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Re: Curious about contacts
> Hi, I'm a mewbie and I was wondering if anyone wears contacts and hauls
> all that solution stuff around on a long hike or even the thru hike. I have
> pretty thick glasses that are kinda cumbersome. Is the convenience worth
> the weight? Any advice?
I wore contacts on my thru-hike. With advice taken from my eye doctor I
went with the extended wear lenses that can be worn for a week before
they need to be taken out over night and cleaned. Each pair is good for
three months and therefore slightly less expensive than the kind you
throw out after a week. I've worn contacts now for about 15 years and
wasn't about to go back to the hassle of glasses while out on the trail. I
did take glasses with me but actually sent them home after two weeks
and never wanted or needed them. I used the three-in-one cleaning and
storage solution and carried it with me in a small 1oz. nalgene bottle with
a dropper spout. An ounce of that stuff went a fair distance and I often
found a bottle to resupply with in hiker boxes along the way. (Hiker
boxes are found at hostels, B&Bs, hotels, etc. and are full of "extras" left
by other hikers. Usually stuff bought for town use like shampoo, body
lotion, razors, etc. but also usually many food items and then stuff like
snow seal, candles, paperback books...... You could run across just about
anything in a hiker box really.) I also carried lens rewetting drops and
used them every morning.
Being a female hiking solo I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the
night frightened by a noise and then be unable to see until I fumbled
around to find my glasses. And of course hiking in the rain with glasses
can be a real drag as well. I can't recall one time when my contacts gave
me any grief during my thru-hike. The weight was minimal. Barely enough
to even speak of. But then again, I am by no means a minimalist.
By for now,
Tracy
"And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to
climb."
--Kahlil Gibran