How the heck do you guys ride with glasses?

[nekdut]

I usually wear contacts but I got a stupid eye infection and need to wear glasses for the next few weeks while things heal. I picked up a glasses compatible set of goggles, but my glasses fog up instantly when I put the combo on. Also, the pressure from the goggles actually snapped the side of my glasses, so they are all gimpy now. I might just break doctor's orders and put on my contacts when I head out tomorrow because this is getting annoying. How do you do it?

[Mellow Yellow]

paging PaulK to the bomber phone.....

[boarderboy]

I'd ride without goggles before I'd do that.

I've never conquered fogging glasses completely. Obviously positive air-flow and an anti-condensing coating - CatCrap, etc. - are the best tools.

If you're desperate, Smith made/makes (?) a battery fan goggle that's supposed to work great. They are not, of course, cheap!

Good luck!

[gdboytyler]

In my younger days, I've done quite a bit of riding with glasses.

I always used an anti-fog solution (or spit) for the glasses, plus I kept the goggles a little loose. Keeping the goggles loose let more air in to keep the glasses clear.

At the beginning of the run or when I was going slow, I would occasionally pull the goggles away from my face to increase the air flow. Once I was up to speed, I wouldn't have any fogging problems.

[trailertrash]

How do I? I got lasik.

[utahdeafcarver]

I haven't tried it, but I saw a recommendation to use a little foamy shaving cream (not the gel kind) on each side of your glasses and on the inside of the goggles. Just get a little on your hand, rub it all over, then wipe it clear. Let us know if it works.

[Pat Donnelly]

http://www.tognar.com/widgets_accessory_goggle_sunscreen_gear_ski_snowboard.html

I bought some last year but have yet to try. . .

alt choice . . . Panoptx.com for Rx Sunglasses with foamed cupped eye pockets to block wind

[rhaskins]

+1 for Lasik 3 years ago. And why the hell did I not do it years before that? Highly recommended for any place that has cold temps.

Rick

[Blue Bird]

The only time I fog is when I am wearing a neck gaiter pulled up over my mouth. The loose goggles suggestion is a must for airflow. Good luck

[crucible]

The most effective OTG (over the glasses) system that I found to be workable was anti-fog coatings or spray on your glasses, with Smith Turbo goggles with anti-fog coatings on the inside of the lens.

Before I got contact lenses I used this system a lot in the very humid Pacific Northwest, and found it to be servicable.

I always had to bring a spare pair of AAA batteries in my pocket for a full day of skiing because I found that as the Smith turbos got older, the motor tended to use more juice.

I'm much more happy wearing contact lenses.

Geo

[rwmaron]

I lift my goggles up at any hint of fogging (usually on the lift as it doesn't occur so much during runs), and/or pull down my neck gaiter - so I'm essentially tweaking something all day, but the effort is worth it and it seems easier than carrying another compound around.

[monodude]

most googles have an anti-fog coating on the inside of the lens. DON'T try to use anything on the google lens. The glasses are what is fogging anyway. I've used Cat Crap before with good results. Now I use a Smith anti-fog cloth.

You breath a "fog" onto each lens and wipe clean with the cloth. I use OTG googles. If you ride hard and breath hard fogging will happen, no anti-fog treatment will work. Also NEVER let your lenses get cold. Put googles on before getting out in the cold. As mentioned above the fan googles work well, but $$$$$. Lifting them slightly while moving will clear them.

If you don't need googles don't wear them. I only use them for bad weather.

If you get tears you will get used to it and the tears will stop happening.

Don

Feed the addiction...

[carver]

Clear lens extraction. If you can get diagnosed for cataracts insurance will pay. I had to pay. Threw the glasses and contacts away. Vision is 20/15. Fantastic. Oh, It aint cheap. Surgery takes 20 min per eye. Go to crystalens.com

[nekdut]

Hey thanks for all of the suggestions guys, but I don't think I can arrange Lasik by tomorrow morning. ;) Hopefully next year though, I do plan on loading up my HSA and getting it taken care of.

I am here in Mammoth for the next 8 days so I NEEEDDDD to figure out a way to ride for the rest of the trip. I tried this stuff called Sparkle today and it didn't do much other than make my glasses all oily. I believe Cat Crap is similar crap, no? I'll look for it.

My buddy has a pair of those Smith goggles with the fan, and I'll see if I can borrow them.

As far as riding with no goggles, no can do, I absolutely need the sun protection. Its very sunny out this week and my eyes are dilated from the medicine that I'm on, so its a terrible combination.

I'll try the loose goggles tomorrow... and maybe if that fails, I'll piss my ophthalmologist off. :D

[chewy]

both eyes infected?

if not

use one contact

tore a contact a few weeks ago

went all day with my rear one

[Pat Donnelly]

http://www.habervision.com/goggles/eliminatorgoggles.aspx

Not sure how this compares to the Smith turbo but the blower can fit other mfgr's goggles. I did buy the Ouzo google and I perfer this lens over the Prima but I did not opt for the fax system. The Ouzo is large enought for OTG and offers a wider periphery.

[KingCrimson]

Hey thanks for all of the suggestions guys, but I don't think I can arrange Lasik by tomorrow morning. ;) Hopefully next year though, I do plan on loading up my HSA and getting it taken care of.

I am here in Mammoth for the next 8 days so I NEEEDDDD to figure out a way to ride for the rest of the trip. I tried this stuff called Sparkle today and it didn't do much other than make my glasses all oily. I believe Cat Crap is similar crap, no? I'll look for it.

My buddy has a pair of those Smith goggles with the fan, and I'll see if I can borrow them.

As far as riding with no goggles, no can do, I absolutely need the sun protection. Its very sunny out this week and my eyes are dilated from the medicine that I'm on, so its a terrible combination.

I'll try the loose goggles tomorrow... and maybe if that fails, I'll piss my ophthalmologist off. :D

Toothpaste! My dad and I both have Scott OTG, (With night lenses to boot!) and I've worn them with glasses once or twice. I had no fogging after toothpasting my glasses. Same idea as the other coatings. Also, your eyes stay minty fresh!

I had an issue with contacts about 2 years ago, I could actually look and see the piece missing from my cornea. The optometrist's diagnosis was "Large chunk missing from cornea" I had to put steroidal drops in my eye for like a week and I was fine. (I could see the missing piece REALLY well without contacts, -1.75 nearsighted and being young gives me incredible close up vision. It's like having macro lenses for eyes, and then my contacts are teleconverters)

[Cindy Kleh]

This is a really good issue, one that non-blind people just can't understand. I wore contact lenses for decades, then my eyes decided NO MORE! But after years of trying everything else including expensive RX goggles, I've gone back to contact lenses ONLY for snowboarding, and I take them out immediately after riding. Among my failed solutions:

-RX goggles were fine until I had a faceplant, esp on a pow day. Then i had snow stuck between my two lenses with the only way to get it out was to dry them inside for a few hours. But they did work on cruiser runs or teaching beginners.

-not everyone can have Lasik done. my corneas are too thin.

-not everyone can go with one contact lens. I'm so blind (-875) that I wouldn't even be able to find the chairlift with one lens in.

-RX sunglasses. I love them but they do not provide great vision on cold, snowy days.

I had a scratched cornea a few weeks ago and it absolutely stopped me from going riding until it healed. I even skipped GS and Slalom races because I knew I couldn't do it in RX sunglasses when it was 2 degrees, dumping and windy. It killed me to not race!!!! But my dad is an opthalmologist, and he told me that I would furhter irritate (and possibly scar) the cornea even worse if I wore them before it healed.

I'm surprised that the ski and snowboarding industry hasn't come up with a better solution yet. We blind people would pay almost anything to see straight! Even with contacts, i only see 20/50, and that can suck when you're flying through gates!

Another problem i have with contacts, very poor reading eyesight. Who knows what those liablilty forms I signed really said or even if I signed on the right line?

[Fastskiguy]

http://www.habervision.com/goggles/eliminatorgoggles.aspx

Not sure how this compares to the Smith turbo but the blower can fit other mfgr's goggles. I did buy the Ouzo google and I perfer this lens over the Prima but I did not opt for the fax system. The Ouzo is large enought for OTG and offers a wider periphery.

I got this thing for Christmas....will try it on Thursday. Currently using goggles with inserts and fogging...but it's been this way for a long time. Sucks!

[bobble]

i wear glasses and fogging is a big problem. it sucks. hate walking into the chalet when they fog up.

about two years ago i was out boarding and my left lens was always foggy. i tried cat crap and those special lens cloths. always had problems with my left lense. made the mistake of using my fleece to wipe off the fog. i severely scratched the lenses.

went to have my eyes checked because was having hard time seeing at work. thought i'd get some reading glasses. turns out a cataract in my left eye had gotten worse. about 25 years ago i was told i had a tiny cataract in my eye so i knew i had one. during routine checkups the optometrist would say something about the cataract. then my last visit i couldn't pass the wall chart test at all. i didn't realize just how bad it was. some days it can be bad. if i look toward the direction of the sun i have to close my left eye. its like staring through a fogged up windshield.

i realized after the checkup the reason why the left lens of glasses were always so foggy was due to the cataract. my vision is bad... my prescription is about -6.75.

i'm planning on cataract surgery. i originally wanted to do it over the summer but had some other eye problems. i had a posterior vitreus detachment in my left eye which can lead to a detached retina. one day last summer i started seeing flashes of light, flashes of dark, black circles. it was scary. so far i get occasional flashes.

anyways, this is a close approximate what i see (and can't see). i shot this with my homebrew 3D rig. if you cross your eyes and merge the image you can get the sucks-to-be-me effect. i can look at 3D stereograms through a viewer but the colors are slightly off.

the upside is that soon i'll be able to reduce my dependency on glasses.

[Mark Brown]

I did the raise the goggle trick, anti-fog coatings, and lot's of cursing -- what a pain!

Contacts have finally advanced to the point that I can wear them, but with my more mature eyes I need reading glasses to see close up???

Solution: I only wear my contacts when I ride and it's phantasmagorical!!!

Sorry, doesn't help the OP, but I feel your pain...

[carver]

Guys, If you do have a cataract situation do look into crystalens. Your insurance will pay and you will be done with it. The crystalens attaches to your eye muscles. This is way better than Lasik. I have 3 years with them and it's fantastic! If you can, don't go through life with all this pain. You don't have to!

[patmoore]

Scott OTG (Over the Glasses).

Helmet Compatible. Hypoallergenic Super Soft Face Foam. (OTG) Eyewear Compatible. No Fog™ Anti-Fog Lens Treatment. 100% UVA/UVB/UVC Radiation Protection. Natural Light Lenses Amplifier Lenses.

At checkout apply the source code of bomberotg to get 25% off. Free Shipping.

[nutmeg]

I usually wear contacts but I got a stupid eye infection and need to wear glasses for the next few weeks while things heal. I picked up a glasses compatible set of goggles, but my glasses fog up instantly when I put the combo on. Also, the pressure from the goggles actually snapped the side of my glasses, so they are all gimpy now.

I have always been riding with regular glasses and OTG goggles (Scott unlimited). Occassionally I have got fog on the glasses, if I somehow manage to redirect the breath to my face but shortly lifting the goggles usually quickly fixes it. You should not have pressure on the glasses from the goggles, either they are not compatible with your glasses or the strap is too tight.

Crashing and losing goggles + glasses is a bitch, though. ;-)

[gdboytyler]

I usually wear contacts but I got a stupid eye infection ...

You got some tips, now tell us how you got the eye infection. Did you wear the same pair of contacts for weeks?