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AdventurousAnnie
  
05/26/2019 07:26AM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I get tired of the on-again/off-again with my glasses and sunglasses on portages. Does anyone do contacts/contacts solution in BWCA? If so, how do manage?
 
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05/26/2019 07:33AM  
Yep. I've worn contacts for 30 years and always wear them in the BWCA, summer and winter. Just get a small bottle of whatever solution and do what you do at home pretty much. Usually a tiny bit of biodegradable soap on my thumb and forefinger (used to take them out or in) and my ring finger and Palm (where I still rub/wash them) gets my hands clean enough, even if using cold water to rinse. If it's cool or cold at night I'll bring the case in the sleeping bag with me, assuming warm means better cleaning. Only thing I really do differently is I always carry a case filled with clean solution with me in my pocket during the day, just in case I need to rinse them for some reason.
05/26/2019 09:59AM  
I wear my regular prescription glasses on overcast days. If partly cloudy or sunny I put on prescription sunglasses and just wear them to portage. I keep a hardshell case with either pair in it and on my pfd if I need to change. I won't go to contacts.

05/26/2019 10:03AM  
I put my sunglasses on in the morning and take them off around sunset. It's like finding an extra hour of daylight. Don't have any problem on portages or cloudy days- there's more than enough light for even the darkest trails.
cyclones30
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05/26/2019 11:07PM  
My wife does contacts every day, including BW trips.
05/27/2019 01:14AM  
Did contacts for years. Lost one on the ground, got sick of messing with it and got Lasik surgery about 8 years ago. Best money I ever spent
mjmkjun
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05/27/2019 06:28AM  
Wiley X w/Rx & polarized lens. Pricey. Wear 'em most of the time when driving or paddling. When I want to read a book I switch to regular Rx specs. Prefer the clarity of those to tinted lenses for reading paperbacks.
So, I wear one, pack another and have another pair of scratched readers in the fishing tackle hard case.
Plus binos. :-)
05/27/2019 06:38AM  
Yes my wife brings her contacts on every trip. Never seems to be a problem.
05/27/2019 07:11AM  
My glasses have saved my eyes from enough I will wear them always.

Btw: Welcome to the site...
straighthairedcurly
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05/27/2019 09:55AM  
In my youth, I preferred to wear contacts on my canoe trips. Travel size solution bottles, small pocket mirror (since I have never been able to put them in without seeing what I am doing). Find a place out of the wind and lay out everything...flip open solution top and unscrew case lids (but leave them on). Then wash hands. Only use forefinger and thumb to handle each contact lense.

Lately I have not been using contacts at all, but I am thinking of going back to them for canoe trips. I have been wearing eyeglasses and using "fit over" sunglasses.

My son is getting contacts specifically because he is going to be camping for 5 weeks this summer. They recommended he get the "daily" contacts. You put in a new set each day and dispose of the old ones. Slightly more expensive but less worries about sanitizing at night. Not sure yet if that is what he will do...need to see what kind of bulk it adds. Probably fine for his 5 day trip and his 8 day trip, but maybe not for his 3 week trip.
05/27/2019 10:24AM  
I use daily disposable contact lenses. New pair each morning. Makes it easy. You can order just a week or two worth if you don't want to use them as your normal lenses.
NotLight
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05/27/2019 09:04PM  
nctry: "My glasses have saved my eyes from enough I will wear them always.

Btw: Welcome to the site..."


+1. Without my big ugly glasses I’m 100% sure I’d have lost an
eye by now. Also, I learned the hard way you want a strap on
your glasses in the canoe - glasses will sink when they fall
in :( I have prescription sunglasses for when it’s
really sunny.


BuckFlicks
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05/28/2019 09:26AM  
minnmike: " Did contacts for years. Lost one on the ground, got sick of messing with it and got Lasik surgery about 8 years ago. Best money I ever spent"


Same here... I like sunglasses too much, and hated messing with contacts. Also couldn't really see as well with prescription sunglasses. Eventually I got fed up with all of it, especially on camping trips. Got Lasik 11 years ago and never looked back. Vision is still 20/20. Only drawback is I lost my exceptional close up/small detail vision. Small price to pay, though.

05/28/2019 01:09PM  
I've been wearing the 30 day 24/7 contacts that are high oxygen permeable for the last 11 years. I'd suggest looking into those if you like contacts. It's nice to be able to just wake up and go. The ones I have are from Cooper Vision & also correct my astigmatism, a 6 month supply costs ~$70/eye.

I always carry a backup set when I'm camping, never had to use them & so I make sure they're periodically cycled out for "fresh" ones.
LetsGoFishing
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05/28/2019 02:00PM  
I have contacts too, been wearing them for 25 years. I absolutely hate wearing prescription glasses.

My contacts are monthlies that I have to take out at night. As others mentioned, get a small contact solution bottle. Before I take my contacts out or put them in, I just use an all natural baby wipe to wipe my hands off. I then keep the contact case in my cap next to my head when I sleep, along with my glasses for when I have to get up at night to pee. The first thing I do when I wake up is put my contacts back in.

I always bring a couple extra pares just in case something happens. They don't take up much space and don't weigh anything.
MikeinMpls
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05/28/2019 04:15PM  
I have progressive-lens, polarized, Oakley prescription sunglasses. I wear them nearly nonstop up north. Spendy, but best money I ever spent. I don't know what they do to the lenses, but I could wear them at night, and not lose much.

I wear contacts for sports, specifically hockey. I like them, but I've had glasses since I was 12 and I kind of feel naked without them. I've known people who have worn contacts into the BWCA. I'd bring up backup glasses just in case the contacts don't work out.

Mike
 
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