Dry eyes and sunglasses

[Tri Girl]

I'm having a bit of trouble finding the perfect sunglasses to wear on the bike. I always have to wear glasses because my eyes dry out really bad when I ride, and well, it's a safety thing too. I wear contacts, but don't have dry eyes at any other time than when riding (DH wears contacts too, and he never has this problem- neither do my other contact wearing cycling friends ).
I have multiple pairs of glasses. No matter what brand I've tried I still "catch air" either around the edges or near the nosepiece and get the dry eye insanity (my $60 Tifosi's are not any better than the cheaper $5-10 brands I've gotten at drugstores or sports outlets).

I refuse to spend more than $70 on glasses (I know- I just can't justify anything more than that, tho), so please tell me if you have/wear any glasses that you LOVE that keep all the wind off your eyes? What kind are they????

I'm this close to wearing ski goggles on my rides.

[RoadRaven]

I know it must annoy some people here, but every time this question comes up and I usually respond with
"the $2 shop"

I never spend much on glasses - I am too careless with them - I lose them, scratch them, leave them where someone can sit in them...

So I spend between NZ$2-12 and even the cheap ones have UV protection.

I always wear glasses regardless of light/time of day/time of year. My eyes just hurt otherwise.
The only time I don't wear glasses is in driving rain and then only because glasses don't have wipers!

[Mr. Bloom]

I remain a big fan of Similisan Homeopathic Eye Drops - the only ones that have ever given me relief. I use the allergy relief drops, but they have some for dry eyes as well.

[RolliePollie]

Tri Girl - I also have contact lens & eye issues. But my eyes tend to water like crazy, leaving streams of tears down my face. My sunglasses leave a little to be desired, but it's not that bad. They're "Athena" glasses from Performance. They do let some air in though, so I'm not sure they'd work for your issue.

I know I once saw some sort of "multi-sport" goggles in a catalog, but for the life of me, I can't remember which catalog. They were like a combination between swim goggles, ski goggles and sunglasses. If I can remember where I saw them, I'll let you know. I remember at the time, I thought "hey, I should buy a pair of these for cycling"...too bad I didn't do it!

[Tri Girl]

RoadRaven- I'm the same way. I hate to spend money on things that will break or get lost eventually anyway. That's why I don't have kids- afraid I'll misplace them- and they're much harder to get replaced.

Thanks Mr. Silver- I'll check into those. Perhaps eye drops could cure my ail then I wouldn't have to buy new glasses. Is it an OTC med?

Sara- thanks. If you remember the name- I'd love to look into them (I'll go do a google search right now).

[Mr. Bloom]

Thanks Mr. Silver- I'll check into those. Perhaps eye drops could cure my ail then I wouldn't have to buy new glasses. Is it an OTC med?

It is OTC. I'm able to get it at drugstore & grocery, but it's 1/3 cheaper at WalMart

http://www.similasanusa.com/

I asked my optometrist about it...he said "it's an enigma...but it works"

[Dianyla]

+1 for Similasan.

Also, once you've been out in the wind with dry eyes, occasionally a tear duct can get plugged and causing your eyes to get even dryer. Ow sandpaper ow.

To alleviate this, place a hot wet washcloth over your eyes for a few minutes once or twice a day. Following up with a warm saline rinse is good, too.

[nomummytummy]

Hi Tri-girl - Like Sara I havethe opposite issue. My eyes just stream & stream. If you find those goggles, would love to hear how they go. Lou

PS kids are kinda hard to lose. They whine when you leave them for too long - I keep trying to sneak away, but they call out & follow me!

[Look]

I love my Natives. I have those big girly cheeks so finding glasses that fit my face closely enough to keep out the wind takes some searching but these do the trick and have the venting at the top.

Yes they are over $70. But start looking for them on sale. I think I saw them in Campmor.

I actually bought mine last winter for skiing because the ones I'd worn for 15 years finally snapped from old age. $120/ 15 years = pretty cheap per year. The secret to longevity is to get a case that is rigid and actually protective. Another $15, but $135/ 15 years is still pretty cheap per year. And protecting your eyes is a high priority.

I always think there is something cool about old gear that still performs. It mitigates the Fred factor.

[Blueberry]

I love my natives too. The really cool thing about them is they have a lifetime warranty that covers pretty much anything except theft. If you have a cool story about how they got damaged, so much the better. Their warranty explicitly covers scratches - it also covers sitting on, stepping on, tripping and falling on your face (did that!), etc.

My only complaint with mine is that they don't vent enough, so they fog. But I have that problem with all glasses - not just these....

CA

[aly]

I have the same problem. Actually, I alternate between streaming and super dry. I'm constantly worried that I'm going to blink and the lense will fall out. I'm thinking it might be time to start considering Lasik. For now, I just carry spare contact lenses with me. It would be horrible to lose a lense in the middle of a ride!

[wiseowl]

I have dry eyes too, and I also alternate between dry and streaming tears. I have some LLBean glasses that they have sold for the last year or two. The key was that they came in a small size- big ol glasses just don't give the wind protection I need. So look for women or even kid frames if you think they might help.

[Deblog]

Panoptx makes sunglasses that have a foam or rubber seal around the lens. They keep the wind, dust and pollen out of your eyes. sierratradingpost.com has some that run 49.95. My son has allergies and we bought him a pair of these and they work pretty well. Nice for skiing too.

[Skierchickie]

Ditto on the Natives! I have a 2 yr old pair of Ripp RS (RS is the small version) - they fit me perfectly, don't slip, .... I think they quit making them, but I've seen them online for cheap in the past couple of months. I like them so much, I bought a new pair of Native Ignition (they are very close to the Ripp RS), but the nose piece feels ever so slightly larger. I really like them, but seem to still be wearing the Ripps for running & biking. I did try on some other models, but none were quite what I wanted. Try them on! Some of the models are small, and some are more unisex. They have one small model that looks good, but I didn't think the lenses came up high enough.

I don't have your problem anymore (Lasik surgery was the best thing I ever did), but I wore contacts for about 25 years (blind as a bat), so I've been there. Also, by the way, I always have trouble finding sunglasses that are small enough for my face (even in regular glasses, I had to look at the youth sizes).

[anakiwa]

I have the same problem (and the price of the sunglasses didn't make any difference for me either). My solution was prescription sunglasses (a little more expensive, but IMO money well spent- I had some cheaper LLBean frames that I liked and had them use those instead of expensive optometrist ones, but I think the lenses were still at least $100). It works really well unless it's raining (if there's a significant threat of rain, I'm forced to resort to the contacts again).