Glasses

[fatal_GRACE]

After reading so much about the harsh conditions of the playa, I have some concerns that I hope someone can address in this thread.

I wear glasses, and I cannot wear contacts that would be safe to wear in the conditions of the playa (Hard contacts - one speck of dust under those and they would trash my eyes). But, with all the energy and excitement of BRC, I think glasses would be fairly easy to lose or break, not to mention getting in the way of goggles (I could go without, but I like being able to see).

So, any suggestions on how to keep glasses safe and secure beyond simple measures like straps?

Advice for good goggles that I can wear (keeping in mind that the arms of my spectacles would need to pass through) over them would be appreciated as well.

[cullen]

http://www.esseyepro.com/

i drilled holes in the side of mine slid a pair of older glasses arms through the holes bent down the arms trimmed and sealed the hole with some silicone.

[fatal_GRACE]

Wow, looks great! Thanks.

[gaminwench]

I always have a pair that I leave in the glovebox(or wherever) until the drive home. Every year I lose 'at least' one pair during the week - take out the old ones and decorate them, for spares -most years I spend the end of the week without...the lights and fire still look preeettty...

[Shambala]

Wearing contacts in BRC would be a mistake. On calm days, they would work fine, but dust storms kicks up without warning and last for hours at a time. Goggles will protect your eyes with contacts, but the dust is really everywhere. No crack or crevice is free from this talcum powder fine dust.

I bring an eye glass case that hangs from my belt and just make sure to have either my regular or prescription sunglasses in it. I never put them down. The wind has never been strong enough to blow them off my face, but I bring spare pairs of both and keep them in my car, nice and safe. I have not lost a pair of glasses yet, but as soon as I get cocky and not bring extras, then I will end up losing both day and night glasses.

You may also want to bring that tiny little eye glass repair kit with you. If you should lose a screw out of your glasses, the 7 square mile playa surface is not a place to be crawling around looking for it. Also, helping someone fix their broken glasses is a very nice gesture if can do that. Don't forget a small tube of crazy glue as well--you may have to secure your specs to the sides of your head should the wind get over 100mph.

[Toolmaker]

I ALWAYS fuck up a pair, so I keep both in hardshell cases and start the week off with the older pair. When I wind up sitting on or losing the first pair I'm not too upset about losing my best pair.

[gyre]

There are plenty of goggles and masks that fit over glasses.
You can also get prescription goggles.
I even saw someone with weather stripping around their glasses.
Looked good and worked well.
I think it depends on the frames.

Be careful cleaning.
Anything beyond lightly brushing off dust, use water.

Make very sure you have goggles that fit comfortably.
I wear Bacou-dalloz.

If you are going to be working around tools or idiots, you might as well get safety rated stuff.

Good goggles are the single most important thing to have.

[robotland]

Wearing contacts in BRC would be a mistake.

Hards, perhaps...softs have always worked fine for me BUT you need a wind-and-dust-free cave in which to maintain them. (I sleep in my car, so problem solved.)

Look online for super-cheap glasses and prescription shades. (You can get common 'scripts for twenty bucks.) To find the best local selection of goggles look in your yellow pages for Industrial Supply or Safety. There's a company called Safety Services that even has a showroom- BIG fun for me, looking at Tyvek suits, hazard labels and other danger goodies!

[AntiM]

I've never lost or damaged my glasses, and I bring prescription sunglasses and my regular eyes. I often just go without for that soft-focus effect, and I always keep hardcases nearby to stash them in. I have some prescription sport goggles for fire safety at night. I've yet to find goggles that fit over my glasses comfortably and do not fog up. Even in the terrible dust last year I mostly made do with scarves wrapped around my head and face. Very much a matter of personal preference.

I'm not the driver, so we make sure MyLarry brings a pair which do not leave the vehicle, just in case. His vision is good enough he simply wears bug-eye dark goggles in the daytime.

[Simon of the Playa]

well here's the rub, no pun intended...I wear my contacts for MONTHS at a time...I sleep in them, i NEVER take them out or clean them, or change them for that matter until they rip.

yep, it's a little secret bausch and lomb dont want you to know, so you keep buying Freshies and their Solution....it's pure bullshit, you're suckers.

i have been out there over a decade, i dont wear goggles, and i've never had any issues.


with that said, i am a freak of nature, and i dont suggest you try this with hard contacts, but have you tried the extended wear? you dont have to do what i do, but as far as comfort and ease, i know from experience (i had hard lenses too) that the soft, or semi-soft are so much easier all around.

not to mention they come in colors and hello kitty too.

[AntiM]

ah, Simon, you're so cute!

[phil]

I've worn hard contacts and the newer gas semi-permeable or permeable, I don't care which at Burning Man since Louise and I started going in '96. I bring a pair of prescription glasses, too.

Good military surplus style goggles work just fine with contacts, but having glasses as a back up is good. Louise and I sleep in a tent, and I've had no issues with cleanliness and dust. Never lost a contact, never lost or damaged my glasses. Wherever I travel I bring two pairs of contacts and my glasses. I do occasionally lose a contact, but not often.

Willingness to accept some discomfort varies, dryness of eyes varies (in my 60s now, and I can't wear contacts comfortably all day because my eyes are dryer than in my teens - I've worn contacts since '65), carefulness varies, playa condition varies, and variables vary. Your mileage will vary.

The military surplus goggles are made to be worn over glasses, but you need to try them over the glasses you'll be wearing. Trendy frames with trick earpieces may not fit under the foam. My glasses are wire frame and fit right in to the foam, giving me a good seal.

I don't remember what the things are called, but there are plenty of styles of straps that you attach to your ear pieces and hang behind your head. They should keep your glasses on. I wouldn't think you'd need measures beyond that, but how knows where you'll have your head on the playa?

[gyre]

...variables vary.

[ygmir]

for a few months before BM, I save my old contacts in solution and individual cases, and, then, change them every day.
I've found it almost impossible, even with my trailer, to keep dust off them.........
so, I wear them, take them out when I go to sleep, and, put new ones in later........
works good for me, along with 2 pairs of backup glasses

[fatal_GRACE]

Thanks for all the great advice, everybody. I've already made the decision not to wear the contacts - they are uncomfortable as is, and I don't want that on top of the playa dust. I'll look into some of the goggles mentioned, and definitely hang on to my old specs. As luck would have it, I'm actually getting a new prescription this week, so I'll have the opportunity to load up on perscription sunglasses and other goodies.

Also - Simon, you are a fox, and Phil, the strappy things you are talking about are called chums.

[Bounce530]

I know that you're not going to wear contacts, but had to add to Simons post. I use the same daily's for months, but, I take them out every night and clean them. Except for the week out on the playa. I left the same pair on all week with no problems. I figured they would stay cleaner on my eyes then trying to fiddle with them in my tent (there was just as much dust in my van as my tent.)
I did bring back-up contacts, and glasses, but didn't need them.

[RedheadBarbie]

I rarely wear my contacts at home because I have dry eyes and had no unusual issues because of the dust. I did manage to wear them most of the day. I ended up with extra scratches on my glasses though (Glasses die young around me anyway) so I wouldn't use my best pair on the playa.

[theCryptofishist]

I know this will shock you.


I took one pair of glasses with me to last year's burn, and I had no issues. Of course, I pretty much keep them on my face, except when I sleep. (Not being able to turn over at night means I could keep them on then, but somehow, I'm just not willing to go there.)

[tesstessi]

Just order some inexpensive glasses online! I've purchased them from both of these places:

http://www.globaleyeglasses.com/
http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php

The first will re lens vintage/old frames for cheap, I believe my last order was 25 bucks including shipping. The 2nd place has an incredible turn around, I ordered a pair last week and got them in the mail today! 20 bucks for the whole thing, including uv, scratch resistant and anti-reflection coating.

No need to be a slave to expensive eyeglasses anymore!

Last summer's transformus I was drunk and lost my glasses and it quickly became nighttime. It was pretty annoying and aggravating, it's not exciting to get separated from your friends (aka guides) then try to find your way back home and WHOA people are spinning fire and you can see even less than you could before! A very well intentioned person tried to help me find my tent but misunderstood "My tent is over by the rave" as "I am camping peacefully up on a large hill with the other people who are trying to avoid amplified music" so we wandered around for a good 50 minutes and headed back to the main gathering. Miraculously I found my friends (they found me?) and they took me back to my tent. I sat down to pout and put my hand on my glasses.

Lesson learned: Always, always always always have more pairs of glasses than I could ever need. I brought 2 pair last year, this year I'll be bringing 1 shitty ancient pair, 1 nice but easy to replace pair (see above!) and some prescription shades (also online, I'm making sure this sinks in). My boyfriend also ordered a pair of goggles that will fit over my glasses for dust storms.

Good luck!

[Elorrum]

I'm pretty used to having my sunglasses around my neck on an inexpensive string arangement purchased at the sunglass spinner at Long's drug. Goggles go in the playa "bag" always, polarized ones, and a tiny folding pair of clear ones. I will put the same string on my glasses at night, probably should buy another. Once I walked into a building and and threw my spare unstrung sunglasses on the floor. whoops. It's time to get new glasses, and I'll bring the oldies, better than nothing if I break any of them. spare sunglasses too. I bought a couple pairs of UV safety glasses that were clearance at Lowe's for abound $3.00. Kind of funky and large with rhinestones on the sides. They fit pretty close to my face, so I'm going to try the weatherstripping trick on one of those pairs to see how that works. Yes on the wet wash instead of dry wiping to prevent more scratching.

[lbhat]

My boyfriend also ordered a pair of goggles that will fit over my glasses for dust storms.
!

might think about keeping a boyfriend like that....

[RedheadBarbie]

Another cheapie site is 39dollarglasses.com. They were slightly more but the quality was the same as the eye doctor in town. I can't remember the other sites I've tried but one had a minor deformity in the arm piece. Another the coating cracked in the heat walking around outside so it was like looking through shattered glass. If you google reviews you can also find coupon codes for those sites easily.

[flipper]

current and last prescription glasses, two pairs M-44 army surplus goggles, (or maybe three, last year I had one lost and one loaned out during the big storm).

And on the fourth of juplaya I tried those 9.99 "as seen on TV" "HD" sunglasses that go over prescription glasses and LOVED them.

[DoriumLux]

http://zennioptical.com

I don't wear glasses. The guy in my life does. He always gets his prescription from the optometrist and then selects a pair from Zinni optical. Hands down, cheapest prescription glasses out there that we have found. You can get them for $8 to $19. All you need is your prescription info.

[Simon of the Playa]

thats all fine and good unless you live in NY which has a powerful optometrist lobby and you are REQUIRED to have a recent "Eye exam" even if you know your prescription....they will not sell glasses or contacts to you otherwise, even over the internet.

the eye exam is usually 99$-125$

this is a LAW.

welcome to the empire state.


where the poor people pay for the rich people's excess.

and the rich people leave the state to avoid their FAIR share of taxes (YEAH MR. GOLISANO, THIS MEANS YOU, FUCKNUT!)

[Stickygreen]

couple of years ago, I invested in prescription goggles, they have the auto tinting lenses to, so I can wear them 24/7 if I feel like it. But i still bring my glasses and use those at night, cause I get tired of the goggles always pressing against my face.

just find some smaller lens'd sport goggles, bring them to your local optometrist store, and ask how much?

[theCryptofishist]

How do you know if the glasses are going to look right on y our face?

[Stickygreen]

theCryptofishist - try them on ?

thats the only way.

[gyre]

Not all lenses can be bought cheap.
Varilux lenses cost more wholesale than the cheap ones go out the door.
Some lenses don't have UV protection, scratch resistance, etc.
It can be cheaper to buy better plastic than to tack on coatings.
And it's important to have light absorption coatings on both sides if you're using them.
If you only coat one side, it should be the side near your face.

There is quite a markup from the lab to the retailer, but that is the only place to save money.


Consider weight, safety protection, scratch resistance, clarity, ultraviolet protection, and so on.

[trystanthegypsy]

Good swimsuit stores can hook you up with prescription goggles for a reasonable price, too.

Or buy $15 safety goggles with the elastic straps and customize the edges for your arms