Spectacles and Sun glasses

[BlueSkyNick]

I have recently started to suffer from the late-40's ailment of struggling to read small print, particularly when tired or the lighting is poor - not conducive to reading detail on charts in the early hours !! So I have been wearing reading glasses for over a year.

My eyes are also sensitive to strong sunlight so I often wear sunglasses even during the winter.

So when it comes to the boat I can find myself with 5 pairs of different glasses cluttering up the chart table, kit bag or whatever.

A shabby pair of shades, about a tenner from Boots 5 years ago, which do a great job of blocking out the sun, and don't mind rain or spray, but my personal fashion advisor doesn't approve of them.
A half reasonable pair of shades for wearing to and fro the boat and going ashore.
A decent pair of reading glasses which I can't afford to lose or damage.
A pair of cheap magnifiers which I plan to buy just to keep on board for chartwork etc.
A pair of prescription sunglasses so I can read books and newspapers in the cockpit on sunny days. I could leave this at home and get the total down to 4 pairs !

Surely there has got to be a better way, hasn't there??



<hr width=100% size=1>It's frustrating when you know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.

 

[powerskipper]

Oh got you too, did it, need glasses now for close up work, [pain in the ..... sorry Kim] Long distance is great!as long as it is more than 2 feet away /forums/images/icons/wink.gif Night is great? But close up /forums/images/icons/crazy.gifso now carry glasses in all pockets and handbag[ yes do have one] and[ h**E] IT.
Oh well their are other advantages , but that another story!



<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://powerskipper.mysite.freeserve.com/>http://powerskipper.mysite.freeserve.com/</A>
Julie

 

[chippie]

I wear reading glasses of which I have several pairs left in strategic places; Car, boat, workshop etc.

I am thinking of buying a magnifying glass to leave on board so I can leave the sunnies on and still read the charts etc.

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[mikewilkes]

Have been down this road of short arms for many years, so may I be so bold as to make a suggestion.
Go to whoever, on the High St., I dont see UK TV thank god, is offering the cheapest deal on frames and specs.
Ask them for Varilux / Photocromatic lenses. These will cover your reading bit but wont effect your long stuff - also will cover the sunlight bit. Before you say they are not strong enough for the sun - I work in the tropics and have also skiied with Photocromatic lenses. The only trouble I have is when I cant find the welder and I cut some metal with a gas axe - then they are so dark you cant see a b****y thing.
Bit of posh string around your neck stops them falling over the side.
Last time I was home got a couple of pairs from Specsavers for a couple of hundered quid.

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[castaway]

Yes... I went from being able to see anything in any light at the age of 40 to feel like I own a brach of specsavers at 50!

Best thing I got was a magnifying glass with a light in it ( got it from our local Toolstop, its Draper and cost about a fiver) I bought it as i found I coulnt read charts at night or in poor light... but now I've found I use it for all sorts of lables/close work etc. It lives in the chart drawer where it's easy to grab.

By the way if you have got to late 40s without having to use glasses consider yrself lucky!

Regds Nick

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[Colin_S]

I first started noticing my eyes were getting bad, sitting at the side of the road in central London, waiting for it to get light so I could read the A-Z.

I've only got one pair of prescription glasses and probably need a couple more pairs to leave lying around.

My plan is to get the details off the prescription (this should have been provided at the time of my eye test but can't remember if I ever got a copy) and then order some off the web. This works out much cheaper than buying from opticians. Plenty of places sell reading glasses of various strengths including the likes of Tesco's, etc.

This site is the first of a long list of results from a search and will give an idea of what's available out there <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.onlinereadingglasses.co.uk/index.html>http://www.onlinereadingglasses.co.uk/index.html</A>

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[Whiskey2]

Hi, I'm 50 now and been having problems with reading glasses v sunglasses but mostly whilst flying and driving, but at last i have solved it. Buy one get one free varifocals at the local high street store and get the free pair made into sunglasses with whatever tint you need. Fantastic, I can see all the dials,maps and distance I forget I am wearing them. Mel

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[snowleopard]

i too went from 20/20 vision to bifocals in less than 10 years. i now wear photochromic bifocals almost all the time.

the times i have difficulty are reading the computer screen - too far away for the bottom half of the bifocals so i end up peering close up with my head tilted right back - i have a special pair just for this job with full lenses designed for 3 ft distance.

on the boat i can't read a chart under red light with any glasses so have to have the reading light on an blow the night vision. i normally do my chartwork in daylight and just read the instruments at night.

i have some fresnel lens sheets which magnify the image but there is some loss of clarity so for fine work i use a conventional magnifying glass.

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[steve_cronin]

Winn Dixie & other drugstores...

...in the US sell pairs of soft flexible semi-circular reading lenses made especially for this application. They self adhere to the lower inside of a pair of shades making charts etc, easily readable in the cockpit yet maintaining the eye protection of the filters.

They are of good optical quality and can be trimmed to size.
Powers of 0.5 dioptres upwards to 4.0 are available.

If you know anyone who is visiting the US soon, there's your chance. I've owned three pairs for several years now.

Steve Cronin

<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[peterb]

Wipers

Think yourself lucky. You're longsighted, so you need glasses to read the chart, but up on deck you're OK, complete with built-in windscreen wipers.

I'm short-sighted. Read a chart? No problem. But up on deck, with wind, rain and spray, I have to wear glasses. I've tried contacts, and just can't get used to them. And of course, negative lenses are much heavier and more cumbersome than positive ones.

On the shades front, you'll find as you get older that you get more and more affected by dazzle, particularly dazzle coming in from the periphery of your vision. Lots of modern sunglasses (the ones that look more like swimming goggles) fit close to the eye and give more protection against side dazzle. Trouble is they don't work with prescription lenses.

The only solution I've found is a massive pair of visor-like sun glasses from Boots. They're made from a plastic moulding, and are so big that they fit over my normal distance glasses then close in the side to stop side dazzle. What's more, they fit so closely above my eyes that I get no spray inside them. A tissue or piece of kitchen roll to wipe the outside is usually enough. Still, can anyone tell me where I can get a miniature pair of windscreen wipers?


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[Colin_S]

Re: Wipers

Like these???

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[chippie]

Re: Wipers

Were they a Christmas gift from Elton John?

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[mushypea]

Re: Wipers

I think that you can get prescription lenses for Oakley, Bolle and probaby similar 'wraparound' frames though I woudn't like to guess what they cost.

Personally I can't afford them but I do have polarised prescription lenses for short sightedness. They really help when sailing (and driving) as they cut down much of the glare from the water.

I was advised by the optician that photochromic lenses don't work to their best when it's warm but in any case I'm sold on polarising lenses now. A good dispensing optician can also go to some trouble to give a close and comfortable fit.

No connection with sunglasses companies or opticians!


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