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Legally blind in one eye my hiking partner is, so no can do on contacts. We have a few questions as we try to figure out options for our thru:
Anyone had good luck with prescription eyeglasses not fogging up, either through some awesome lens options or a treatment?
What about switching out prescription sunglasses back and forth as needed or transition lenses or just clip-ons?
thx in advance
Since 2012, I've been backpacking with transition Lenses and I think it works just fine and I prefer this over carrying a separate pair of sunglasses unless I need Glacier ones for snow travel. Used them on the AT and several trails out west. When I hiked the PCT in 2009, at different times, I used contacts+normal sunglasses, Clip-ons, and prescription sunglasses. Other than when doing snow travel and wanting a really nice pair of glacier sunglasses, preferred to wear my glasses for the most part rather than dealing with contacts. Carrying clip-ons and prescription sunglasses were both were about equal in terms of hassle. The advantage of the sunglasses was they were better sunglasses than clip-ons, but required a larger protective slip on case and small amount of extra weight to carry.
I've not had a huge issue with my glasses fogging up, other than a brief moment when I first put them on on a damp morning as the body heat usually does its job in evaporating the moisture. In rain, I like to have a baseball cap under my rain jacket hood which does a good job keeping the rain off the glasses for the most part unless strong winds. Keep a dry cloth available in case I do need to wipe them. I do carry a small bottle of lens cleaner with a cloth, and find it useful to clean my glasses every 1 or 2 days, but I also carry a good camera with at least 2 lenses so I get more use out of the cleaner then most would. I do keep a neck strap on them when I'm hiking just in case they get jarred loose.
This is super helpful so far! Thanks a million Miner!Quote:
Originally Posted by Miner
Glasses dont fog up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Megapixel
Zero issues with glasses
Contacts are too much hassle for me in old age. Not vain anymore, ...lazy.I wear glasses most time on AT. Dont need sunglasses really.
Out west, I wear prescription Oakley sunglasses in day, and put on my glasses when it gets dim. My prescription sunglasses are my favorite piece of gear for hiking at high elevation above treeline. Good optics and coatings and light shielding wrap design are worth the $300-600 price tag when wear all day every day in bright sun with reflective rock, water, or snow around you. Contrast is enhanced, glare and strain reduced. Seriously. Only a couple mfgs I would buy from. My regular glasses weigh 0.5 oz, and go in a ziplock snack baggie 0.1 oz, to protect , never a scratch.
I have a policy....never wipe a lens. Wash with soap/water and blot dry lightly, or drip dry on trail.
I recently go some Transitions. This saves frequent changes and some weight. If snow camping, I want dedicated, large, very dark lenses.
You can buy regular lightweight polarized sunglasses that are designed to wear over prescription glasses. I've got mine from my local Wal-Mart for $24 and they work great.
The only time I have trouble is in a prolong, heavy rain. After a while, even the baseball cap doesn't help. I only have fogging issues in the winter when I need to cover my face. Hard to keep my breath from fogging up the glasses. Thankfully, I can hike well enough without my glasses, so in these cases I just take them off. On one trip I lost the left lens coming out of the Smoky Mnts. I had to hike all the way the Erwin before I could get them replaced - about 2 weeks. It was interesting to have the world out of focus for that bit. Everything looked like an impressionist painting. :)
I don't often wear sunglasses. My regular glasses have a uV block coating. On the AT your in the shade 98% of the time anyway.
I did get a pair of prescription wrap around sunglasses for out west where there is much more direct sun and less air to block uV. However, for some reason these distort my depth perception and I can't hike on uneven ground where I need to look at where my feet have to go. I can only use them on even ground where I don't have to worry about tripping over rocks and roots.
Cat Crap can work well to reduce fogging of eye glasses.
I wear glasses. They fog up like crazy during the warm humid months down here in the southern AT. Even when I coat the crap out of them with Cat Crap. Just a fact of life for me while hiking in the summer. :)
I always hike on the AT wearing my regular UV coated glasses. I don't have any problem with fogging while I'm hiking in either the spring or fall. I'm a section hiker who avoids hiking in the heat of summer on the AT so I have no idea if my glasses would give me any trouble at that time of the year, but since they don't give me any difficulty back home in summer when doing physical activities I doubt they would on the AT either.
After a few years of wondering whether to wear switch my glasses or sunglasses, depending on how much or how little sun was coming down through the trees during various seasons, I decided to get some Oakley Half-Jackets. They allow me to change lenses in the same frame, depending on what I want or need at the time. I have dark polarized lenses for high sun protection, and a "persimmon" orange lens, which is perfect for overcast or variable light conditions. They provide excellent contrast, and filter out a lot of blue light -- it's amazing how they reduce eye fatigue. I also have a set of clear prescription lenses as well, which are good for late day or rainy days, etc. I can change lenses out in a minute depending on what I want, and carry all the lenses in an Oakley case (admittedly large and bulky, but I know my investment is safe.) Not the choice a lot of people would make, but I couldn't be happier.
Another data point:
UV coated Transitions + polarized clip ons. Zero fogging. The combination works like a charm well above 7,000', up to 12,100+', and naturally well above tree line.
My all time favorite regular sunglasses are a pair of Maui Jim partial mirrored top and bottom. They fit over my eyeglasses. I love that combination, especially in the car where the Transitions are useless for darkening.
I hope this helps.
Wayne
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https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/glasses-t-hidden-problem/
thanks everyone. I stumbled upon this today too which provides some additional info.
My glasses only fogged in an annoying manner on one day in 600 miles, and that was a miserable misty day with the wind blowing sideways. I think some of it just comes down to face shape, eyeglass size and the resultant ventilation. I have an ugly prescription, so I need a larger lens to prevent the tunnel vision effect. That said, I try to keep the lens small enough for airflow. It's a trade off.
I carried dedicated cleaning cloths, used an umbrella in the rain rather than a hood, or hat. A wide brimmed hat sometimes caused more ventilation problems than the rain it was preventing.
There are products out there that hunters use on their rifle scope that keep it from fogging up. I would assume these products would work on eyeglasses.
good old Ivory soap rubbed on the glasses then polished off will keep the fog away just fine. That's what I use when skiing in the winter, never had any real problems on the trail.
When hiking, I carry a small dropper bottle of rubbing alcohol for many purposes, including cleaning my glasses.
I used to have a problem with my glasses fogging but no longer do. I have a friend whose glasses fog up before mine. I suspect it has more to do with the space between the glasses and the eyes. I seldom wear sunglasses because I mostly hike in wooded places. I do occasionally bring those lightweight dark plastic sunglasses that I pick up from the eyedoctors. They are called "Rollens" and weigh 3 grams.
I think I've figured out a way to kill a few birds with one stone. I emptied my hand sanitizer spray bottle and replaced it with 45% Vodka. It cleans my glasses, the vapor absorbs bad adours, it kills germs and bacteria, sorts out a sore throat, and it impresses the chicks when you drink out the bottle.
I'm using transition lenses now with titanium frames. They are very light. One downside to the transition lenses I got from Costco is that they are not polarized like quality sunglasses. I have noticed a good bit of flare when walking into the sun and in wet conditions walking into the light. Costco insisted there was no option for polarized transition lenses. However, I do like them even with this limitation. As for fogging, I live in the humid south and have had this issue sometimes depending on the conditions. However, I do sweat a lot. I find that smaller lenses that allow air to circulate around the lenses helps with fogging. As I am nearsighted, I always carry an extra pair of prescription glasses, transitions for now. For me, I will take the sub one oz. weight penalty, as accidents with glasses happen.
Talk like Yoda you do. Ask your optician you should.Quote:
Originally Posted by Megapixel