Anyone tried swim goggles?

[jakemoore]

It is possible to get plano contact lenses although you still may need an Rx. Just make sure they won't cause a problem with your local vampire-clown-pussy-pimp and you should do fine.

Daily disposables may be the best choice for an infrequent user but you might need to get a minimal amount of refractive power in the lens like +/- 0.25 D. If you try it please let me know how it works, good or bad.

Jake

[Windrider]

Trust me about the "seal" goggles... the secret is spit! here's my recepie for no fog... dunk the mask quick in the water once, then hock the biggest luggy you can in there and rub the spit all over the lens as much as you can, on both sides but especially the inside. Then just one more quick dunk in the water and voila! been using this trick for years on dive masks as well with no problems... maybe i have magical spit?

sometimes i rush things and don't do it right and get fogging, but all it takes is a quick stop, re apply and i'm good again, much better than having to deal with sore red eyes...

I gotta admit, I was more conservative with my spit.... it was mostly saliva, not a real full-on luggy... you're talking real, viscous, jelly-fish texture luggy material here?

Maybe I just have wimpy, watery spit.... Give it a shot, Spork, you just might have magic spit, too.

[spork]

Give it a shot, Spork, you just might have magic spit, too.

Sadly I know my spit to be substandard. It's of almost no-use when I dive. I do have reasonably good luck with the typical dishwashing liquid mask rinse however.

I'm now somewhat torn between trying the Seal mask and the UV contacts. It looks like the contacts block most but not all UV, but I've gotta believe that's a whole lot better than my current scheme of using nothing at all.

[aahi]

I gotta admit, I was more conservative with my spit.... it was mostly saliva, not a real full-on luggy... you're talking real, viscous, jelly-fish texture luggy material here?

Maybe I just have wimpy, watery spit.... Give it a shot, Spork, you just might have magic spit, too.

Ha ha... this is turning into a gross thread.. sorry guys... nah, I didn't actually mean boogger style luggies, I just meant use alot of spit (saliva) and smear it around good... I think the most important is the quick dumps, so you don't wash it all out...

[Another Toby]

So Spork, what is wrong with kite sunglasses?
Are they breaking? Getting lost?
I had sea specs, but they didn't last long till a lens popped out after a few faceplants, but I've had a pair of Blueye Squid's (an Aussie co.) for a year and a half now and they're still hanging together, if getting a bit scratchy.
Seems to me there's a range of companies making exactly what you're after...water sunnies.

[daft]

I'm now somewhat torn between trying the Seal mask and the UV contacts. It looks like the contacts block most but not all UV, but I've gotta believe that's a whole lot better than my current scheme of using nothing at all.

Have you explored the whole spectrum of mask/goggles, including the several surf oriented ones intended for submersion and draining? Ditto the draining watersports glasses like http://www.seaspecs.com/html/news.html which I plan to try. At the bottom of http://www.sporteyes.com/water.htm there are a bunch of options outlined.

[Skydiver]

I used this polarized sunglasses: http://www.okularymatrix.pl/product_inf ... ts_id=1905
They worked great for me but unfortunately I've lost them recently during the crash. I have ordered another pair and this time I will get some leash for them.

[Bron-Yr-Aur]

Spork, I would either find a good set of goggles or tough it out with sunglasses. I'm seriously near-sighted and have worn contacts for water sports for a long time and while they do provide some UV protection they also trap all sorts of nasty crap right next to your eye which is just as bad or worse than UV exposure. Wearing plano contacts for any reason (including Halloween) makes zero sense to me. Do not put a foreign object in your eye unless you must to see!

I spend a ton of dough on disposable contacts cuz I have to chuck 'em after every sesh, otherwise I risk eye infections which I've had a couple and they can cause some pretty inconvenient side effects like permanent blindness if you don't treat right away. I wear Sea Specs to provide some protection for the contact lenses I wear (can't see the kite without contacts, need to keep 'em in!). The sunglasses are a pain, but way better than nothing. If you don't care about style then wear them under a Gath or similar helmet and they will not come off. You will need to clean them periodically, oh well!

[spork]

So Spork, what is wrong with kite sunglasses?
Are they breaking? Getting lost?

Half way through my session I have to take them off because I can't see well enough through them. Too much in the way of fog and water droplets on both the inside and outside of the lens.

[Bron-Yr-Aur]

Hmm... I have not had trouble with Sea Specs fogging and I have used them in many different conditions, cold water/warm air, vice versa, etc, etc. Maybe SF Bay causes more fog, I dunno.

Water drops definitely interfere with your vision especially the longer your sesh, but I have no choice but to deal with. Even though they impair your vision I have not really found the need to remove them completely. I will shake them after I am riding to remove big droplets, but even when they are pretty dirty I can still see enough to ride and land the kite without any issues. I would say it's definitely an inconveniece but better than riding with no protection at all. Hopefully there are goggles out there that perform better, but I have never had luck with goggles cuz of weird suction (very bad for contact lenses) and fogging (which I find much more of an impairment than dirt and/or water dropets). Good luck finding something that works!