 Poster: A snowHead
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I could probably manage without any of these, but skiing would be a little easier and more enjoyable if I have good sight.
So, can I wear my Dragon goggles over my glasses or should I get specially designed ones for glasses wearers, or are prescription goggles better? Where is the best place to find prescription skiing sunglasses and goggles? I can't wear contacts and I also need glasses for short-distance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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IncogSkiSno, my SO wears goggles over his glasses if he needs to but prefers to wear prescription sunnies where possible. He just went and picked a pair of goggles that fitted over the top of his normal specs, but made sure they were the double-lens variety. He still finds it all a bit frustrating though as they still mist up. I'm thinking of getting him some prescription goggles but not sure if he can have them or not as prescription may not be suitable 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I have tried ...
Bolle OTG
Uvex OTG
Tchibo goglles that were less than a tenner
Addias goggles plus inserts
The best solution I have found are the Addidas (yodai I think) goggles plus prescription optical inserts- however they're expensive once you've paid for for the insert and still mist up, sometimes. As far as I know you could have more or less any prescription in them.
Otherwise just try any goggles that fit comfortably over the glasses. Dedicated "otg" (over the glasses) goggles tend to be a bit bigger (for better air circulation to combat misting) and have gaps in the frame for the arm of your glasses, but I don't honestly think either feature makes much difference, and neither Bolle nor Uvex were noticeably better than the Tchibo non otg ones (which also look quite cool)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I've been round this loop too! Very similar experiences to GeorgeM.
I usually wear Adidas Yodais with inserts - these are absolutely fantastic. Comfortable, look good, good vision, very few misting problems. I think the googles are around £70, the inserts were £25, then I got a variety of quotes from Opticians for putting in my prescription ranging from £40 -> £90, so shop around.
Re. goggles over glasses just try them on. I have a pair of proper "OTG"s but can't get on with them - it's like wearing a snorkel mask! It's big enough to restrict your field of vision, i.e. you can't see your ski tips in normal looking forward position. So if I were getting goggles to go over glasses again I'd find the smallest pair which fitted over.
Prescription sunglasses are great, and unlike goggles you'll get year round wear. My Oakley's are great but I did pay an extra £60 for polarisation which I really don't like.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I can't help with goggle choice as I wear contacts 
However to stop your goggles and glasses misting I recommend Bob Heath Anti-Fog Spray. It can be found at your local motorcycle dealer.
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IncogSkiSno, . i have found Smith OTG's ok. I usually wear disposable lenses for skiing but have found these ok over my normal glasses. My son is a boarder and because of his prescription is unable to wear lenses. He has worn Smiths OTG's for 4 or 5 years now and i don't recall him having misting problems. (this could be partly due to the fact that he's only 18 and sweats a damn sight less than i do  )
Avoid lifting your goggles up and resting them on top of your head; they simply trap all the moisture thats evaporating from your bonce.
ps. I think there was a thread on this last winter and Tesco were doing prescription goggles for not a lot of money.
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When I skied, and for the first time started to get down that mountain, this February as I had done before I wore prescription sunnies, with 100% UVA/B etc. & polarising layer. This had always been fine before when I had been doing little more than walking in my skis  and to begin with they were OK this year when the week started. However, at that time it was glorious sunny weather with clear fresh air, I was also probably not doing too much that was leading to any degree of exertion! However, as the week progressed I was working harder and in the last couple of days the weather made the air a lot damper and we had preciptitation of various types! The prescription sun-glasses became much more difficult in these conditions and misted over lots and were difficult to wipe clean as the precipitation found its way to the inside face of the lens. My instructor said that if I skied again I would find goggles over the glasses a much better option (I've assumed these are OTG goggles and this thread confirms that). The instructor said that providing I got goggles which were designed for use over the top of specs, that they should be comfortable and should be designed to breath/allow air flow etc. On that basis I trawled the internet and found goggles on ebay a couple of weeks ago with the description 'BIRDZ Ice Bird Snowboarding Skiing OTG Goggles REVO!!' These were 'buy it now' from 'Vite Xtreme eyewear' and I paid about £25 inc postage. I have not tried skiing in them yet or any longer term wear, but can report that they DO fit over my spectacles which are a large rimless lens design (rather than the more modern 'tiny' lens look) and have the two supports on the side of the nose. I guess the goggles look 'the business' - what-ever 'the business' looks like! I had a silver pair. It only remains to see if they work on holiday next Febrary! Has anyone else tried this sort out?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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IncogSkiSno,I have no experience of prescription goggles but would def prefer goggles for skiing as they are much less likely to break, the Adidas ones mention above do look very cool. If you decide to go the prescription sunnnies route then I'd personally choose Oakleys just for the after care. Mine were (hideously) expensive but are really handy to have for day to day, driving etc as well as skiing. I broke mine twice in the first eighteen months doing other sports and Oakley UK replaced the frames (keeping the existing lenses) twice FOC. Two and a half years after I bought them I broke them again (!) and for a £14 warranty renewal they replaced the frames for a third time !! Fantastic service IMO. The other factor against sunnies for skiing (I believe) is there are less choices of colours for the lenses in prescription which means the nice Orange/Yellow tint may not be available. Mine are old now but I went for the lightest Brown (nearest to Orange in the spectrum) that I could get from Oakley. This may have changed now but it was certainly the case less than three years ago.
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All - thanks all for the really helpful advice on here and via your PMs. After talking to several of you, and then to my optician, I have now been fitted with daily contact lenses for my short-sightedness, with which I can also see close range better than without them, so I should also be able to now read a piste map as well as the piste signs - I've not been able to read a piste map for a few years now so I can't wait to give them a try. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I find that goggles with glasses underneath can mist up badly, and are really difficult to 'unmist' while you're on the mountain, especially if it's really cold. Sunglasses make my eyes stream if I'm going at all fast. You can buy Adidas Elevation/Evil Eye which are sunglasses but with a detatchable foam insert to make them more wind-proof round the edges, and a holder for prescription inserts - I haven't tried yet but they do look good (although a bit odd). Or you can buy goggles with little motors in them (honestly!) to clear the mist, which can be worm over glasses. Hope that helps.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I've got Adidas goggles with prescription insert. I find they only mist up under fairly extreme conditions, and this can be mitigated by the old glasses-wearing motorcyclist trick of rubbing some neat detergent (hair shampoo or washing up liquid) onto the surface and then rubbing them clear. Mine are Adidas Robin goggles. The insert for my prescription cost about £25 plus about £40 for the lenses - not cheap, but they provide good vision for me, as I can't wear contact lenses of any type. The only downside was that they could not be glazed with varifocal lenses, which means as the T-bar gets close to me, it is harder to see!
I also have a pair of Optilabs prescription sunglasses with varifocal photochromic lenses. They are sports sunglasses, and I wear them for both skiing and cycling. They have very high UV protection, and have the advantage that I can see the approaching T-bar.
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IncogSkiSno, bolle do an adaptor for specs.
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You know it makes sense.
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I've decided that I would benefit too from having slightly better vision on the slopes (I wear glasses for driving). I wear goggles all the time and was going to give the cheap Tesco ones a go but they aren't making them this year but have found this company who do inserts for Bolle goggles (I already have a pair of Bolles) for £25 complete (insert, lens the lot). Seemed so cheap thought I'd buy some and see how I get on. I'll upddate on my experience.
I found another online company that do inserts for a wider range of goggles but they did work out at least double the price of these.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I've got a pair of PSO Swing 40 Sports Glasses with prescription inserts and the yellow and grey clip on shields.
They are available at the company linked from Colin B's post above.
They work really well until you fall into powder when they mist up. But they clear quicker than normal goggles over my glasses.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Megamum, OK I can report on those goggles now.
Most of the time I wore my own prescription sunnies. It was warm and sometimes wet - the OTG googles and glasses were often a combination that misted up. However, we did have one quite cold and fairly windy day with ice cystals blowing round. The OTG googles had vents and for a whole day I skied, able to ski and to see with no mist etc. because the wind took the mist off the goggles/glasses combination - then the OTG goggles paid for themselves - the glasses would not have kept the icy wind out of my eyes which would have watered, and I couldn't run to the prescription goggles before I left - I am thinking about getting a pair in the future though. Hoping that this helps someone.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I had lots of problems with misting of my glasses under my googles last year so am trying to find a solution for this coming season. Could somebody explain to me the advantage of prescription inserts over glasses. I would have thought they would both have the same misting problems. Also some where I read a thread about googles with double glazed lenses to reduce misting are all googles constructed this way or only the more expensive brands.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Farmboy, most goggles come with double lenses to avoid misting up.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have had the goggles over glasses problem of doing a head plant and loosing glasses in the 2 ft of powder then spending the rest of the day misting up every time I slowed down. So I now use daily disposable contact lenses, absolutely brilliant.
I get them mail order from Daysoftlenses.com they are really good value.
My old goggles were Uvex and designed to accommodate glasses.
Vuarnet will do a prescription lens for their sunglasses but it costs £100+ on top of the normal price and also takes 4 weeks to come back from France where they send them to be made.
I once had the local optician make me up a set of sunglasses lenses that were fitted to a spare frame I had, perhaps not as good a protection as devoted ski glasses but they were under £20.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
Could somebody explain to me the advantage of prescription inserts over glasses.
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I have found less chance of misting, and less faffing about......
.....apart from when you stop for lunch. If you are helpless without glasses you have to dig your specs out or sit there with your goggles on looking daft. I bought a pair of Bolle OTG goggles which also take a prescription insert, so I have both options. My prescription is very mild so I generally use the insert, as I can manage well enough at lunchtimes without any eyewear.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Have laser surgery. Was -4.5 in each eye now can play sport with so much ease. No messing around with prescription glasses and contact lenses.
I never had an issue wearing glasses but sport was a nightmare. It has made sport just so much easier.
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Cannot for the life of me see why anyone would perserve with Bins unless they have to. Focus dailies are a good start
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I can't wear contacts so use adidas sunglasses with an insert. I don't wear goggles as the sunglasses with a helmet pretty much protect my eyes.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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gwaelod, if you don't mind me asking, how old were you when you had the surgery done? I've heard it's more risky if you're older (40's) as your eye sight changes then.
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By the way, if you have pescription goggles what happens when you get to the mountain restuarant? Do you carry your glasses too (no pun intended!)?
Same with pescription sunnies, what happens when the cloud comes down and it's late in the day? Do you all take your normal glasses and swap? I've been wearing contact lenses but I'm not sure how long I will be able to continue with them. I wouldn't want to ski in my "normal" glasses. Thoughts, anyone?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| johnnyh wrote: |
| gwaelod, if you don't mind me asking, how old were you when you had the surgery done? I've heard it's more risky if you're older (40's) as your eye sight changes then. |
Not a problem, 40. It was a 40th birthday present to myself. Me and the wife had it done same day, same time. Its just amazing for me with sport.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| johnnyh wrote: |
By the way, if you have pescription goggles what happens when you get to the mountain restuarant? Do you carry your glasses too (no pun intended!)?
..Same with pescription sunnies, what happens when the cloud comes down and it's late in the day? Do you all take your normal glasses and swap? |
Yes, I carry my normal glasses in a hard case and swap as required.
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If you don't like the idea of inserts and you want variofocals there are options. Not cheap but amazing. I play golf, sail and ski a lot so was worth the rather large investment, they don't come cheap! I have a pair of variofocal Bolles and also a pair of Maui Jim's. The Bolles seem better for skiing but the MJ's much better for other activities. You can order cheaper online but risky strategy as they can be a bit fickle to get right. I did think about using RxSport who have brilliant products and customer service, if you need some advice maybe give them a shout? They will send you up to 3 pairs to try free of charge if you buy, if not you pay a small handling charge.
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi,
Because I'd been riding motorcycles for many years before I took up skiing, I've tried to use as much motorcycling gear for skiing as possible.
One thing I had already were goggles that fitted over glasses - Oakley 'L'-Frames - and Oakley produce lenses for both motorcycling and skiing. Plus, as I've also posted in the "Newby winter clothing guide" sticky thread, the skiing 'high' season tends to coincide with the motorcycling 'low' season, so picking the right business at the right time (e.g. about now, say a business specialising in off-road motorcycling equipment in Wales), bargains can be had ... 
Hth.
Regards,
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Another vote for surgery. I happily wore hard contact lens for over 30 years until eventually I started to face reduced wear time. After that it took about 10 minutes of laser ablation to sort both eyes to better than standard vision...
Now I just don't have any hassle; I should have switched years ago really. If you compute the cost of opticians and solutions and lens, then even for the best surgeons the business case stacks up quickly. If you're cute you can get them to laser your eyes slightly differently so... you can avoid reading glasses too for most things. As far as I can tell surgery has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years.
Otherwise, people I see seem to use goggles which work over glasses more than custom goggles I think. Goggles vs sunglasses probably has multiple threads already, but a pair of goggles with a pair of light/ dark lenses covers all the bases.
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FAQ
