contact lens wearers

wear em and throw em away every day

…and usually leave them in. I also bring a storage case filled with cleaning solution and a backup set of contacts. Worth the very slight weight penalty vs not being able to see if I lose or damage a contact.

I'd probably just bring a few sets in their original blister packs for a thru-hike. Can't get much lighter than those.

Chris, with the extended wear lenses, what's the recommended max (in terms of days) before they should be changed?

Good for 30 days

I take a contact case (I weighed all the misc ones I accumulated to find the lightest), a 2-oz bottle of saline (sometimes full, sometimes half-empty depending on what I have around) and a few sets of extra contacts (in the little individual blister packs).

The weight of case & extra sets is really negligible. The saline? Well, I wear contacts, so what can I do? Longer trips I will take 2 2-oz bottles — probably a little heavier than 1 4-oz bottle, but I like the backup.

Thanks again for the headsup on extended wear…I just checked my own lenses and as it turns out, they can be worn for up to 7 days straight. Sweet!

> I just checked my own lenses and as it turns out, they can be worn for up to 7 days straight.

Yeah, but by 3 am your eyes are starting to get a bit sore. many's the time I have forgotten to take out my dailys before hitting the sack – but they always wake me up.

I like the soft daily lenses. The carry weight for a week is trivial – much less than a pair of glasses. I had no trouble carrying two MONTH's worth in Europe. Still trivial weight.

Cheers

the other reason i use dailies is that if i have several days worth … losing a contact lens isnt really an issue

as i rock/ice climb and do other "extreme" activities, the loss of a contact lens is very possible

with dailies you have backups as you can extend the use of a daily to 2 days if needed

not to mention that in a backcountry environment there is a benefit to not having to worry about cleaning yr contacts lens … or having sore eyes

> the loss of a contact lens is very possible

And how! I have lost quite a few contact lenses when a stick has flicked in my face. Several times the contact lens has been literally shredded (like a hole torn across the middle), making for an immediate removal and replacement. However, the lens has also protected my eyeball. No damage yet.

Sue has persuaded me to wear pale 'dark glasses' in some of the worst scrub. Rather sensible actually …

Cheers

I wear Accuvue 2's, which are good for 2 weeks if you take them out at night, or six days on non-stop wear, according to Acuvue. I take mine out at night at home, but leave them in for overnighters as it's not worth the effort for one night to take them out, avoid the dust and dirt of the trail find a place to hang/balance a mirror, etc.

I keep a bottle of re-wetting drops in my pocket, and when I inevitably wake up in the middle of the night, I re-wet the lenses. This generally prevents the foggy vision I get when I leave the lenses in overnight. I've never tried more than 2 nights, 3 days of continuous wear though. I'm going on a 9 day hike, and I'll bring two backup pairs. I'll probably take mine original pair out overnight on my second night and see how it goes putting them back in in the morning. If it's a failure, I can wear my first backup for the remainder of the trip.

My girlfriend has lenses than she leaves in for 30 days, and has no problem for the most part. I think a lot of it is eye sensitivity which varies from person to person. My eyes get dry at night, so at home I take the lenses out, rather than re-wetting. On the trail, I'll re-wet.

There are options, at least.

I wear contacts–B&L "Boston" RGPs. I have a tough correction, 8 & 9 diopter myopia plus astigmatism, so only rigid lenses will correct me to 20:20.

I worked with my doc on soft lenses for hiking and he's dead-against extended wear lenses (considers the risks too high) so fitted me with daily disposables. I can get a decent correction with those but they lack the crisp vision of my rigid lenses so I've ended the experiment and stick with the RGPs.

I did switch cleaning and conditioning solutions and now my routine is much simpler: I place the lenses in a combo cleaner-conditioner in the evening then, in the morning rinse them in water and put them in. Previously I had to clean them in the evening using the cleaner, rinse them, and put them in conditioner overnight, so it's now much easier.

Is this still kind of a pain? Yup. But the payoff is the best correction possible for my eyes, not having to wear eyeglasses on the go and the ability to wear real sunglasses, something I'd never experienced until switching to contacts after decades in glasses. Wow, what a difference!

cheers,

Rick

I also wear accuvues and find the reccomended wear time to be extremely under-rated. Mine are rated for 2 weeks, but after losing my last extra pair, i have wore the current pair for over 3 months now with no ill side-effects. Im sure this isnt advised, but it does make me wonder if there is a "Real" difference between daily, bi-weekly, and permenant contacts.

I used contacts (2 week disposables) when I thru-hiked the AT in 07. I just brought a case, 1 oz bottle of solution (good for 2 weeks used sparingly), and a couple of spare pairs(in blister packs). I would get a new pair and some solution in the mail every so often and replace them. Essentially it is the same thing I do at home, but with a smaller bottle of solution. This worked fine. I sure have thought about getting lasik surgery though. I use the same method on all my hikes, and I carry glasses to wear at night. I'm sure there are lighter ways to go, but I like to treat my eyes well, and (as someone else said) its just a penalty I pay for having imperfect vision.

Just to throw it out there; All contacts have to meet a minimum requirement for extended wear, no matter the lens. I believe it is in the 4-6 weeks range.

I bring solution, case, hand sanitizer, and a small mirror. You really should remove your contacts every night. It's all fun and games until you end up with an eye infection. In a lot of cases you can end up with ulcers in your eye… which in the right spot can lead to severe sight impairment. I'm all for being light, but once you F up your eyes, you F up your life. It's not worth the gamble.

In college when I moved out under the wings of my parents, I went insurance(less) and managed to make the remaining 6 pairs of extended wear soft lenses that I owned last 4 years. I'm not kidding nor exaggerating. I cleaned them gently about once a week, carried eye drops at all times, took them out in the evenings every other night if I didn't pass out upon immediate arrival to my apartment from 16 hr. darkroom sessions. What does this have to do with the OP question?

Probably nothing.

I repackage my solution. I ordered a bunch of drop bottles from US Plastics. I'd recommend the largest size dropper as they're not that large and a much more useful size for everything.

There's enough solution for 9+ days. I don't fill the reservoir full. Though if I go out for anything above 2 days, I also bring my glasses for night time and in case something of infection or whatever.

I use Accuvue 2's and just wear them until I lose, rip or it becomes very obvious that they should be replaced.

A very long time ago I saw something on TV claiming that basically all contact lenses were the same, whether daily, two week or whatever. I think it was 20/20 or some such show. Since then I've just worn them without worry and I've never (knock on wood) had an eye infection or ill effects.

Your mileage may vary, and depends on your comfort level (not the most credible source of info).

I often either forget my solution or the case (but never back-up lenses), and am too cheap to use my spares, so I just keep them in the whole time. I've gone 4 days without a problem.

I"ve also been told that your ethnicity dictates the amount of enzymes produced/need to clean lenses. Blond hair blue eyed the least, east Asians middle of the road, olive complected the most.

Again, none of this information is scientific or even researched, so take it as you may. I've just never had problems and have been wearing contacts for over 20 years.

I have worn glasses for many years. Mostly for reading, as my far vision is not that bad. I have never tried contacts because they seem like a hassle.

So would wearing glasses on long backpacking trips be a suitable solution for contact users?

Seems like the best solution to me Nick. Attach some croakies to the arms of the glasses and you're in business.

I wear the monthlies. My optometrist helped me to pick a lens that works well for leaving in for a few days in a row. I take them out about 1x per week. I don't recall the brand offhand.

He also told me I can wear them beyond the 1 month limit if they aren't bothering me and they appear to be holding up. On average I'd say I get about 6 weeks out of a pair of lenses.

When I go on trips (1-4 nights is typical for me), I bring an extra lens in its original blister pack, an empty contact case, and repackaged mini droppers of solution and eye drops.

I'm blind without the lenses and I find glasses give me vertigo and/or headaches because of the blurry peripheral vision (there's a dramatic difference between my corrected and uncorrected vision), so I pretty much leave the contacts in at all times while hiking. The extra lens, solution, etc. comes along just for emergency cleanings/replacement. I think I've only had to remove and clean lenses once or twice while on hikes.

I wear sunglasses non-stop during the day, both to protect my eyes from the glare and also to physically protect my eyes from dust, branches, etc. This seems to help cut down on mid-hike contact lens mishaps.

I agree, if you only need correction for reading (presbyopia), it's easier just to carry a pair of readers for intermittent use. It's not easy to correct presbyopia with contacts and if your vision is otherwise fine, not worth the effort IMHO.

Any approach that lets you wear good quality sunglasses at altitude is worth pursuing.

Cheers,

Rick

"So would wearing glasses on long backpacking trips be a suitable solution for contact users?"

It would be workable in dry climates, although the peripheral field of vision is somewhat circumscribed due to the lens being at a distance from the cornea. In wetter climates, or winter just about anywhere, the hassle factor increases exponentially due to water on the lenses, either condensate or in the form of rain drops/snow flakes.

So daily lense wearers, what are you all doing for a mirror ? I have very dry eyes and really only find daily's suitable, but it means putting em out and in daily. What do folks use for a mirror ?

Believe it or not, no mirror. Practice in the safety of your own home until you can get it down. I've had contact lenses fall out in the most inconvenient of places, so out of necessity I've learned to put them back in without a mirror. Otherwise, if you keep a small signal mirror in your kit, use that.

I'm sure you already do this, but one of the tricks for making the lenses 'stick' to your eyes, so that there's a greater chance of getting it in 1 try, is to drop 1-2 drops of saline solution directly on the lens before placing them in your eye. I also, drop saline into each eye before placing the lenses in. I find that the combination of these 2 things not only makes the lens stick easier, but also provides for lasting comfort throughout the day ( no dryness ).

In addition to different brands of contacts, I've noticed that different brands of Saline Solution provide different levels of comfort. Opti-Free is like the devil to me…I swear my eyeballs can actually feel the lens when I use this brand of solution. I exclusively use Aquify. It's a bit pricier but its worth the long lasting comfort

Thanks conrad. I try but can't get the left one ! Right is always OK.