Four eyed guys...
 

So am I the only guy who is blind with out glasses? Anyone have a good set up for prescription glasses that will stay on your head when you wipe out? I cannot wear contacts so thats out of the question I was gona get laser surgery but id rather buy a boat...

Just get the laser surgery. I've always hated contacts but since i play a lot of sports i had to wear them. Decided to get Lasik last year and it was the best money i've ever spent. My eyes turned out great, and i wish i would have done it years ago. Just make sure you do it over winter. They recommended 2-3 months of no watersports like wakeboarding or waterskiing. They said its one of the hardest activities on your eyes until they are fully healed.

maybe next year, I really want a boat this year....

Sal- Why can't you wear contacts? I'm curious because I'm in optometry school and there are very few cases now where patients can't wear contacts.

If LASIK is an option, do it. It's not that expensive nowadays, and you could probably still swing a boat too. If I was a candidate for LASIK, I'd have done it years ago. My eyes are so jacked, I basically need implants. I still want em, but those can be pricey, especially with zero guarantee of even 20/50 vision.

Prescription goggles? Ski type goggles? I wakeboard with contacts and it kinda sucks because they roll back but whatever.

I am just extremely sensitive to putting stuff in my eyes, its not that I cannot, Its that I wont. I sat at the eye doctors for about an hour trying to get them in, I just cant do it. I am looking at prescription goggles and sports glasses, I normally use goggles that fit over my glasses for skiing, but I want an actual prescription goggle or sports glasses with a head band for wake boarding. I was just seeing if anyone uses anything they like... preferably something that will stay on my head or at least float.

Did you happen to get LASIK or PRK? I am debating on getting LASIK and wasn't sure that the flap that is created could become a issue since sometimes a hard fall to the face is always a risk. I am worried that this flap can be ripped off during a hard fall. Thanks!!

I had Lasik done and i was told that for the first 3 months there was a risk of tearing the flap again if i took a bad fall in water. They assured me after that i was good to go. I've taken some nasty face first falls since then and i can still see.

I had lasik 10 years ago. Money well spent, had zero problems and I am very active.

I wear contacts and i lose them every once in a while while boarding. Last summer Parks Bonifay came to a local mastercraft dealer to give some tips for some riders. While i was riding i fell on a ts 5 and lost my right contact. Kind of sucked because parks saw e whole thing.

Thanks for the response! That makes me feel like I am making the right choice at the right time.

I've always ridden blind and it's been fine. Winching when the sun gets low is scary though because I cant see what I'm about to hit until I'm right there. But I'm getting LASIK on Thursday and couldn't be more stoked.
The surgeon told me that for water sports that PRK has no advantage over LASIK. HE assured me that LASIK will be able to withstand even the nastiest faceplants.

I'm planning on getting some goggles to wear for the first few months. Even in January and February it's too hard to stay off the water.

I had lasik about 12 years ago and never looked back. Was blind as a bat before it and regularly lost contacts. I would not hesitate to have it again if my vision were to change.

Contacts are difficult at the beginning. I've had a few friends have extreme difficulty putting in lenses for the first few days they had them (especially hard lenses). It's just all about getting used to poking your eyeball, and having something in there all the time. If your afraid of having something in your eye, I cant imagine you'll be able to sit through a LASIK procedure. Just the thought of that should keep you away. Prescription glasses, goggles, anything that you'll want to wear for extreme sports, and want to withstand the "punishment" they'll take will be extremely expensive, and much more costly to replace. Especially if they break, and lodge in your face or eye. If you don't want to spring for LASIK right now, just give contacts a chance. An hour in the doctors office under the judging eyes of the optometrist and their colleagues is not really a confidence builder for you trying to get over the issue of having something in your eyes. Most optometrists will offer you a refund if you can swing the contacts. At least the good ones will.

Good luck. I've been wearing glasses and contacts for almost 25 years now. I've hated them for at least the last 12 years, but it beats being blind. At least thats what I've been told. Pm me if you have any other questions or concerns. Good luck.

I agree with Train, see if the optometrist will put the contacts in for you on the first time around. It is tough at first but after the first time or two, you will slowly get use to it. Once you know how to put them in and pull them out it will be easy to repeat. I suggest you give contacts another shot. I went 27 years without them and I have been wearing them for the last 4 years. I love them. Once my eyesight quits degrading I am going to look into Lasik.

+1 for LASIK. If you do just make sure you spend the money and go with who you're comfortable with and will do a good job. My doctor also said water sports had pretty much no effect on the flap, and in his 20+ years he's had three patients have problems with the flap, all from sharp objects like pencils or nails from a dog. I had the go ahead to get in the water about a month after surgery and have had no issues.

FWIW I was 20/400 or so before surgery, and ran the full gamut of glasses and contact options. Nothing ever worked to satisfaction for the lake and snowboarding/snowmobiling. Plus Custom LASIK (much more expensive) got me to 20/20 and 20/15, so that's a nice bonus hah.

I love my goggles. I've used bugz and Speedo es1 . Barefoot speed faceplants, no injuries, they just get violently ripped off. I use them because I wear sunglasses in the boat and I don't know of any speed sport that does not use eye protection. I attach a key float with a zip tie to the back of the strap. It also reduces pollen flush.

I had lasik 7 years ago and it has been the best money I've ever spent. Ask your optometrist if he can put some numbing drops in your eyes so you cant feel anything the first time you put a contact lens in. I think everyones has trouble putting them in at first but once you get used to it it will become second nature.

man up and put the contacts in

I have had no problem with contacts, will do lasik after all the kids are out of braces, that is a several more years though. i don't know what my eye sight is, but my contacts are 3.75 and 4.00, glasses are pretty thick and i can't really see much without.

i have had prescription glasses made for frames from seaspecs they worked great, i had the lens tinted and polarized. the address maybe seaspecs.com. i bought the frames and had my local optical make the lenses.

Thanks TTduncan that is what I was hoping someone would show me.

I wear contacts and considered lasic or PRK years ago. I ended up not doing it as I really don't mind contacts. I will say that, as I have aged (45 now), I have started to have near vision issues, which is pretty normal. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I can take my contacts out and see my wife up close - her being pretty helps :-) This may sound crazy and I am not sure I would have paid much attention if some older guy told me this but I really cannot tell you have very thankful I am no that I can do this.

Now, if I could not get over having something in my eyes, so contacts were not an option...I think the surgery is a GREAT option. Maybe give the contacts one more chance. I cannot let someone else put my contacts in, the optometrist has tried many times. To do it myself, I look 'up' and put the lens on the bottom of my eye (so I don't have to see my finger touch my eye) which made it MUCH easier to get over.

I didn't need glasses until I was in college. I also had a very difficult time with the contacts at first, things have changed a great deal in the past few years when it comes to contacts. Go see your doctor and try a few different brands, they are like wakeboard bindings they all work but fit differently. Just ask for the thinnest most breathable ones to start out with.

One thing you need to keep in mind, placing something in your eyeball is not natural so it will take some getting used to. At first it would take me almost a half an hour to get the stupid things in, today I don't even need a mirror to put them in and it takes about 15 seconds. Just takes practice and patience. My wife had LASIK done and loves it, I had a fear of them screwing it up and also wanted a boat more so I sport the contacts.

agreed. get contacts. im a 5.00 in both eyes, even more blind than you. in 6 or 7 years of riding I think ive only lost 1 or 2 contacts.
yes learning to put them in when you first get them will take you 20-30 minutes. I remember getting up early when I first got them.
its a natural human reaction for the eyes not to want anything in them. but like wakeboarding stamina its something you can train and you get used to it in no time.
we all went threw the exact same thing. after a month or two of putting them in every morning you will be able to do it in 5 seconds like the rest of us.
what your experiencing is normal. we all went threw it. I couldn't even get mine in at the eye doctors, they had to put them in holding my lids open.
go for it. you will love it.

I just got LASIK two days ago and I LOVE it!! I can't believe how fast it went and how great I can see. I now have better than 20/20. I have to take a month off of riding, but I can't wait to finally see people in the boat haha

contacts. only really wear them anymore while on the water because they suck for near vision. But they are great for on the water. Yes, it is somewhat difficult getting used to poking your finger in your eye, but you get over it in a week or so. It's not a big deal. New school soft contacts stay in really well and I think I've only lost one on the water in five years.

I had LASIK done in September and I couldn't be happier. I got them done for less than 2K, you just have to look around for specials.