glasses and rain

jummer

hi i wear prescription glasses and was out at whites level on sunday it wasnt properly raining but very misty and damp ,i was struggling all up the climb to see as my glasses were just getting soaked and covered in mud ,i ended up taking them off which was not ideal as the faster i went the further i had to look ahead and i couldnt tell what was a big rut or rock or small.has anybody got any tips on how to keep glasses so you can see properly
many thanks
jer

stumpyjon

Might be worth trying the washing up liquid trick as many do with riding glasses. Just polish a small amount onto the glasses before starting. I think it breaks the surface tension down on the water so it runs off more easily.

Oh and get contact lenses, best thing I ever did, hardly ever wear my normal glasses now.

jummer

i will try the washing up liquid. i have tryed contacts but i found whenever i blinked they went out of focus for a while and just couldnt get used to them
thanks for the tip
jer

speed_12

I think in a recent WMB there was a tip to help this which was to polish on candle wax onto the lenses. Similar idea to using washing up liquid which is to reduce surface tension, but I think the candle wax is a bit more permanent.

I've been meaning to do it since I read it but havent yet so cant confirm if it works, but it would seem to make sense!!

Hell below zero !

You could go to a Motorcycle dealer and buy the spray the riders use on their Perspex
Visors.I've used it and it certainly seriously reduces misting.To reduce the amount of
rainwater hitting the len's I wear a peaked windstopper hat made by Sportful,it fits under a cycle helmet as well.

Thewaylander

What i did was go for one day disposable contacts,

so i only use them for mtbing there really good as the one days are super thin so i can't tell i have them in and my eyes are bordly line to be to dry to have them.

stumpyjon

jummer wrote:

i found whenever i blinked they went out of focus for a while and just couldnt get used to them

Sounds like the lenses were the wrong shape for your eye. They do come in differents fits and really shouldn't do that. The daily disposables are really great, no hassle, good for your eyes and really thin so you don't know their actually in. You can buy about 30 pairs for £ 20 from Tescos online (still need a legit prescription).

Seriously consider going to another optician, don't let your bad experience put you off. Think some of them are doing free trials again.

jummer

i must admit when i tried the contacts i asked for the daily ones but they recomended the monthly ones ,but he gave me two the same but both my eyes are different which i thought was odd ,but thought they know best it was a free trial at specsavers
i might try a different optician
many thanks
jer

Northwind

I wear contacts on a full day's ride- just because falling off is bad enough even when your glasses don't fall in a river- but the best thing I've found for rainproofing glasses- and mistproof too- is Nikwax's Visor Proof- a motorbike product for plastic visors. But apparently it can have a bad reaction with some coated lenses.

Are your current lenses anti-fog? That should help.

saltyman

its well worth going through a few brands of contacts, both dailies and monthly's to find a brand to suit your eyes.

took me a few months, but i now swear by my dailies. transformed my life completely.

jummer

my glasses are transitions witha anti scratch coating on them ,i dont think they have an anti mist coating
jer

MarvintheAndroid

Of course mud and moisture are two different problems. However I suspect your problem is more to do with rain and fogging than mud. Riding with a peaked cycle helmet and crud catcher will help to keep a lot of the crud off your specs in the first place. Normally the remaining small mud splatters won't affect vision too much, unless of course you are face down in a field !!

How you tackle this problem depends largely on how much you want to spend. My view is that this your eyes (and therefore your health) and also your favourite sport (forgive the assumption) so it is worth doing properly.

The best option, if you are able, is to get yourself fitted with some contact lenses (EDIT sounds like your free trial did you no favours, I would try again with a different optician /EDIT), and wear these under protective cycle specs. The latter are available with interchangeable lenses for day / night riding and with different tints. One of the best for daytime MTB is light brown / persimmon or what Adidias call LST trail silver, as they give good contrast when looking at the trail. These need to be bike specific but needn't cost a lot, anything from £15 upwards.

If you don't want to go down the contact lenses route, then hook yourself up with an optician who specialises in sports vision. You can go two ways, either prescription cycle specs such as Rudy Project Rydon II or alternatively a specialist cycle spec with prescription inserts such as the excellent Adidas Evil Eye pro. EDIT The latter can be used without the inserts if you later switch to contact lenses /EDIT.

It is worth talking to a specialist here, as lenses vary a lot. You want something which provides good peripheral vision as well as sharp centre focus, most standard spectacles lenses are pants if you are looking through the edges of the lenses. Specialist sports lenses can overcome this problem.

In any case you will need tints to cater for different light conditions and at least a clear lens and a tinted sunglass lens.

Most decent cycle specs are shaped to fit the face and have polycarbonate lenses, which not only provides physical protection to the eyes against grit / insects / glare / physical trauma, but also allow proper ventilation to help prevent fogging. However most lenses will fog to some extent under extreme conditions, such as when coming to the top of a slow hill on a foggy night. They will usually clear once you are moving again. Proprietary anti fog coatings or sprays can help with this.

If for some reason none of the above will help and you can't use contacts or prescription sports glasses, then your best option will be to invest in an anti-fog or water repellant spray, and try to use goggles over your specs to keep the mud off. Rip offs can be used to clean the surface periodically, but these have their own set of drawbacks.

Marv

jummer

thanks for the great replys
i think i am going to give contacts a try again as it seems like this is the best answer to my problem ,my last experience did put me off but i will try a different optician this time .
thanks again for the replys
jer

cains08

i use contacts but if i go anywhere muddy i always end up with shit in my eye, and it gets underneath and hurts like hell! i find them preferable to glasses though, if only because i find you lose peripheral vision when you're going at speed downhill, your head is down and you're looking ahead.