[pct-l] Contacts vs. Glasses

[Brian Lewis]

Jim wrote:
"In your case, I would suggest prescription sunglasses - but don't get
"cheap" frames that might not last the entire trek, however...
Transition lenses will not get dark enough unless they are in direct
sunlight - so if you wear a hat with any brim shading the lenses or are
facing away from the sun for any length of time (i.e., your head shading the
lenses), they will not darken enough to help sufficiently - and you will
want DARK lenses in the 'desert', at high altitude, and most especially in
those areas with snow... You'll probably also want to get add-on side
shields for the prescription sunglasses - very important for those snowy
areas... "


I had eye surgery some years back (I also used to have terrible vision
without glasses or contacts), but my vision since degraded a bit, to the
point that I carried prescription sunglasses this year.  Didn't desperately
need them (good thing as I lost them in Oregon), but I wanted to be able to
see clearly on those nice sunny days!

Since Jim doesn't like transition lenses (I have no experience with them),
I'd say there's a bit of a conundrum there, as you'll also encounter places
where you go into shade and then back in to the sun, or where there's mixed
sun and shade.  This isn't much of an issue for the southern half of the
trip, but occurs more frequently as you get farther north. In such
situations will you be having to swap glasses a lot?

Maybe swapping pairs of glasses is in fact the best option, with a
shoulder-strap case to carry and protect the pair you're not using. FWIW,
there's a range of possibilties for prescription sunglasses --- I worked
with an optomitrist to get a pair that was similar to glacier glasses,
darker than standard sunglasses and with effectively built in side
shields.     Or of course, consider Lasik surgery ... IMO the risks of
extended wear contact lenses (especially over long periods living outdoors)
exceed the risks of the eye surgery, and once it's done it's wonderful being
liberated in that way.

Best of luck whichever solution you opt for.


Brian Lewis / Gadget '08
http://postholer.com/brianle