Surfing Waves

Hi all,

am a pretty blind at -6 and -3, and so far have surfed with contact lenses but it does affect me and my ability to react fast enough, especially when the light is difficult or grey. So now this year I will change to contact lenses (dailies), but many people warn me that I will lose them under water, which would be annoying. So I am wondering how to protect the eyes and see different types of googles

Outdoor swim googles like the Zoggs Predator Ploarized:



This is small, but with UV protection and polarization, and pretty big for Swim Googles. And thy are closed, and should protect the Eye best, but I wonder about fogging?

Closed Surf Googles like the Mormaii Floater:



This is bigger and alo polarized, but also very expensive. It is also a closed google, so no water get to the eye. And it can be used as Sun Glass, too.

Surf Goggles like the Seaspec:



These are open, so fogging should be less ( I hope)? but then more water gets to the eye.

Shield LIke variants like the adidas Tycane Pro:



This is extremely Light and hydrophopic with a wide view, but I am not sure wether it provides enough protection for the eye.

Any views or experiences on these options? Many thanks!

am a pretty blind at -6 and -3, and so far have surfed with contact lenses

...I actually wanted to say I so far surfed without contact lenses.

I'm interested to see the replies as well. With both my eyes hovering around -4 I wouldn't dare go surfing without contacts, but I wish I could open my eyes underwater.

I had -4 vision too. Wore disposable contacts during surf. Lost about 1 every two months. Kept a spare in the car or moped. Goggles fogged and blocked field of vision. Glasses with straps got salted up and gave a false sense of security. Water would still shoot up from around/below the lense.
My advice, get LASIK eye surgery. So worth it. My wife just had it done to. Good to get LASIK if you short board and duck dive.

I looked at LASIK first. But a friend of mine who owns such a clinic and does many every day looked at my eyes and advised against it. As you had the experience - if you had to chose between two evils (fogging or salt/lesser protection), what would you take? My feeling is that fogging is even more annoying?

As for me, the blocked view and fogging of goggles sucked. But it also depends when and where you surf. Losing a contact now and then wasn't a problem. Usually the times i lost them was in small surf NOT big surf. Just accept the fact, just like getting dings ( or drop ins ) it's going to happen.

Oldie,
I surf with soft contact lenses. I've never lost one under water. When surfing at distance from home, I bring spares.

On very bright days, I must wear sunglasses. I use Silverfish and Seaspecs. They are nearly identical, but the strap is too short on the last 3 pair of Seaspecs. There is some fogging when it is cold. I apply Sea Drops or soemthing like that from diving supply.

Almost all goggles will block periperial view. This is bad. You'll never see the experienced surfer ripping along (with priority) from the side until he runs over you. This is experience talking. To the positive, you'll be able to see under water!

There are some extensive threads in ths forum about contact lenses, goggles, and sunglasses. You may want to search and review them.

I'm -9.5/-9 (yeah, reaaaally blind) and have surfed with contact lenses since I started surfing. I have been wearing lenses full time since I was 11. I have only had a contact pop out in the water once and I managed to catch it as it happened and put it back in. I never open my eyes up underwater. I don't really understand why you would want/need to as everything I do underwater is done by feel. I'm surprised you guys have had issues with losing lenses. That being said, I keep a spare pair in my car.

Thank you, Brian! This is the ticket. Close your eyes before you hit the water when wearing contacts. An assistant in my eye doctor's office surfs a little, kayaks some, and SUPs (ugh!). She told me: 1) contact lenses are great for water sports, and 2) simply close your eyes before falling into the water. This is just about all you need to remember, Oldie.

Another thing, if you ever get directly hit in the eye with water (this rarely happens to me) immediately scrunch your eyes up and cup your hand over/below your eye while slowly starting to blink. It's pretty easy to tell if your contact is not sitting correctly on your eye. That's how I caught mine.

Hi all, thanks, I will just try it then. As I will use dailies, the risk of losing one is not the issue, more the annoyance of losing sight again. But lets see.

Good to hear all there others (thanks, Billy and Brian) have been managing with contacts. So far I haven't lost mine either, and I even briefly opened my eyes under water by accident once. So I guess that's what I'm going to keep on doing... wearing the contacts, not opening the eyes. Carrying a spare pair is a good idea.

I've heard good things about LASIK but I'm not ready for that yet...

Oldie wrote:Hi all, thanks, I will just try it then. As I will use dailies, the risk of losing one is not the issue, more the annoyance of losing sight again. But lets see.

Thank you again for your support! I had my first session with dailies today and it was perfect, what a change! So far no need for googles etc as protection.