Help Needed! Glasses or Contacts??

[RyanH]

Hey Everyone! I am looking for some help. I have come to point where I have to do something about my declining vision and am curious to get your input on which route you would go with hunting in mind. I bow hunt and rifle hunt and judging by my 200 yard group last week with the rifle I am in deep S*** if I don't get this taken care of. Eager to hear the feedback on which way is better! Thanks for the input & good hunting to you all.

 

[Coach Chris]

I wear contacts when I'm shooting, hunting, mtn biking, splitboarding, etc....
They don't fog up like glasses tend to when it's cold and you're breathing hard

 

[haiku_rodney]

I have a preference for contacts. As noted, they do not fog up, its easy to carry extra pairs and if you need sunglasses, you don't need to buy a prescription pair. I have what is called monovision, my dominant eye is corrected for distance and my other eye is corrected for reading. The brain switches back a forth to the purpose at hand.

 

[dcopas78]

For me, contacts over glasses any day. I've been using contacts for nearly 30 years. I always take mine out every night and put them in clean storage solution. I have friends that leave them in for days at a time and have had eye infections etc. Someday, I'd like to get lasik maybe but I've been told I wouldn't be a good canidate for it because of my eyes being very bad. I think it is just the eye doctor wanting to sell me more contacts

 

[Nameless Range]

Contacts for me. I put up a post here a while back about fogged up glasses. I’ve tried every product on the market and nothing keeps them from fogging up while hunting. That said when I am in the back country I will often have glasses with me just in case.

It sounds silly but I have thought about hunting in safety glasses. A few years back I cut my eye and got a corneal ulcer. I have broken limbs and hurt myself quite a few times and nothing even comes close to being as debilitating as that was. For all the drawbacks glasses have they do protect your eyes.

 

[cheeser]

How old are you? I had the earliest version on lasik in 1993, corrected my vision to 20-25 however my surgeon told me i will still need reading glasses by mid-40's. At 45 i needed cheaters. If your eyesight is bad, and you are say 30's lasik is your best bet, corrects your vision for life

 

[RyanH]

I am 32. I go to the doctor this week to figure out how bad they have gotten. I have noticed a slow decline since I was probably 25 and now it’s to the point I have to do something. I almost failed my eye test 2 years ago for my CDL, that’s when I knew it was going way downhill.

 

[RyanH]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I really appreciate it.

 

[Bulldog0156]

Contacts don't fog up.

 

[kansasdad]

Whichever you decide, make sure that you have backups ready should you lose/damage your primary vision correction aide.

I made it way longer than the standard mid forties for my first bifocals. Now I can't do fine motor close up work without correction. Thankful to have way better than 20/20 mid and far distance still.

 

[genesis273]

I mainly wear contacts, but I do have glasses that I always keep around.
If I'm going to be hunting multiple days (camping), I will leave my contacts at home. Contacts take more maintenance than glasses, and glasses are easy to put on and off when in a tent. No need to have clean fingers to take out and put in for contacts. Plus, when I drive long distance, contacts dry my eyes out over time, while glasses don't.
Just got back from a cross country elk hunt where I drove 2400 miles each way and hunted for over a week. Contacts stayed at the house!
Also have a nice pair of proscription sunglasses.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Another vote for contacts, I have had them since I was 12... I have been told by several optometrist that I am a good candidate for lasik but my vision is 20/15 with contacts and I would likely not be able to achieve that with lasik. If you get monthly soft contacts with high permeability you can sleep in them. I just did 10 days in AK without removing mine, bring some eye drops as they can be dry in the morning.

It's a big expensive even if you have insurance but get glasses and contacts to start with, I've had the same pair of glasses for 10 years and no just use my insurance to get contacts.

 

[BRI]

I wore contacts daily from 1987 to 2015. I would always have an extra pair, saline and drops in my backpack just in case. In 2015, I started struggling with the irritation of contacts and couldn't wear them for more than 8 hours per day. In 2015 I had lasik and it was absolutely the best $4K I've ever spent.

 

[rideold]

I use daily wear contacts (Acuvue Oasys). No cleaning products. I didn't have much choice when I switched from glasses 4 or 5 years ago. Couldn't get corrected better than 20/50 or 60 with glasses. Nicest thing about contacts is still having good peripheral vision. I still carry my glasses with me when I hunt along with a spare pair of contacts. Don't want to be stuck not being able to see if I have to spend a night out in the woods unexpectedly.

 

[Nameless Range]

If your eyes are perpetually getting worse, I'm not sure you are a good candidate for lasik. But as BRI conveyed, everyone I have spoken to who has gotten lasik says they wish they had done it sooner.

 

[targetpanic]

I've worn contacts for about 30 years now. I am not a good candidate for Lasik...trust me, if I was that ids the route I would go.

 

[okie_hotrod]

I'm 32 and I've been wearing contacts since 7th grade. Glasses are nice to have if you're not being active but if you're doing any kind of activity contacts are the way to go. Because I work in a pretty unsanitary environment for days at a time, I wear Air Optix day and night lenses. They're approved for up to 30 days of daily or continuous wear because they are O2 permeable lenses. I start every month with a fresh pair and haven't had a single eye infection. Keep your eyes protected and keep your lenses clean and you don't get infections.

 

[grandejuan]

Best part of contacts is the ability to glass for hours and see the whole field of view. GJ

 

[deer_shooter]

Been wearing contacts since I was 18. I wear the daily disposables so no cleaning solution or case to worry about, but if in the back country, I'll wear extended wear. I am lucky that they don't bother my eyes even after 10 days of continuous wear. The dailies are nice though if you can put them with clean hands. I always have a pair of glasses with me for back up.

 

[Festus]

I had Lasik years ago and loved it! I've been needing readers for a few years, but lately I've developed trouble with distance, as well. I got contacts again (used to wear them before lasik) and went with the dailies and love them. New pair every morning.
It does require to have clean finger(s) to put them in every morning, but not the end of the world.
I've tried the multifocal lenses but they are pricey! Now I've settled on the mono vision with one for distance and one for close - love it.