Contact lenses vs. glasses.

LASIK 15 years ago and absolutely still happy with my choice. Not everyone can have it done. I had astigmatism that required pretty thick lens. No glasses for far sight but now that I am older I do need cheap reading glasses for up close. I figure I've saved the cost not buying glasses.

First, glasses could save your eyes.

I got contacts a while back for hunting in the rain and extreme cold. I found my vision was different with contacts that caused issues in the field, so I'm back to wearing glasses full time.

Starting out, they will give you a set of contacts to trial and follow up with an examination to check for any issues. 

I'd give them a try and see if they are for you.

I've had astigmatism since about the 3rd grade, made the switch to soft contacts a year or two later. Eye sight and astigmatism got progressively worse and I needed stronger RX lenses every 10-12 months for the next 20ish years. Finally, in my late 20s, where it was still getting worse (I understand most people's vision kinda settles in around the late teens to early 20s) I was diagnosed with kerataconus. Have had a couple procedures since then to try to stop the progression, but back to your question about shooting and astigmatism....ask your eye doc about scleral contact lenses. About 8 years ago I had to go to sclerals after the softies didn't work anymore and a few miserable years of RGPs. To finally get to the point though, the sclerals are the best I can ever remember seeing. Best peripheral vision I've had from any sort of vision correction. They can be worn in extremely dirty conditions without detriment, since they cover nearly the whole front part of the eyeball (mine are about the size of an American quarter). A field target buddy jokes with me about having bionic vision with the sclerals. No issues whatsoever with eye relief and scopes or binoculars. It's a bit of mind game to get used to the idea of putting them in and out, with how big they are. And they aint cheap, but I consider them my prosthetic eyes. Without them I'd be completely disabled. It might take a specialist to get them fitted right, but the vision quality and ease of use is is worth it. I put them in when I wake up, and take them out when I go to bed (occasionally they'll need a refresh of saline between them and the eyeball). I don't know what it would be like to have normal vision without needing correction, but I suspect it would be similar to the vision from my scleral contact lenses. 

Larcat,

I have am near-sighted(can see close, but not far) and also have astigmatism. I have worn contacts and glasses for a while and have shot with both. I much prefer contacts for shooting. 

Even with the exact same prescription, contacts will have a closer focal length(which I prefer) than glasses(on your eyeball vs half inch or so in front of your eyeball), and your vision doesn't "shift" if your glasses move. Be sure to help your eye doctor by giving as much feedback as you can during the fitting process. Go outside and look at things(other than letters an eye chart) at different distances to verify your vision is what you want. 

Hope this helps. Good luck!

I absolutely LOVE my contacts. I do hav e some astigmatism also. Work with your eye doctor. Sometimes when fitting contacts, even though the prescription in the glasses and the contacts is the same for the astigmatism correction, they have to go to a slightly different angle to get them to sit properly on your eye. Not always, but sometimes, so if it is not great at first, ask to try something else.

Every time I have to put my glasses on, I feel like I am stuck inside and looking through a window. 

Good luck.

Sleeper192

I have borderline severe astigmatism and tried contacts many times for years that just never worked. About 8 years ago I made another attempt to wear them and was able to but occasionally my vision would go blurry. The advancement in lens technology has come a long way from where it was when I started wearing them and I have zero issues now. I would recommend trying them out, there is no way I would go back to wearing glasses unless I just couldn’t see without them. 

If it is feasible, consider the lasic eye surgery, both my son and my grandson have astigmatisms and the lasic fixed everything. Both have better than 20/20 vision now with no reading glasses needed. Granted they are younger men but the outcome was excellent!!

are you of reading glasses age?
How would you manage close stuff with contacts ?

Hello Sir,

So I have fairly bad vision. I’m pretty near sighted and have astigmatism in both eyes. My diopter is -5 & -5.25, I can’t recall the axis and cylinder of my astigmatism, it’s different in each eye. Without corrective lenses I can’t see past 8-10 inches. 



I’ve tried contacts without astigmatism correction and they don’t cut the cake.

Without the astigmatism correcting contacts my vision is not horrible however, I can’t see very far very clearly. This is a huge issue for me while sailing. I’m ok driving but tying to keep a course on a buoy while racing, nope not good. Not good when your trying to set a course by a landmark on the shore either. 

I wear both glasses and contacts that correct for astigmatism. I favor one over the other depending on a few factors. When I was younger I would wear night and day monthly’s without issue. Now my eyes are slightly sensitive. Most days I wear my glasses and save the contacts for when I’m outside, dressed up to go out, have a meeting, or want to have that unhindered field of view. At my last job there was a lot of particulate in the air so I wore safety glasses most days and would trash a set of lenses from the powdered fillers floating in the air such as powdered bisubcarbonate, pigments, and abrasive dust from metal work.

I prefer the contacts for better peripheral vision. Especially on the water, I’ll wear contacts and sunglasses. When I shoot either are fine although glasses can have a glare and they get in the way sometimes. If you’re hunting or shooting clay, contacts may be better for you as you won’t have that frame from glasses that will hinder your peripheral vision. If you wear shooting glasses perhaps a set of prescriptions may be best. With the contacts a good script will completely take care of the astigmatism and I see great through a scope and in general. Something to note is if my eyes dry out my lens may shift and I will need to blink a bit to re-center the lens. 



As for the reading glasses. I’m getting older and they will be in my future. Not really an issue right yet and I do excises to keep my eyes in good health. Super simple. Focus at something close focus on something far away. Keeps the lens stretchy and muscles that flex them stronger. If you should require reading glasses that shouldn’t be an issue with a scope as you can adjust the ocular lens so you can see the reticle nice and clear as well as the target you are shooting at. No need for reading gasses or a bifocal lens. 



To sum it all up. Glasses get in the way. Contacts will give you a better field of view and a good script will correct your vision very well. If you need reading glasses adjust the ocular on scope for that. Contacts can irritate your eyes but for many that’s not an issue. Astigmatism correcting lenses are larger and cover more of your eye for me this is a good thing. Less chance of dust getting under your lens and all that. Talk to your optician or ophthalmologist about your needs and concerns. When you get fitted for contacts they will send you home with trial contacts to see if they fit and give good correction. Based on your opinion they may adjust the script for the contacts. The script for contacts is more detailed than a script for glasses as they need to fit your eyeball and have a diameter based on that. Know that different brands of contacts fit and feel differently, so you may need to try a few to find the best ones for you. I prefer dailies- they are more expensive but you can toss them every day which is great. No cleaning solutions no worries if they get dirty or contaminated. Also, while not completely necessary, it helps to be comfortable touching your eye. A set of glasses is necessary with contacts as you may need to take the contacts out and require correction. 

Pro tip order your contact lenses online rather than through the eye doctor you will save a lot of money.

Apologies for the long reply just trying to be thorough. 


Stay sharp stay well,

Eric, icy+

are you of reading glasses age?
How would you manage close stuff with contacts ?

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I'm 40, and my close vision is pretty much fine. I need the glasses for far vision, driving (particularly at night), that kind of thing.

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I am also near sighted, and the close vision started getting affected around 44, most people I know it starts dead on 40.

However with the regular single type contacts it is pretty impossible to read or see close.

With single type glasses I was able to manage for a few years before I switched to progressive bifocals. 

Strangely one of my eyes is still very good with close vision so I can see close stuff without having the use reading glasses or the bifocal glasses.

Because my glasses are bifocals it is troublesome for me to use on scope so I take them off to shoot.

I manage close up stuff up with reading glassed that I hang around my neck on a lanyard. Always there, so I have great contact corrected distance, and also great close vision. 

Sleeper192

For the most part you will need a different custom set of glasses for a pistol, rifle and scope to see the best. The distances to your eye are all different. The problem with astigmatism is focusing on multiple objects at different distances with sights/scopes and targets. Glasses and contacts help clarity at a single distance. 

Contacts are a convenience and good for every day regular use. If you are young and your astigmatism is light either one will help some. As you get older and the astigmatism is more severe not much helps beyond different glasses for focusing at specific distances. At some point nothing helps much. 

If you are looking for the most critical focus and target aquisition while shooting you need the different glasses. Many get prescription shooting glasses. 

I bought this gadget called scope aid. It goes over the eye piece and allows me to look thru the top of my bifocals. It can be moved from scope to scope. 

Which one do you have Joe? I have the same problem with looking out the top of my multifocalls. 

Scope Aid has several models and doesn't mention the looking through the top of glasses on any. How does it work for that?

I guess the crystal for punching paper.