Whitewater Forum: Contact lenses

Contact lenses

Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6481
Printed Date: 18 Sep 2025 at 1:35am

Topic: Contact lenses

Posted By: rockhound71
Subject: Contact lenses
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 6:32am

Hey all:

I'm a noob to whitewater kayaking and I just had a question for anyone who wears contact lenses...do you still wear them when you get out? Or do you wear glasses with croakies?

Thanks!

Replies:

Posted By: arnobarno
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 8:00am

I wear contacts when I boat but they can be problematic. Sometimes, when water splashes me in the face, it can cause my lenses to float and then I can't see anything for a little bit of time so I try to close my eyes briefly just before I get hit with water (this could explain lots of poor boating by me).

I wouldn't worry too much about losing your lenses on the river. I've accidentally opened my eyes underwater lots of times while setting up for a roll and surface tension keeps the lenses on your eyes.

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arn9schaeffer@gmail.com (remove 9 for my real email address)

Posted By: rockhound71
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 8:32am

Thanks!

Posted By: justin
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 9:14am

Heather lost a contact when we were boating the lower gorge on the green a few years back and didn't realize it till she almost drove off the road.

Posted By: STLboater
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 9:49am

I have the same problem as harms, a little splash and the lens can start floating on your eye. On occasion though, my lens will fall out when I try to get it back in the right place.

So my word of advice, 1 day disposables. You lose one, put another on, no big deal.

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Kayak Academy Whitewater Instructor

Posted By: fiddleyak
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 10:24am

I've boated for years with contacts and I can count on one hand the number of times I've lost one. I usually carry an extra on multidays; paddling with one lense is doable but annoying.
Using 1 day disposables is good advice because the river water can increase the chance of bacterial growth on the contacts.

Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 11:02am

If you are wearing dailies, they won't work very well while paddling. What tends to work better is if you get some 2-week or monthly lenses specifically for paddling. The harder lenses won't be as sensitive to the PH differential between your eyes and the water.

The brands I have found that work well are the o2 optics and acuevue 2. Both in the 2 week versions.

I tend to tuck some spares in my PFD.

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Posted By: ashleygoesdisco
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 11:23am

I wear the overnight ones, and I've never had issues. Never lost a contact in the river, only once in the pool, and I was dorking around and deserved it. I've still got glasses, but I find that with contacts, I forget that I have terrible eyes.

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Ashley Duffus
Well behaved women rarely make history.
www.naiyadays.blogspot.com

Posted By: SupaSta
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 5:35pm

I've always used contacts. And like Arno, I've developed the instinct to close my eyes before getting splashed in the face or when I'm going under. I roll with my eyes closed.

I've only had a lens fall out a couple of times. But, there are differences between lens types. I've found the one-day disposables to be the worst. Initially it seemed like a good idea, you lose one, you replace it, no problem; but it seemed like I was adjusting the dang things after every rapid and I eventually lost one. So, I went back to the two-week type and it's all better. They seem to stay in my eye better. I suppose there may be a difference between brands, so you may want to check with the guys here who've had better luck than I have.

Dan

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Life is short, paddle hard!

Posted By: cloudpeak
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 5:57pm

I wear daily contacts. When a wave splashes me in the face, my contacts often float around and make my vision bleary for a while. This can make running a rapid more challenging to say the least. I've also lost more than a few pairs, especially when boating bigger water. As a result I always carry spares in the pocket on my Astral PFD.

Posted By: Carter_M
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 9:33pm

I've kayaked for around 13 years with contacts and I think I've lost one once. I think mine are the month long variety but I don't really remember (I wear them until they're uncomfortable). I've lost more on my bike than in my kayak! I can't stand trying to wear glasses or sunglasses on the water.

Posted By: hugo
Date Posted: 24 Mar 2008 at 10:18pm

i wear a water mask, that keeps my contacts in nice and tight.

try it.

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suck it

Posted By: rockhound71
Date Posted: 25 Mar 2008 at 6:03am

Thanks for all the responses!

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