Most eyeglass wearers can relate to a time when their everyday specs just didn’t cut it for their active lifestyle – lenses fogging, frames sliding down your face, peripheral vision not wide enough, reading portion of progressives getting in the way. While we all own several different pairs of shoes specific to different activities we expect a single pair of glasses to do everything, however much like footwear, that isn’t always the case. Contact lenses might be a solution for some (and yes they can correct for astigmatism AND reading powers as well… but that is a whole other blog post), others may not be a good candidate or are not interested in that form of vision correction.

Here are some solutions for clear, comfortable, and effective prescription eyewear for professional and the weekend warriors alike.

 

Golfing

 

Since golf is an outdoor sport, right off the bat you should be thinking sun protection. The sun’s harmful UV rays raises the risk of eye growths, cataracts, and even cancer. Luckily there are several options for prescription sunglasses and even sunglass tints that can even enhance your game.

Copper/Amber Tints: can heighten contrast, especially against the greens of the fairway and the sky. This will allow you to better see undulations in the fairway and track your ball in flight ( important for those unfortunate duffs).

*** Check out Oakley’s brand new Prizm tint for golf specific sunglasses ***

oakley prizm golf

Rose/Red Tints: When you’re lining up your putt, you eye is saturated with the colour green. Rose coloured lenses help pick up other hues on the green to help you better pick up subtle undulations. However, some of these tints do distort your overall colour perception while other golf specific tints stay neutral

Golfing with Presbyopia (age-related loss of reading power): While progressives are great for everyday use, some golfers find them frustrating when addressing their ball  since the bottom of the lens is focused for near reading (~40cm). One solution is to have your prescription golfing glasses created for just your distance power. The downfall however is that you can no longer read your scorecard! Luckily Oakley has come out with a game-changer golf specific progressive that might just solve all your problems. Unlike a traditional progressive lens, this golf-specific lens is reconfigured to maximize the usability of the prescription while minimizing the distortion/blur some experience in their follow through.

Oakley Progressive Golf Specific

Cycling (and running for that matter!)

 

With cycling, a (mostly) outdoor sport, sun protection is also critical for the health of the eye. On top of that you want to consider choosing a high wrap frame to minimize the wind that reaches your eyes… as well as protect yourself from those bugs you tend to run into while riding at high speeds. Traditionally high wrap frames/lenses could not be made with prescription due to peripheral distortion and the high weight of the lens. Luckily sport-specific companies like Oakley have found a way and now you can get prescription (ranging typically from +4.00 to -6.00 with up to -3.00 D of cylinder/astigmatism and +3.00 ADD correction!)
 Oakley Edge - Distortion Oakley Edge - Distortion Free
Cycling specific Tints: The right tint depends on a couple of factors like the terrain you ride in (roads vs trails) and the amount of shade. Luckily, a lot of sunglasses that are great for cyclists also allow you to have multiple lenses you can easily interchange depending on the conditions of the day. Many cyclists prefer an amber/red tint to increase contrast on the road so you can easily see (and avoid) changes in elevations/potholes. On those really bright days with no shade, you might want to go for the neutral grey polarized lens. And, if your gearing up for a century ride that will see both dark and light conditions a photochromatic (Transitions) lens might be right for you!
*** Check out Oakley’s brand new prizm tint for cycling/trail riding specific sunglasses ***
 Oakley Prizm (Road) Oakley Prizm (Trail)
Vented vs Non-vented lenses: While giving your max effort on the bike you might find your sunglasses fog up occasionally. If that is the case you might want to get your lenses vented to allow air flow behind the lens. That being said, if you suffer from dry eyes, you might want to stick to the traditional non-vented lenses
Oakley vented lenses
Cycling with Presbyopia (age-related loss of reading power): While cycling is mostly a distance focused sport, those with power meters can appreciate the clarity progressives provide. The problem with traditional progressives is that they are designed for your standing eyes forward position. Cyclists typically are bent forward with their eyes rolled upwards when they are in their most aero position. Luckily Oakley has released a progressive lens specific to cyclists to account for that.
Oakley Progressive Cycling Specific
Swimming and Water Sports
First thing to address is the wearing of contact lenses in the water – a BIG no-no. Water contains a bunch of bacteria that can be particularly harmful to contact lens wearers. For example, Pseudomonas bacteria (common in tap, pool and lake water) is the most common type of infection in contact lens wearers. Acanthamoeba, also found in water and, while less common than pseudomonas, it is a parasite that can lead to acanthamoeba keratitis – a painful, sight-threatening condition that can destroy your sight within 24-36 hours (read this article to hear about one girl’s unfortunate experience). But don’t fret, their are other safer options for correcting your sight while enjoying a dip in the pool/lake.

Custom Rx swim goggles: Some might argue that while swimming you don’t need clear vision. But don’t forget you have to find your way in and out of the pool! And with competitive sports like triathlons you still need to get to your first transition area. Comfortable high performance prescription goggles are available in different styles, sizes and colours. Prescriptions between +4.00 and -6.00 with up to -2.00 of cylinder/astigmatism correction can be easily made. Even people with prescriptions outside of this range may be in luck with certain brands of goggles!

Rx Swim GogglesSnorking/Diving: Not only can these masks correct from +4.00 to -7.00 prescriptions, but also have an integrated purge valve for easy removal of built up water in the mask. Snorkel features rounded “stay dry” top that keeps debris out.  A clip on the snorkel attaches easily on to diving mask to secure snorkel in place.
Snorkling Mask
Fishing: There are two main things to consider when you’re out on the water – UV Protection and POLARIZATION! That crisp open water reflects a lot of sunlight giving your eyes giving not only an extra dose of harmful ultraviolet rays but also creating a lot of blinding glare and discomfort. Polarized lenses help eliminate the reflections off the water and certain polarized tints – like the new Oakley Polarized H20 Prizm lenses – help ENHANCE your views/detection of movement in the water to improve your angling skills. In the picture below the top image is your view through a standard sunglass lens and the image below it shows the enhanced view available through Oakley Polarized H20 Deep Prizm lenses.
Oakley Prizm H20 (no tags)
Fishing with Presbyopia (age-related loss of reading power): Unlike many sports, fishing needs good vision not only in the distance but up close as well. While your traditional distance Rx sunglasses will help you track your line as you cast out, you still need clear vision up close for baiting your line and unhooking/preparing you days catch. Sometimes standard progressives don’t meet the unique needs of both professional and amateur anglers and so some companies have created a progressive design unique to your fishing needs.
Oakley Progressive Fishing Specific
Hitting the Slopes – Skiing and Snowboarding
Skiers and snowboarders have to take particular care of their eyes while out on the slopes since the harmful UV rays can be up to eight times more powerful due to reflections off the crisp white snow. Not only that, all the glare and reflections can make it increasingly hard to see undulations, divots, and moguls making high speed skiing/snowboard even riskier.
Prescription Ski Goggles: There are multiple options to correct your vision as a skier. While some people tend to wear contact lenses with their ski goggles others can actually fit their everyday opthalmic frames behind them. Don’t think those are your only options though since companies like Oakley have created performance inserts to integrate your prescription in the goggles themselves. There are also various tints to maximize your vision, comfort and preference:
Oakley Prizm (Snow)
Prizm Snow2
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 Sports Goggles (ex: Racquet sports like squash!)

The risk of eye injury is quite high in sports like squash – that little blue ball fits perfectly into an eye’s socket – and without protection you run the risk of potential visually devastating injuries like a retinal detachment, hemorrhage and even glaucoma! Even the most seasoned veterans or prone (or sometimes at greater risk) of eye injuries.

While regular prescription eyewear may still provide a physical barrier from incidental contact many are not impact resistant enough to withstand blows from fast moving projectiles, nor do they provide adequate protection for peripheral threats.

 

 

Sports Goggle

These sports goggles have soft touch cushioning on the inside of the frame and extra deep grooves for better lens hold. This adjustable headband allows for a more comfortable fit. The integrated ventilation system combined with the anti-fog treatment of the Plano lenses reduces fogging (suitable for prescription lenses up to +4.00 to -4.00 diopters)

 

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Come stop by Vista Eyecare anytime to see how we can help you maximize your comfort and vision … no matter the sport or level of expertise!