Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Prescription Glacier Glasses

Happy "Mountain Winter" Holidays!

I wear prescription glasses. For winter mountain climbs, cross-country skiing, and downhill skiing, I've used goggles to cover these glasses. However, I've found that on warm (above 30 degrees), sunny days I tend overheat causing sweat, lack of comfort, and goggle fogging.

As an alternative, I've started to look into prescription glacier glasses. There seem to be lots of options. Also, they seem to be quite expensive. Has anyone used them? Under what conditions? How do they compare to goggles? What were their pluses and minuses? Which performed the best? Also, what did they cost and how long did they last?

About a year ago I bought a pair of Nike sports glasses. I was tired of paying for new prescription sunglasses every year. The Nike's provide great coverage when I go snowshoeing. They come wtih three different lenses but also come with a small insert that has my prescription. The insert simply snaps into the overall frame behind the lenses. I got them at my local optomitrist, who happens to be a big climber, glacier/skier person. He recommmended them to me, and I love them. When I need a stronger prescription, I just snap out the insert and replace it with the newer one. The intial investment isn't cheap but after that it costs very little to update the prescription insert. Love'm!

Bob D.

You are right, they are not cheap. I used Opticus in Colorado. They will send frames you choose to try on prior to having the lenses ground and set in the frames.

I use them all year for hiking and snowshoeing. They have cut down to almost zero the sun related headache I get.

A friend has used someone in San Diego, who were less expensive. I do not know the name of the company.

Hi Try Zennioptical.com they offer grinding and goggles. 1 800 211 2105 Cheap Thanks Doug

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

Bob D. -- I looked on the Nike Site, but they didn't say anything about prescription inserts. Are these glasses special with only certain frame types?

wbtravis -- I've checked the Opticus web site and will call them to get a quote. Which lenses did you use?

Doug Sr. -- It's always greate to have your sage input. I assume that with Zenni Optical, you ordered one of their goggles. Do they fog up? Are the inserts comfortable? Do you get good vision?

Thanks,

Brant

Brant,

Several years ago I bought a pair of regular Julbo Sherpa glacier glasses retail, and took them, along with my optical prescription, to ORANGE OPTICAL, in the city of Orange, Ca.

They ground custom lenses to my prescription, and darkened them to my requirements. They then removed the original lens from the glacier glasses, and mounted the new lens in the Sherpa frames.

It has been quite a while, but I remember the cost as being quite reasonable.

I love the glasses, and used them on MT Rainier last year.

Here is the phone number for them, if you want to check and see if they can help you.

(714) 997-2881

White Tundra

Brant,

I explained to Fred how I was going to use the glasses and went with his recommendation. They ended up being exactly what I needed. Blue mirrored finish with ~94% of optical light being blocked.

Opitcus maybe expensive but they are extremely knowledgeable.

Yes, it is one particular frame. The entire frame is adjustable from the nose piece to the stem that goes from the frame to your ears. They are seriously high tech and come with 3 different colored lenses: yellow, a mirror coated lens with a light tint , and a just plain dark. The mirror coated lens is what I use most, even when snowshoeing. I will get more info tomorrow from my eye doctor so you can explore it more. They provide great raparound coverage for your eyes, and evey have a piece that snugs against your forehead that 100% blocks the sun from your eyes. I'll get more specifics for you tomorrow.

Bob

I've also used Opticus in CO and the gentleman I spoke with (Fred) was quite helpful and made every effort to get me a new pair before a trip a couple years back. Good quality outfit.