I think I would utilize the Ploy a lot of Competetive shooters use: They have one Lens with a Small Aperture Pinhole, through which Vision is more acute, so long as the Brightness Level is sufficient. Lightweight aperture on the One lens is not even bothersome to be looking through when NOT shooting.

Basically, you are "Stopping Down" the F-Number of your Eye's Optical system - the smaller the hole, the Sharper The Image You Will See, and the more Depth of Field you see sharply. Just gets Dimmer the smaller the Hole. So You need to balance the Brightness You need (As you get older, you need more Brigthness) with the Focus You want.

(I am so old, I need the Light levels just below "Smoke My Hair" in my Reloading shop!!)

So, get some Relatively Cheap High-Contrast (Yellow or Coral) Shooting Goggles, and Tape an Aluminum Foil (With PinHole) overlay on the Lens for Your "Master Eye", aligned just where You want to be looking while sighting a Target. Make sure you poke the pinhole and apply it with the rough edges facing out, so as not to scratch the Lens!

Note: This Technique is also useful when You have Lost or Damaged Your Regular Lenses and none are available, as in Post-SHTF.

 

What I'm looking for are experiences and suggestions on good values in prescription shooting eyewear.

Can't address this specifically, however I do have a suggestion which may effect your selection. You may or may not be familiar with occupational lens. Occupational lens have a bi-focal at top and bottom, with the center of the lens non-corrected.

During my training many years ago I used a modified occupational lens, which had only the corrective bi-focal on the top. The center and bottom of the lens was non-corrected (for reading I used a pair of reading glasses).

I placed the blue line on the photo above, which represents the line/location of the corrective lens part on the top, from the non-corrected lens on the center and bottom. This line/location is critical for the occupation lens setup to work for you and it takes a bit of work to locate the perfect spot. However many times it takes to locate the line, it is worth the effort, as placing the line in the wrong spot will frustrate the use, and having it in the right/correct spot will enhance the use.

When we walk, we typically keep our head upright, and would use the center and lower portion of the lens (non-corrected). When we get into our aggressive shooting stance, we tend to lean into the gun and tilt the head slightly down. We then are looking through the top portion of the lens, which have been corrected for your vision.

Having a distinct line between the corrected upper part and non-corrected lower part allows us to quickly find which part we need. The gradient transition cuts which eliminate the line present a condition, that many have to fish for the top or bottom. The gradient cuts look cool to others, but they deter our ability to find the top quickly before we have to actually focus on something. More difficult to explain, and a lot easier to detect when seeing (pun intended!!).

It's my understanding that the occupational lens were created for machine operators who had to read gauges and adjust dials, some which were above their heads, making it more difficult to use standard bi-focals, which have the corrected lens on the bottom.

Just a thought for you to consider......they actually work very well and you can wear them on and off the range and more likely to have them available if you get in a squeeze for self-defense.


Best Regards.......Eagle Six

 

I appreciate both of your replies, the aperture is intriguing. However, I am looking to have corrective lenses which allow for clear, crisp 20/20 vision all around but would be suitable for shooting protection as well as being rugged enough for combat situations and be very unlikely to become displaced due to contact, fast movement, bumps, and collisions. I know I can put a sports strap on my normal eyewear, but they have neither the protection nor the field of view of say a wileyx or oakley or other type of sporting glasses. I'm near sighted but as I said, no so debilitated as to require glasses to go about my day to day life. I'm not to the point were the bifocals would be useful, my prescription does not interfere with up close work (believe me, I'm a med student and spend hours a day in front of a computer or book). I do appreciate the in put an hope someone who has used prescription protective eyewear can chime in.

 

I was having all sorts of problems focusing on my pistol foresight and target being VERY long sighted.
A friend suggested I got a pair of those pinhole glasses.
He has huge astig problems as well as "old eyes, long sightedness) so one of his lenses is completely blanked out with gaffer tape.

Anyway it solved my pistol problem AND works with the single point on the rifle.
Cheap fix, $4 so not too expensive an experiment for you.

 

Oakley make prescription glasses. Little pricey, but high quality.

http://www.oakley.com/store/products/men/sunglasses/prescription

 

My wife had prescription shooting glasses made, which I think came from either VisionWorld/VisionWorks or Pearle Vision. She bought them specifically for Army Reserves weapons qualifications, and is very happy with them.

I am not a candidate for Lasik, and my combination of astigmatism and nearsightedness is a source of much misery when it comes to shooting. I currently just wear my regular glasses, although I did just buy some goggles that can be worn over the glasses. Not ideal, but certainly cheaper than dedicated shooting glasses. Still, I do plan to get shooting glasses made this year.

 

I got a pair of prescription Wiley X SG-1 goggles for shooting. Primarily I got them for shotgunning, as my regular glasses worked fine for pistol for rifle. But with a shotgun it bothered me to be looking over my rims at the skeet house and adjust for the clay entering into my lenses. The SG-1's are nice, but I tend to fog them up when shooting trap or skeet. I can probably fix that with a little work. At the moment I just give the interior a little more air between shots to clear them up.

 

http://www.medicalsafetyglasses.com...t.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MSG&Product_Code=SRXP-SWO6&Category_Code=psg-plano

I have glasses that look very similar to these(but are not them) that I wear for work. I don't have any experience shooting with them, but they definitely will protect your eyes from all directions and have clear plastic on the sides so your peripheral vision is not as affected. The only issue I have is that they can be difficult to do computer work or paperwork with them as the thicker lense makes the perspective different. They are however, fantastic for when I'm working outside so I imagine the specific application to shooting will work.

I would check with your optometrist on getting them rather than ordering them online as well to ensure they're stamped Z87.1 +. I much prefer this style over some of the WileyX styles and the simple polycarbonate lenses with side shields. This pick is for functionality and visibility, not for looks, Wiley wins in that regard.

 

an old turd checking in.

funny story: when younger, i didn't wear glasses at the time. at a pistol class a friend made the observation all the participants were tilting their heads back while firing. while scratching our heads and trying to figure why? a older instructor walked by and said "bi focals" they are all older guys. be safe.


PS. make friends with a eye doc that shoots. you can have new eyes just to shoot. all sorts of ways to skin a cat. :thumb:

 

Those medical safety glasses look pretty good to me actually. Well, this thread has been at least informative, though it hasn't helped me make a choice yet

 

I didn't use them, but my soldiers used quite a few.

From the WileyX to any Oakley brand. A majority of eye glass specialists will make lenses to fit those frames that are also rated for mil-spec purposes. Find a pair of glasses that are comfortable and get lenses made for them, might be better than trying to find an already made pair of glasses that work. I had custom lenses made for my Wiley X SG-1's, non prescription, but they lasted me for years; outlasted their frame even.

 

I have the eyeshield with prescription insert. The bifocals seem to be just right for me. I noticed when "fitting" during the order, she compensated for my head position.

The occupational glasses sound interesting; new one to me.

 

How about these puppies? They come with a free brainstrap with each pair!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Military_Birth_Control_Glasses.jpg

 

You mention, that uncorrected you can function with one of your eyes. For that reason alone you should be wearing glasses all the time to protect the better one. Try a balanced corrected lens matched to the better eye.

A good prescription and pair of glasses will make all the difference. Avoid Walmart, consider http://www.bevelspecs.com/ There is a store locator on the site. When you get your eyes tested and prescription. I would go with Crizal lenses. Of course you would want to be sure to order high end, with added UV, No line bifocal, Anti Reflective Coating, and Transitions Gray. http://www.crizal.com/EN/Crizal-Benefits/Glare-Reduction/Pages/default.aspx

This won't be the cheapest option, but definitely will be nice in the long run. Of course, you can choose almost any frame, but the lenses are very good.

There are several military grade sunglasses / prescription sunglasses on this site.
http://www.opticsplanet.com/wiley-x-zak-sunglasses.html

 

I have pretty atrocious vision (-4 left and -4.5 in the right ... if I remember correctly) plus astigmatism. Though 45, I have really good up-close vision (by "up close" I mean less than a foot away), unless I'm wearing glasses or contacts. Optometrist says that most likely I'll never have presbyopia, but at my age the necessary correction level means either taking off my glasses to read small print or wearing "cheaters" when using contacts.

With the right contact prescription (i.e. not the last one I had which was tweeked for distance) I can see my sights and shoot fine. Same with glasses, only eye glasses fog up, slip, slide, etc. I've thought about getting some sport-style lenses (you know, bubble around the eyes, strapped on the noggin') for work on those days I just don't wanna fool with contacts (allergies, ugh).

So, for me, shooting with glasses or contacts works fine so long as I keep the right prescription. In fact, contacts work better for me in that regard than do glasses if only because of the fogging/slipping issues, plus I have a better selection of eye protection to wear if I don't have to fit them over my dorky thick frames (had the tiny wire frames, but my cola-bottle-bottom lenses kept popping out or bending the $%&#ing frame).

I'm toying with the notion of Lasix, but might not be a candidate due to my prescription, plus I hear there's a good chance I'll have to kiss my excellent close-in vision good-bye. Still haven't ruled it out, though. Good luck!

 

If you can get it right with the contacts, then lasix might be an option. All they really do is slip a lens in there anyway. I'm not a candidate, because one eye is shot, and the risk of losing the good one is not a good bet.

 

Hmmm ... good information, thanks! I'll look back into it next time I go see my eye-folks. :thumb:

 

Revision Sawfly

http://www.revisionmilitary.com/product/sawfly/?gclid=CMjn6IHu67UCFQSnnQodOC8AkA

 

I just have single correction (far distances) Polycarbonate lenses with a scratch-resistant hard coat with built-in ultraviolet protection. I got a good deal on a titanium frame I found in the "clearance section" that fit me perfectly with adjustable ear pieces. I wanted to use them as everyday glasses for driving and distance vision as well and they cost me around $150.

My wife got the Crizal lenses, her first set of bifocals and she has not liked them and is not adjusting to them very well.

If you are shooting a lot or are looking to compete, I would look into the competition glasses.

 

You can also go with Cocoons or Fitovers

I have both types, all polarized, yellow or amber for fishing, gray for sun. They are polycarbonate. I also get polycarbonate prescription glasses. I'm not sure what the actual protection rating of the Cocoons / Fitovers are in conjuction with the poly carb prescription glasses but I'm confident in the combination.

I also have the Sawflys as shown above ^^^


Cocoons:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...ords=cocoons&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4031080151&ref=pd_sl_969d7urt3u_e



Fitovers:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vnetw=g&hvrand=870339034658594696&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_91gsqwmd6_b

 

I just have single correction (far distances) Polycarbonate lenses with a scratch-resistant hard coat with built-in ultraviolet protection.

Same boat I'm in, and I use the same remedy. Polycarbonate single vision.

That is all I buy now. All of my prescription lenses are polycarbs.

I buy mine through Zenni. Frames, lenses (polycarbonate) for under $50 delivered.