[mtnbiker49]

I have been very curious about my left eye vision. It feels tight and far away reading is quite blurry. The eye doctor asked if I wanted glasses but I declined. For dhing, should I ride with nothing, contacts, or glasses? Someone out there must have experience with this.

 

[bdamschen]

The better you can see, the faster you can go.

 

[SLOPE]

I wear contacts to ride and glasses for everything else.

I do know that the better you see that faster you can go.

 

[Arkayne]

The eye doctor asked if I wanted glasses but I declined.

Next time, accept and get contacts. Trial pairs are usually free. You are going to have to see the dr again and get properly fitted.

DH is dangerous and it doesn't make sense to do it with crappy vision. I find that riding the bumpy stuff is difficult with regular glasses because the helmet moves them around and it fogs.

 

[mtnbiker49]

Yeah, im 16 and have had excellent vision for all my life. My right eye is still close to 20-10, and my left eye is still healthy, but far away things get blurry.

 

[time-bomb]

Here's a good discussion on glasses vs. contacts:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230573&highlight=glasses

Contacts seem to make the most sense. Anyway, something is better than nothing. Arkayne is right, this sport is dangerous as it is, why throw in another variable to make it even more dangerous. Proper vision is as common sense as wearing a helmet in my opinion.

 

[Sandwich]

mmm kind of.

I used to wear glasses/script sunglasses all the time for riding DH. I wanted to try goggles, but very few people make good moto goggles OTG compatible. So, I got some regular goggles for cheap to try them out.

My vision isn't terrible, probably much like yours is. I'm about 20/50 in one eye and 20/70 in the other. Just bad enough to not be able to read a menu board clearly... What I found was that it didn't affect me as much as I had expected, and in fact, I tried glasses again and found that they messed with my depth perception to the point that I was slower. I also think that if you can focus on the rocks in your path, you're more likely to hit them, whereas if you focus down the trail, you b-line for it. YMMV, but it seemed to work for me. Once I know there are no trail hazards, I'm good.

My glasses never fogged up, FWIW, but my goggles did religiously.

In the end, I suggest you get some glasses (these are cheap) and see how you feel with them. If it's good, go with a contact fitting and get some contacts for riding, don't mess with glasses if possible- they aren't as safe and effective at cutting wind.

 

[ChrisKring]

contacts and good goggles. I have a couple of pairs Utopia's that I have been using for the past 5 years or so. Recently, I picked up a couple of pairs of the high end Smith goggles. Both work great at limiting airflow (for the contacts) and still keeping the fog off the lens.

I get $150/year on my insurance for contacts. With that, I am able to get 6 boxes of contacts. That's 18 contacts for each eye for the year. I always have at least an extra pair with at a race, usually 2 pair. If you get crap in them, rince them. If you can't get them to clear, toss them. I go a couple of months without changing them in the winter so I have plenty for the summer.

I also had good vision up until i was about your age. I also didn't want to get glasses. Do it. I improved in every sport by being able to see better. The little details that you are missing will make a big difference.

 

[bizutch]

You can be blind or stupid. Can't do both. I'd get the contact. have never regretted mine.

 

[time-bomb]

You can be blind or stupid. Can't do both. I'd get the contact. have never regretted mine.

I beg to differ. You can be both. Riding blind is stupid.