Wearing glasses...

deltaspud

Any airsofters who wear glasses, can you recommend the best eye protection that won't fog up, or involve contact lenses.
I'm on a budget too, so high-end goggles with fans are out for the moment.
Thanks, it's much appreciated.

Bernie Mac

Well I can't recommend any glasses as it all comes to a personal preference, the only thing I will say, from my experience they will fog regardless, its all down to your breathing (if your mouth is covered this really comes into play, otherwise not so much) and how much you sweat, and sometimes what headgear you are wearing as boonies and caps tend to, for lack of a better word, reflect the heat making the lenses fog, its just down to controlling it to reduce the amount of fogging. :rolleyes:

NakedDex

To date, the two most effective I've had were a pair of ANSI rated Uvex goggles and a pair of Spy snowboard goggles which I had anyway (ironically, I believe they were the old Gen 1 "Soldier" model). Both rarely fogged and were comfortable over glasses. That said, despite both being rated for impacts far above an airsoft device's capability, they were not airsoft goggles (and the Spy goggles were more expensive than ESS Turbofans).

Bollé and ESS do a range of goggles that have extended lenses to allow glasses to be worn under them. I've tried a few and they're all quite comfortable with good peripheral vision, even with my wide frames.

Personally, I'm currently waiting to see if my new Bollé Raiders can have prescription lenses made for them in my ridiculous strength. I've somewhat given up on goggles as it seems like a never-ending search for comfortable ones. The Raiders are more like a pair of oversized sunglasses with a full seal, and come with an insert to take Rx lenses just behind the polycarbonate protective lens.
The price for this sort of thing varies depending on your lens type and strength, as well as who you can find cheapest with some shopping around. I couldn't see my own feet on a dull morning without my glasses so I'm still living in hope that the optician doing mine is able to follow through.

Killinator

I got tired of either not being able to see distant targets properly without glasses, or being aggravated wearing glasses and goggles on top,
I just got contacts and can't do without now.............

Maybe contacts are a viable option, but I guess its again down to preference and whether you can even wear contacts.

gerrowadat

These: http://www.esseyepro.com/ICE-Series-Eyeshields_18_category.html

They ship to here, just plug in your perscription.

Literally game-changing for me, I forget I'm wearing them and they're a joy after the turbofans. Worth twice the money.

whydave

deltaspud wrote: »

Any airsofters who wear glasses, can you recommend the best eye protection that won't fog up, or involve contact lenses.

None they all fog up in the end, if not the eye protection then your glasses

deltaspud wrote: »

I'm on a budget too, so high-end goggles with fans are out for the moment.

I've use these for the last number of years and have worked well for me.

deltaspud wrote: »

Thanks, it's much appreciated.

Welcome to the mad world that is Airsoft !!!!

gerrowadat wrote: »

These: http://www.esseyepro.com/ICE-Series-Eyeshields_18_category.htmlThey ship to here, just plug in your perscription.Worth twice the money.

also what he said ....
you don't have to have the top of the range to get out and game !!!

David

BeardySi

+1000 for contacts if/when they become an option, I haven't looked back since I started playing with them!

Failing that, the goggles above work well over glasses. You can use them without the faceshield if you prefer. Failing that drill the face shield with lots of 3mm holes (my preferred option here) and get used to breathing downwards.

Knight990

Any airsofters who wear glasses, can you recommend the best eye protection that won't fog up, or involve contact lenses.
I'm on a budget too, so high-end goggles with fans are out for the moment.
Thanks, it's much appreciated.

Alright man, i'm in the exact same boat. I found that wearing glasses under a normal-style mask is fine if the mouth-protector is well ventilated. I found a full face mask which was well ventilated around the mouth and my specs didn't fog up at all.

Basically, it's all in the mouth-guard. If that is well ventilated, the condensation will go out of the mask instead of up to your glasses. I've had several games with this mask and i've had no problems - i'd find you a picture only it was one I used on site owned by the site.

Arkslippy

Contacts are gone quite cheap in the last 3 years, I have disposable daily contacts that cost 60 euro for 50 pairs, free test and the consultation.

The thing is if you only wait them for airsoft , even playing every week you should get a year out of them.

The best way to reduce fogging is to allow your mouth to breath free of the mask, and also to ensure that the top if your head is clear to the air, the fogging is caused by trapped heat condensation against the cooler air outside the mask. 80% of your body heat naturally escapes through your head, so if you trap that heat with a boonie hat, it escapes through your face.

Loose clothes and a hat vented on top will delay at least the fog.

Zen 2nd

Arkslippy wrote: »

80% of your body heat naturally escapes through your head

Unfortunately that isn't true but your logic still holds true as even without breathing your goggles would still be susceptible to fogging up.

The heat from your skin when running around and the cold air on the outside can cause your goggles to fog so like Arkslippy said wearing loose clothes and a vented hat works because the heat isn't trapped for as long and doesn't get time to create fog and also the extra ventilation stops you from excessively warming up.

DBSound

http://www.bolle-tactical.com/RAID--439.html
Just got a pair of these yesterday and they're awesome. They come with an insert that you can bring in to your opticians and get fitted with your prescription (Along with a load of other accessories) Can't recommend them enough!

NakedDex

These are the ones I was talking about on the previous page. I got them from the fine people at Hobby Airsoft.
I just got a call back from the optician to say mine are ready to pick up, so I may test drive them this weekend.

Just to note, while they are superbly comfortable and reasonably priced, you may have trouble getting prescription lenses crafted for them. The curvature of the insert is quite pronounced, which makes the lens a lot harder to get hold of for manufacture. I could only find one place capable of it (the good people at Dixon Hempenstall in Dublin city). The price is also dependent on your prescription strength.
As I mentioned, my eyesight is dreadful, so mine were pricey at €110 (just for standard lenses, no thinning or costing). I consider it a worthy investment, though.

bru.wicklow

tried contacts,absolutely amazing.but i HATE them.feels like im getting skull****ed everytime i put them in!
high profile mesh over glasses working at the moment

Blazer

definitely contacts..I don't think I could stand running around and feeling my glasses jumping all over the place.

Inari

NakedDex wrote: »

These are the ones I was talking about on the previous page. I got them from the fine people at Hobby Airsoft.
I just got a call back from the optician to say mine are ready to pick up, so I may test drive them this weekend.

Just to clarify; Dex, you got the Raider Kit, and DBSound has the RAID Kit. The two are very similar, in name and appearance - good choice of names from Bollé or what?

I use the Raider's myself; wider field of vision than the Trackers II (which I used to use), but still comfortable as. They also come with the rX insert, but thankfully I don't need that...yet.

I was talking to Sarah a while back about the rX inserts, and she said that Specsavers were apparently the cheapest - might be worth looking into?

NakedDex

Ah, mea culpa. I didn't even follow the link, I saw Bollé and "RAID" in it and assumed.

She did mention to me about Specsavers being the cheapest too, but when I inquired, they said there wasn't a hope they could make them. I know some Rx inserts are less curved, particularly for goggles rather than glasses, so perhaps they can do those reasonably cheaply, but the ones included with the Raiders were a definite no-go with the giants of Vision Express and Specsavers.
Vision Express sounded like they might have been able to do them had my Rx strength been less akin to that of lenses for the Hubble telescope, so perhaps they could be an option for others. It may also depend on what store you go to.

DBSound

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure there is no such product as the Bolle Raider. I think its just a typo. e.g. I ordered my Bolle RAID glasses from Hobbyairsofter too. They were named on the site as "Bolle Raider". Low and behold I received a pair of Bolle RAID glasses. I had checked the Bolle site in advance and assumed the typo so it wasn't a problem

NakedDex

Consider yourself corrected then, as they're both listed individually on Bollé's own website.
When I dropped mine to the optician, who also happened to be a Bollé dealer, they immediately identified them as Raiders, without any prompt from me.

DBSound

NakedDex wrote: »

Consider yourself corrected then, as they're both listed individually on Bollé's own website.
When I dropped mine to the optician, who also happened to be a Bollé dealer, they immediately identified them as Raiders, without any prompt from me.

Well I'll be darned! Just saw the Raiders on the Bolle tactical site :eek:
Fairly weird as well seem as they're so similar