenses give me close up vision upwards as well as downwards, and there's the risk of knocking off glasses.

I've always been fine wearing contacts for active stuff so have never bothered with prescription sunglasses or sports glasses. What am I missing? 

Always contacts when doing physical activities whether indoors or out cos I get too sweaty.

I did used to struggle badly with contacts getting them in and out, but then I broke my nose and couldn't wear my glasses for a fortnight after it was re-set, so had to get used to the contacts :-D

Same, glasses better as you have both eyes reading, or looking at the ground. A single lense is a good half way house in the rain, but you lose depth perception a little. 

Plus it then depends a little on the activity and the need for some redundancy. Complex caving you really don't want to lose a lense without glasses as a reserve. 

Oakleys with prescription varifocal polarised lenses for cycling, sea kayaking driving and general use. However I find the curved face hugging lenses distort close distance too much for climbing. I have a spare pair of robust non tinted varifolcal glasses for climbing which wirk and non sunny sea kayaking to avoid my normal more fragile best glasses being damaged. I always use a neck cord when climbing, and one with a float for kayaking. I’ve never tried contact lenses and don’t feel the need to

I've recently been getting to grips with contacts. I've found glasses ok for most things, apart from rainy days outside, or climbing routes. Still wrestling with contacts, but I think for sport and trad climbing, I'll be using them. Training, bouldering, gym etc, I'll stick to glasses I think.

I presume you are short sighted? Do you have astigmatism?

I find my contact lenses are great for all weathers. They don't steam up or get droplets of water on them, and I can wear any regular type of ski mask or sunglasses etc.

But...I can't read close up very well with them as they don't fix my astigmatism. I think I'm heading towards needing reading glasses too so that'll add to the complications!

So, if I think I'll need to do a lot of map reading I might be tempted to stick with my prescription glasses and sunglasses. For running, fortunately I can still read my watch ok with the lenses but I do often wear my glasses if it's dry (and not particularly sunny).

That's a good point about the curved glasses

Sounds very much like me. Contacts for climbing also for the 2 to 3 days a week I cycle commute.

Since my prescription got a bit stronger I can't read as comfortably with my contacts in. So I've found that cheap supermarket reading glasses are the solution! I do chuck a pair in my pack for winter climbing and the like mainly thinking about map reading but so far even in a Nevis blizzard with goggles on I could still map reading fine without them. Where I do find I use the reading glasses when out is just general cragging local to me as I mainly use the Rockfax app as my guidebook these days.

I'm curious - why can't you have surgery?

I had laser in my 20's which was great but in recent years I started to wear glasses for reading. 

This got annoying - particularly stopping to put on glasses to read maps and phones for mountain navigation in awful weather so I had more surgery. You can't have laser after a certain age so I had replacement lens surgery. A bit like cataracts surgery with a prescription. 

It's been absolutely brilliant and I just assumed that anyone could have it as cataracts surgery is so widely done globally anyway? Is that not so?

For outdoor activities, my optician recommended a single contact lens. Both eyes have a similar prescription, but using a single lens gives the correction needed in one eye needed for distance vision, but does not impair the other eye's function for map-reading. This works a treat - the brain is remarkably adaptable - and gets over the problems of glasses steaming up or getting wet in bad weather.

I suspect there are limits to the success of this tactic, and it may not work for strong prescriptions. 

i have old age short sight.  my optician has provided contacts each with a slightly different ' correction ' (relative to the weakness of the eye).  The intention - which works is that one eye is good for reading the map / topo /terrain and the other better at seeing the bolts / route finding / foot placements / terrain say 3 to 10 metres away.

It sounded insane but it works really well. 

i have a cheap non prescription additional pair of glasses that i carry if the light is poor or i really need to focus on the close detail of an OS map.  There is a slight loss of depth perception - which impacts slightly on a downclimb - ie hard to judge exactly how far away is the foot placement. 

I took a long time to get used to putting them in / taking them out but now fairly sorted.

Only once or twice in around 10 years have i had an issue with wind or similar on the hill.

I found that climbing with glasses either meant i had to move my head to get focus - which tipped me off balance - or that the loss of field of vision was a problem.

Similar. I'm -2.25, but can't adjust as easily to read with my contacts in. Did try having one lens not so strong, but it was just weird. I use a cheapie pair of +2 reading glasses to bring me back to neutral.

To OP: I did buy prescription swimming goggles, so I can go in the sea/pool. Contacts are not a good idea here.

I’d like to add an option. Someone on here years ago suggested a monocle for running, keep it on a chain down your jacket when it’s raining and bring it out for map reading. 
 

However I’ve never found anyone to make me one so haven’t tried it.

Ha! thats amusing, I think youd be on your own with that one.

to those saying contacts, what do you do for eye protection, especially for cycling?

I have always used glasses and then prescription sunglasses/ in snow or bright conditions

Non-prescription glasses

Bit of both. Prefer contacts but there is a bit of faff with them so I chose  main glasses which are ok for active stuff. 

I did get some super tough prescription glasses but felt they were a bit over the top and didn't use them other than for mountain biking. 

(But reading glasses for close work is my near future so don't know. Off the shelf reading glasses helps if I'm wearing contacts and need to read some small print).

I've always used contact lenses (daily disposables) for climbing, running and cycling. Glasses otherwise. Initially I used single vision contact lenses and that worked really well. Then I ended up having to use multifocals, which worked really well for years. This is working less well now that my reading vision is getting worse.  Currently I'm using a single vision lens in one eye and nothing in the other.  Has the added bonus of being cheaper and creating less waste. But it's still not really as good as my glasses - I'm finding it's fine for climbing but a bit imperfect for running (esp. orienteering). I think, if it weren't for the problems that arise when it rains, I would just wear my glasses for running.

Don't get on with contacts so glasses it is (or nothing if climbing/scrambling as I don't need them to see the rock in front of my face!)

Sunglasses, the not too expensive photochromatic ones from Decathlon (about 25 quid) are my current favourite as they are perfectly wearable even when it is not sunny. In winter I use clear safety specs - again Decathlon make a really cheap pair but I've got better fitting Bolle safety/lab glasses from Amazon for about a tenner. I also find commuting in winter in the dark I've not had problems with just not wearing glasses, less bugs about, mudguards on so little spray, 50% on tarmac anyway. When I don't wear contacts and still cycle in my normal glasses, it invariably rains and I find that really annoying and distracting. Hence contacts for all my cycling days for me.

"Toric" contact lenses can fix astigmatism. 

I'm now tempted to buy a cheap pair of reading glasses from a petrol station or something, break out a lens and drill a hole in the corner of it for monocle use. If I ever get round to doing that I can send you the other one! 

That is a good idea, I hadn't thought of knocking it up myself.  Likewise, if I get round it it i'll look you up and send you the other side.

Always contacts for climbing, glasses limit movement too much.

I spend a huge amount of time with my face too close to the rock when climbing slabs/vert/corners. If I wear glasses, they got knocked off or bashed all of the time.

It's similar with earpods. I'll sometimes wear them at the wall while training. But as soon as I try anything techy and balancey, they have to come off or I can't get my face close enough to the wall.

Before I tried climbing in glasses, I had no idea how much of the time I spent with my face just a few millimetres from the wall.

I don't know if it's the same reason for The Potato, but I can't have laser surgery because I don't have a stable prescription.

My eyesight has gotten -0.25 worse every 2 years since I was 16 so surgery has never been an option.

I tried contacts once. One of them wouldn't stay in the right orientation because it was toric for correcting a reasonably strong astigmatism. I gave up and stuck with glasses.

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who can put their fingers in their eyes and those who can't! 

I have glasses and contacts. The routine has been using glasses most of the time but contacts for motorcycles, military and mountains. A small degradation in close vision has meant using the far prescription in the dominant eye and the near prescription in the other. Works a treat. Scottish, so "not a dry eye in the house" in this weather. 

Most of the time I'm on my own I listen to podcasts, so I have normally one earbud in at least much of the time, and I have climbed (soloing) listening to podcasts plenty although if you are with a mate obviously not. But I still can't work out even if you were wearing massive DJ style headphones, let alone an earbud or pod, how that can stop you getting close enough to the rock?

Another alternative

https://www.compasspoint-online.co.uk/product/vapro-srg-16-magnifier-protec...

Vapro and frenson are two of the bigger but not expensive brands. 

A timely thread as I'm off to the opticians tomorrow to discuss similar options.

68 now, worn glasses for short sightedness since 12. Contacts have been brill until about 5 yrs ago. Tried and suceeded with single vision contacts for a few years but i know that my prescription has changed as I'm struggling with certain fonts and distances.

I've had one prescription, from a high street chain, but they would only consider options for Driving, fair enough but what about Walking, Teaching Map reading, MTB, swimming and the sat nav on my phone which is at finger tip length. What are my options?

So going for a second opinion with an independant.

I've got "eyexpert pure" one day disposables in -5 so reasonably strong. I can read in daylight in reasonable comfort, maps, guides etc. I would remove them to read a novel.

I only wear them for outdoor activities but they're very comfortable when required.

I switched to contacts last year for climbing/hill-walking and it was a revelation. I mainly potter about in winter and was sick to the back teeth of my specs steaming up, sliding off or getting jagged in my hoods/helmet/whatever. 

I'm still specs for everything else.

Edit - daily disposables btw.

Always glasses.

I tried contact lenses but I didn't get on with them very well. I've got a slightly strange prescription and although technically the contact lenses were fine, they always felt a bit off.  Perhaps i should give them another go.

For contacts at your age you have three options:

Multifocal lenses - good if they work for you, but they don't work for everyone. It's worth trying a bunch of different brands regularly. I found my usual ones stopped working for me after a while, but then found another brand that did.

Monovision - a distance lens in your dominant eye, a close-ish lens in your other eye. Works surprisingly well for most people. You need to experiment with the strength of the close up lens.

Contact lenses for distance and reading glasses for maps - Last resort.

I think that's the problem I had. I was constantly poking in my eye to twizzle it round to a better orientation.

I wasn't suggesting laser - I was suggesting replacement lens surgery. I thought this surgery was possible for anyone.Is that not the case?

It's certainly a permanent solution especially if you go for monovision as others have suggested.

Ah, I didn't realise you were talking about replacement lens surgery. That isn't something I've investigated.

They are small in ear buds that only stick out from my ears by a few millimetres, but it seems to be a crucial few millimetres.

On overhangs, or on a straight up slab with positive holds, I can wear them fine. But as soon as the holds get thin and slopey, or there's any bridging, balancing, traversing, or twisting, the ear buds start scraping against the rock.

Before I tried climbing with them in, I had no idea just how close my ears often are to the rock.