Best eyegear for windsurfing?
Jonathan M Richardson
Well it happened. I lost my favorite old Okley eyeshades. You know,
the kind that looked like goggles? They were great but got blown off
during a very windy upwind slam.
All of Okley's latest sport eyewear is clearly unsafe because it has a
sharp bottom edge that could be forced into your eye during a
fall. Most sunglasses have two separate lenses which can be pushed
into the eye by a blow from the mast. (This happened to a friend of
mine and she has the scar to prove it.)
So what suggestions do people have for relatively safe eyewear for
windsurfing?
-Jonathan.
USWA Member #US233
Boards: Seatrend 9'0" and 8'6", Mistral One Design
Sails: Waddell
Spars: Fiberspar
______________________________________________________________________
| Jonathan M. Richardson | http://world.std.com/~jthan |
| Physicist and Windsurfer | Email: jt...@world.std.com |
______________________________________________________________________
Eyes4Hire
jt...@world.std.com (Jonathan M Richardson) wrote:
> So what suggestions do people have for relatively safe eyewear for
> windsurfing?
If your eyes need correction, you should look into some of the newer
disposable contact lenses that have UV protection built in. I wear
disposables and find that I don't usually need tinted sunglass lenses for
comfort. The UV protection favors long term health of the eyes while the
lack of any glasses or goggles avoids losing glasses or looking through a
wet lense. If you are uncomfortable without shades on most of the time, it
may be that you have trained your eyes to be averse to bright light by
wearing shades all of the time.
Peter
Ross Fleming
On 28 May 1997 17:44:41 GMT, eyes...@aol.com (Eyes4Hire) wrote:
> jt...@world.std.com (Jonathan M Richardson) wrote:
>
>> So what suggestions do people have for relatively safe eyewear for
>> windsurfing?
I wear a pair of Bolle' Edge II wraparound sunglasses. They have an
optional nose piece that all owes prescription lenses to be added on
the inside. I can wear them with tinted lenses or a clear lens. They
come with both normal and cable ear pieces. The cables do a great job
of keeping them from falling off. I think I paid about $100 for them
including the prescription lenses.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ross Fleming O-
Seattle, Wa.
rossflem at u.washington.edu or serv.net
No unsolicited commercial email!
Dave Mitton
eyes...@aol.com (Eyes4Hire) wrote:
> jt...@world.std.com (Jonathan M Richardson) wrote:
>
>> So what suggestions do people have for relatively safe eyewear for
>> windsurfing?
>
>If your eyes need correction, you should look into some of the newer
>disposable contact lenses that have UV protection built in. I wear
>disposables and find that I don't usually need tinted sunglass lenses for
>comfort. The UV protection favors long term health of the eyes while the
>lack of any glasses or goggles avoids losing glasses or looking through a
>wet lense. If you are uncomfortable without shades on most of the time, it
>may be that you have trained your eyes to be averse to bright light by
>wearing shades all of the time.
>
>Peter
Some of us have astigmatism which prevents us from wearing
normal contact lenses.
Dave.
Rob Shapiro
Having gone thru all possible types of contacts and glasses over the
past 10 years, I have settled on a pair of Vuarnet Cat's Eyes frames
with prescription glass (a special type made by Corning Glass which
are specifically made for outdoor sports). This combination has
lasted over 5 years now. The frames have the wrap-around-the-ears
stems which are very comfortable because they are plastic, not metal.
I still use a Croakie with a glass-floater. This combination has
totally held-up to brutal treatment and crashes - the few times it
has come off, the glass-floater allowed me to get them before
losing them.
The prescription glass, while a little heavier than plastic and
considerably more expensive, is more ding/scratch-proof and gives
me the best vision. From my own experience, neither permanent nor
throw-away contacts were any good as they either fell out, became
too dry or reacted to certain types of salt water. The plastic
lenses seem to let water stick more than glass lenses. Also,
with glass lenses there are special cleaning fluids (i.e. Knight)
that promote water to run-off the glass even better and consequently
I do not have any problems with wet vision. The glass is as well
UV-protected as any on the market and are amber/red (which
actually gives better vision on cloudy days against glare).
Short of laser surgery (which isn't perfected yet so research
this before doing it), there is really no "safe" vision correcting
or shielding as each method has hazards or difficulties while
sailing. You need to experiment and see what works for you.
Rob->
76702...@compuserve.com
In article <EAw76...@world.std.com>,
> the kind that looked like goggles? They were great but got blown off
> during a very windy upwind slam.
>
> All of Okley's latest sport eyewear is clearly unsafe because it has a
> sharp bottom edge that could be forced into your eye during a
> fall. Most sunglasses have two separate lenses which can be pushed
> into the eye by a blow from the mast. (This happened to a friend of
> mine and she has the scar to prove it.)
>
> windsurfing?
I'd suggest looking into Barz sports optics. I ran across them on the Web
page for Murray's sports equipment (www.murrays.com). They look like high
impact plastic goggles, in multiple shades, held in place by an elastic
band.
Norton
76702...@compuserve.com
>
> -Jonathan.
>
> USWA Member #US233
> Boards: Seatrend 9'0" and 8'6", Mistral One Design
> Sails: Waddell
> Spars: Fiberspar
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
> | Jonathan M. Richardson | http://world.std.com/~jthan |
> | Physicist and Windsurfer | Email: jt...@world.std.com |
> ______________________________________________________________________
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
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Tim Dierauf
Hi Rob,
I read your post. I too use cat-eye style frames with chums which I tie to my
wetsuit zip strap. The only time I lost my glasses is when I got spanked by a
wave that jacked up faster then expected at Wadell (??sp) Creek.
A word of warning about glass lenses though. A friend of mine was a doctor at
the Squaw Valley clinic. He told me that a common procedure he performed was
removing glass fragments from peoples eyes that resulted from collisions. He
strongly recommended plastic lenses. I have followed that advice.
TTFN,
Tim
---
Timothy A. Dierauf, PE
Solar Energy Applications Laboratory
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Colorado State University
SagerSkate
Well, I wear a serious prescription and can't wear contacts (plus, I'm not
sure I'd want to wear them in the water anyway). And those busted up
glasses problems ARE dangerous and annoying. So what I did was have the
local eye shop make me some ANSI Z-87 approved safety glasses with a dark
tint, and bought a $3 floating Croakie for them (it is important to get
the FLOATING Croakie rather than the $2 plain Croakie). Even if
circumstances do rip them off your face you'll find them bobbing gently
near you when you come back to consciousness....
And the frames will survive a direct hit from the boom, putting a nice,
sympathy-generating bruise on your cheek or eyebrow rather than rupturing
your eye-ball and permanently blinding you.
I can personally testify to both of the above claims.
Around here all this protection is available for less than $100.
OH, and while we're on the subject... bright sunshine is major NOT good
for your eyes and if you're not big into having blood vessels grow across
your cornea requiring surgical removal... wear sunglasses.
Julia
Julia Sager
SagerSkate.@AOL
Dave Mitton
good suggestions so far... a couple of war stories....
sager...@aol.com (SagerSkate) wrote:
>Well, I wear a serious prescription and can't wear contacts (plus, I'm not
>sure I'd want to wear them in the water anyway). And those busted up
>glasses problems ARE dangerous and annoying. So what I did was have the
>local eye shop make me some ANSI Z-87 approved safety glasses with a dark
>tint, and bought a $3 floating Croakie for them (it is important to get
>the FLOATING Croakie rather than the $2 plain Croakie). Even if
>circumstances do rip them off your face you'll find them bobbing gently
>near you when you come back to consciousness....
A cheap alternative, I use and has worked at least once for me when I
went down hard near the start line for a dingy race, I found them after they
started, is a simple large fishing bobber (float) that I clip on to the back of
a regular Croakie. I've already lost one pair of glasses to the
non-floatingness of regular Croakies.
>And the frames will survive a direct hit from the boom, putting a nice,
>sympathy-generating bruise on your cheek or eyebrow rather than rupturing
>your eye-ball and permanently blinding you.
I ruined another pair of glasses while in mid-air having been
catapulted, I reached up to "protect" my glasses, only to have the impact with
the water and my hand bent the frame sufficently to pop the lens!
You need floatation and strong frames.
>Julia Sager
>SagerSkate.@AOL
Rob Shapiro
Jonathan M Richardson wrote:
>
> Hi Guys,
>
> Many good suggestions here. I wanted to follow up by noting that my
> friend who had a lense pushed into here eye was wearing Vuarnet
> Cat's. It left a bloody circle around the inside of her nose, but
> didn't hit her eye. Since then, I have been using the Okley goggles
> (which are gone, sniff.)
>
This post and the one from yesterday both make good points
about the lens being pushed in, but I want to make a few
follow-up points:
- The Corning glass lens I use is specifically made for
impact sports. While it can still break, it is shatter-
resistant which reduces (and can even eliminate) the
likelihood that something will either go into your eyes
or cut you (the demo I saw involving a hammer being
pounded onto the glass resulted in a few pieces of glass
all of which were not sharp or pointed).
- My lenses were cut and glued with consideration for the
potential impact (the normal glass/plastic cut and glue
to the frames does not take this into account, read
normal wear). Again, this is not foolproof but does
increase safety and reduces the potential for injury.
- What is also very important, due to my thinning hair,
is that I have to wear something on my head to protect
it from the sun. When it's really cranking I always wear
a helmet and more often than not any object coming at or
near my glasses will be stopped by the helmet unless it
is a perfect shot to the glasses and I have not or
can not react in time. I recently saw someone with a
helmet and a couple of bars (like a modified goalie
helmet) - on windy days this may be a good idea for
other reasons and will nearly completely resolve the
glasses problem.
Rob->
Nicholas Green
> So what suggestions do people have for relatively safe eyewear for
> windsurfing?
I wear soft contacts to correct vision, and either Bolle Edge II (nice
1 piece plastic wraparound lens) or Arena UV protected swimming
goggles, depending on wind conditions.
Only time I have lost anything so far was when a contsct blew out of
my eye while I was on shore!
Cheers
Nicholas
---
"Very funny Scotty, now beam down my clothes."
----------------------------------------------------------------
| Greetings from sunny South Africa | Nicholas Green |
| | <ngr...@icon.co.za> |
| | |
| | Team AMIGA |
----------------------------------------------------------------
DTaylor356
I just bought BARZ to use with contacts. The contacts stayed in OK, but
the BARZ fog up pretty badly. Even with the ventilated gaskets they fog
and they let enough water get to your eyes that you have to be worried
about losing a contact.
Can't recommend the BARZ system.
dt
Edward W. Scott
DTaylor356 (dtayl...@aol.com) wrote:
: I just bought BARZ to use with contacts. The contacts stayed in OK, but
: dt
Personally, I think goggles or glasses while sailing suck. I've tried all
kinds, and none adequately: 1) stay fog, water or sunscreen-free (my
vision is always impaired within 15 minutes of starting a session); and 2)
stay on during crash and burns, even with croakies. If you're wearing
contacts, like me, my eye doctor told me that the short wavelength of UV
light is pretty much all filtered out by regular soft contacts. He also told
me that studies of Chesapeake Bay fisherman did not show any marked
increase in cataracts over the general population, even after a lifetime
of unprotected fishing in sunny conditions. Crow's feet are another issue
about which I do have concern due to sun exposure and my increasing age
(currently 36).
The only times I've lost contacts is when sailing in fresh water (e.g.
Sacramento River Delta and Da Gorge). For some reason, dunking in salt
water is no problem, but dunking in fresh is.
--
Ed Scott ShrEdding SF Bay
sh...@netcom.com ..Windwing/ASD..
P&S&N
model is Jahangir Khan. Bought them in Australia. Was told they are used
by Australian army. Excellent but I sometimes feel that I'm looking in a
tunnel. So I often pull them down around my neck and let them hang their
until i need to see in the distance.
Have fun, Philip Khouri, Auckland New Zealand
TomBuckOb2
I've tried various sunglasses over the years and never found anything
which didn't bug me with falling off, slipping down my face/nose, fogging
up, spotting, etc.
Recently I bought a pair of Oakley Zeros (I didn't buy them for
windsurfing) and while sailing in the FL Keys last week (Islamorada) I
wore them the whole time. They were great for several reasons:
The water sheets off of them cleanly
They are VERY light, so even on some pretty good wipe outs they didn't
come off (they don't have much momentum of their own)
They never fog
They block all of the sun
Very comfy
Again, I didn't buy these for WS, but they seemed to work great - about
$80.00.
Tom O'Brien
TomBuckOb2
But of course my previous reply is in direct contradiction to Jonathan's
initial query which specified non-Oakley solutions - oops
Tom O'Brien - Chicago
AHD 297 Free, HI-PER Tech 9' 0", Mistral Competition
NEALPRYDE, Gaastra, MultiSail, Powerex, WH
(as they say in the UK - a real dog's breakfast)
Al Eisen
I have worn soft lenses for 21 years and have developed astigmatism - I
still wear contacts! . If you were put off about corrective lenses for
astigmatism several years ago, it may be worth enquiring with you eye
doctor again.
The lenses are wonderful for windsurfing as I have better periferal
vision. I always wear protective eyewear for UV protection and to keep
my eyes from drying, but they don't distort when wet like prescription
glasses can.
Obviously, not everyone has as much success. So you should consult with
your eye care practitioner for your best choice.
al
h...@worldnet.att.net
Lots of good responses. My story:
About ten years ago I responded to an ad in a windsurfing mag for
prescription sunglass "sportspex," which was good marketing for a small
safety frame without templepieces (forgot the actual name), still
manufactured and used, according to my eyedoc (who specializes in
athletic/outdoor eyegear), by firemen, etc., to wear under their oxygen
masks. I put glass lens in them for the reasons Rob stated, and I
figured glass'd also not scratch up in a sandy, windy environment. With
a croakie floater they lasted about 5 years before a big crash in very
sun-glinted, choppy, white-capped, fast-moving, off-shore waters
inhibited me from locating them (can't count on'em bobbing next to you
every time, although I'm sure they were floating right on the surface
somewhere!).
My current glasses are Bolle' Pro Guards, which are nylon (you have to
choose a type of material that won't shatter/break and push into your
face - many plastics will) frames you can wear on the racketball court
(and maybe you'll see a similar pair on someone in tonight's NBA
finals). They are broad through the temples, with a foam temple pad and
substantial vents to prevent fogging. The nose bridge has a large
silicone pad. They are really comfortable and give you a very protected
feeling, although perhaps not as stylish as Dennis Rodman.
This time around I put in plastic lenses, however, on my eyedoc's
advice, and I've found they haven't scratched and have responded OK to
anti-fog fluid in as many years as the last pair. Still use the croakie
floater which keeps 'em on the surface, but have taken to attaching them
to my wetsuit zipper pull to keep'em nearby in a crash (it's worked
numerous times), without any inconvenience caused by the attachment.
Bill Crow
In article <19970604130...@ladder02.news.aol.com>,
tombu...@aol.com (TomBuckOb2) wrote:
>Recently I bought a pair of Oakley Zeros (I didn't buy them for
>windsurfing) and while sailing in the FL Keys last week (Islamorada) I
>wore them the whole time. They were great for several reasons:
>Again, I didn't buy these for WS, but they seemed to work great - about
>$80.00.
>
>Tom O'Brien
I use a good quality pair of standard prescription sunglasses that I
too did not buy for windsurfing--and they have worked fine. I tried
Croakies but didn't feel secure with them. I wear a nylon cap that fits
very snugly and fastens under the chin with a strap and find that it holds
my glasses very securely through my worst wipeouts.
I need the glasses to find my way back (near-sighted) and find the
water marking and faint scum on the lenses only mildly annoying. I just
bought a Gath helmet which I will use where traffic is heavy and wind is
strong (Gorge) and it also seems to hold the glasses on well. A Croakie, or
even my nylon cap, under the helmet might make it even more secure I
suppose, but I don't think that I need it.
I don't enjoy sailing in a fuzzy world so some kind of correction is
in order. I had considered soft lenses but am hesitant to use them unless I
can protect them with some sort of goggles.
Bill
Kirkland, Washington
hanlie
I use D'Arcs (made in South Africa). The lenses are interchangeble - I have
a clear lense, yellow lense (for using in bad light when mountain biking)
and the normal dark lense. It works very well and is suppose to be "bullet
proof". The plastic is flexible so it won't hurt you when you crash. I
don't think that the "cataract research" is very relevant to boardsailors -
we get ptirigeums(growth) on the outside of the eye. I read an article
once about a research done in the USA and it revealed that boardsailors had
the highest incidence of this. I have had 2 ops already for this and it
has come back again. So use your sunglasses and stop eye problems before
they even start.
76702...@compuserve.com wrote in article <8650486...@dejanews.com>...
> In article <EAw76...@world.std.com>,
> jt...@world.std.com (Jonathan M Richardson) wrote:
> >
> > Well it happened. I lost my favorite old Okley eyeshades. You know,
> > the kind that looked like goggles? They were great but got blown off
> > during a very windy upwind slam.
> >
> > All of Okley's latest sport eyewear is clearly unsafe because it has a
> > sharp bottom edge that could be forced into your eye during a
> > fall. Most sunglasses have two separate lenses which can be pushed
> > into the eye by a blow from the mast. (This happened to a friend of
> > mine and she has the scar to prove it.)
> >
> > So what suggestions do people have for relatively safe eyewear for
> > windsurfing?
>
goiterman
Can you tell me a little bit more about these.
-the exact name of the model
-if theyfloat?
-if you need to use a rope or something to make them stick properly to
your head? (please excuse my english)
-How do they look? I have prpably seen them but I can't remember it.
Thanks in advance
Adrian
Gleshna
My $.02:
I discovered that floating glasses during wave sailing don't help if you
can't find them immediately, and they float away. I have had success with
surgical tubing around my waist and up in back to attach the glasses.
This is covered with a thin wet suit vest. This system has worked well
for the last five or six years.
Luck,
Bob
Brad Yearwood
In article <19970531183...@ladder02.news.aol.com>,
SagerSkate <sager...@aol.com> wrote:
>Well, I wear a serious prescription and can't wear contacts (plus, I'm not
>sure I'd want to wear them in the water anyway). And those busted up
>glasses problems ARE dangerous and annoying. So what I did was have the
>local eye shop make me some ANSI Z-87 approved safety glasses with a dark
I had a local optician make a pair of dark polarized plastic lenses to my
prescription in a pair of Hilco sports frames. These are clear plastic
goggles with a death-grip fluorescent pink head strap. The frames are
cheap (around $38) by comparison with normal overpriced eyeglass frames.
Local outlets of the big national chains didn't carry these, but the
local guy had them (and the weird-sized nosepads for my regular glasses, too).
Because I am a fat and incompetent doofus, and a slow learner, I end up
falling hard into the rig at least once per vacation trip. So far, the
goggles have managed to remain more intact than my nose and shins have.
The goggles are also nice for other sorts of outdoor activities, if one
doesn't mind looking more than usual like an alien.
Brad Yearwood bny@spamdunk_cut_here_crl.com (do what it says)
Cotati, CA
KME
Hi all,
I finally ordered and just received a pair of $120 Barz sport goggles
from Murray's today. They are extremely high quality, great looking and
seem to be very functional. They were a little narrow for me (SO model) ,
so I ordered the adjustable bridge (ARFA) model today. If they work well,
my eyes are gonna be sooo happy. Because I wear shades 98% of the time,
and I'm so tired of the nasty lake water screwing up my contacts or
blasting my eyelids back. I'll be posting a review of their performance
after I find out.
Speaking of eyes, the Barz can be fit with prescription lenses for
$90, and there are 4 colors (types) of lenses.
Call Steve (very helpful) at Murray's for more info: 1-800-786-7245
(Kevin) Mark Eberhart - was US3985 now KME-1 (Mistral,Bic,North,Ezzy,Aerotech)
K-M-E Graphics & Music, Alpharetta GA
* Macintosh Computer Graphics Specialist (all media)
* Commercial Music Composition
770-754-9829 KME @AOL.com
Gr8Jibe
Almost any dark glasses stay on well with a Croakie and a helmet (or a
Tilley hat), except in big surf, where one of those rubber tubes is better
than a Croakie.
I get the idea this thread has to do with keeping your glasses on without
dorky headgear. But you don't look out of place with a helmet around San
Francisco Bay, so it's easy to keep glasses on.
Bill
Mike & Tammy Sainz
The manafacturers recommend grey/charcole colored lenses with
polarization. This seams true in that my ION and BOLLE flash grey lenses
allow me to see down into and behind swell and chop even in the glare
zone. Amber and rose colored lenses dont seem to work near as well.
Also make sure the lenses are near 100% IR and UV protective. A sure way
to tell is your co-workers laughing like hell at you when you get back
from racing in Aruba because you seriously look like a raccoon.
Try IONs. They're non-namebrand (inexpensive) and high quality.
Gr8Jibe wrote:
>
> Almost any dark glasses stay on well with a Croakie and a helmet (or a
> Tilley hat)
--
mailto:zi...@cyberramp.net (US-097)
Mariner Sails/Team ProTech & Windwing/Shredman & WindIGo Sportswear
W'surfing is like a box of chocolates, get the good stuff and eat fast.