Eye Glasses, Helmet and comfort?????

[Whip]

Since I can't see any more it looks like I'm gonna need glasses. In the past I have not been able to comfortable wear sunglasses inside my helmet. The area above my ears gets very irritated from whatever you call the things that hold the glasses to your head.

 

I know plenty of riders that wear glasses when helmeted.

 

 

What should I look for????

 

I guess I should bring my helmet with me when I try on glasses????

 

 

Anything y'all got to say would be helpful???

 

 

 

[Bullett]

Yep. I took my helmet with me to buy my glasses. I find the wire earpieces are more comfortable, but they are also seem more fragile. Good luck.

[Tim Wilson]

Fortunately, I only need my glasses for reading (at least, for the time being), but if I needed to wear them to ride, I would want the frames that I currently have which are Marchon Airloc 720 series. They are very thin, basically frameless, only having ear pieces and the nose bridge attached to the lenses. They do seem somewhat delicate and won't hold up to alot of abuse, but if you can take care of them, they'll last quite a while. The metal parts are titanium and there's no hinges on the ear pieces, rather they are just kind of springy/flexible. They're very, very light, especially with poly lenses, but they were also pretty expensive. I recently had to replace an ear piece after my granson got ahold of them and it was $150 even with my employee benefit.

[blackyam]

Hi. I believe that Tim is referring to Flexon frames. I think they are indeed terrific for using with helmets. And do bring along your helmet when choosing your frames. I presently use progressive lenses when riding. Good luck!

 

---John.

[flat_twin]

Get tough! You'll get calloused up after a while. Beyond that, thin wire frames work best. No problems with my RF 1000 Shoei. Hope my new RF 1100 is the same.

[Kritou]

I have some cheap reading glasses. Snipped off the plastic nose pads, straightened out the arms and then put a horizontal bend in them. They now slide into the gap between the shell and liner of a Caberg helmet and don't touch my head anywhere

 

Be prepared to snap a couple of the arms as the inexpensive glasses use a slightly brittle base metal

 

Not sure if you can buy cheap distance glasses

[Limecreek]

Titanium 3 piece rimless glasses will solve the helmet comfort problem. The titanium wire frame is thin, light and flexible. Once you side them in over your ears you will not know they are there.

 

You didn't ask, but I'd suggest staying away from progressive lenses for motorcycle work. Go with a single vision lens.

 

I just put my 3rd set of lenses in a set of 6 year old titanium frames. I love them that much.

[JustJean]

I have wire frame the part that goes over the ears is very thin. Sometimes my ear is sore but most the time it isn't. I tried prescription goggles but couldn't get a pair small enough so they didn't fit well at the front of the helmet. I could however put the strap of the goggles under the helmet pads and it became part of the helmet. Wish I could find glasses with a strap, someone needs to make helmet glasses??

[RichEdwards]

I too have flexible titanium frames on my glasses. The ability to flex makes them easier to get on and, once on, not cause any undo pressure on your temples or ears.

Whip...on the positive side, glasses let me ride with the faceshield completely open and still have my eyes protected. And I have the Varilux and Transitions lenses, so my glasses are good for close up, midrange (the dials on my dash and the GPS), and distance...and they turn into sunglasses in bright sunlight.

[Whip]

Thanks for all the help.

 

FYI...I'm nearsighted and have no problem reading or working on things up close. It just takes me too long to focus on signs when riding. I didn't know how bad it was till I went to Sams the other day, I walked in the place and everything went blurry. I couldn't focus on anything. All those colors and images were like a sensory overload.

 

Thanks Again

 

 

[tallman]

Titanium 3 piece rimless glasses will solve the helmet comfort problem. The titanium wire frame is thin, light and flexible. Once you side them in over your ears you will not know they are there.

 

You didn't ask, but I'd suggest staying away from progressive lenses for motorcycle work. Go with a single vision lens.

 

I just put my 3rd set of lenses in a set of 6 year old titanium frames. I love them that much.

 

2nd set w/tiitanium frames.

BUT, here's where it depends on the individual.

I wear progressive trifocals, tranistions for sun, and have no problems.

Would suggest that a modular/flip is easier for off/on, or just flip at stops for those of us wearing corrective devices.

[OoPEZoO]

I'm using the Flexon frames as well. Back when I wore contacts, I also could never wear sunglasses under my helmet. I tried many varieties, but could never find something that worked. I always assumed that I would never be able to ride with my glasses on. After the UN this year I scrapped my last pair of contacts and went back to glasses full time (with the hope of getting LASIK soon). Anyway, it turns out that my Flexon glasses fit perfectly under my helmet and the only issue I have is the loss of my peripheral vision. I have a noticeable gap between the edge of my lens and where my visor meets my helmet. This just means I have to turn my head to see some things clearly, that I used to be able to see while keeping my head facing forward. It annoying and I'm having a tough time adjusting. One more thing that is pushing me towards the LASIK. Now, if I could only find my money tree.

[blackyam]

Hi. To add a couple more options, I've for some years now been using polycarbonate lenses and opted for Crizal or Crizal Alize coating. Ta.

 

---John.

[Tim Wilson]

Hi. I believe that Tim is referring to Flexon frames. I think they are indeed terrific for using with helmets. And do bring along your helmet when choosing your frames. I presently use progressive lenses when riding. Good luck!

 

---John.

 

I've had Flexon frames too... they're a bit thicker and heavier but still good. These are the ones that I have now.

[eddd]

I vote for these. They're stylish and with the added benefit that Rusty could wear them when you're not to keep an eye on the brothers.

 

[Mrs. Caddis]

I went the other way and made sure my helmet fit with my glasses. Same with my ski helmet. Some helmets are so tight in the temple area that no glasses would work well. I have worn both plastic and metal frames with my Nolan flip-up. I prefer to wear single vision and leave the progressives at home or carry them separately.

[Bill_Walker]

I've got the Flexon frames, too, and they work pretty well for me. I have done a little bit of trimming of the foam in the cheekpieces in my helmet to give a little more clearance. Easy to do on most helmets.

[FLrider]

Thanks for all the help.

 

FYI...I'm nearsighted and have no problem reading or working on things up close. It just takes me too long to focus on signs when riding. I didn't know how bad it was till I went to Sams the other day, I walked in the place and everything went blurry. I couldn't focus on anything. All those colors and images were like a sensory overload.

 

Thanks Again

 

 

Uh...have you considered contact lenses?

[ratfink]

Make sure there is clearance between the Horizontal top of the opening on the helmet and the top of your glasses in front of your eyebrows..

 

If the helmet rests even slightly on the top of your glasses it will press them down onto your nose like some evil torture machine from the inquisition.

[Sellis]

I've got a pair of the frameless wire glasses and have no problems other than the fact that they are a pain to fool with! I do like the framlesss because they are so light and do not put much weight on my nose. Sometimes it's a little difficult to feed the thin wires over the ear with the helmet on. I've also used a pair of pretty much standard glasses with standard ear pieces that have not made my ears sore. Maybe my helmet is a little looser around the ears, I wear an Arai Profile. Which brings up a possibility, maybe work a little on the padding around your helmet.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Steve

[Albert]

I didn't know how bad it was till I went to Sams the other day, I walked in the place and everything went blurry. I couldn't focus on anything. All those colors and images were like a sensory overload.

 

You don't need glasses, you stumbled into the women's lengerie department!!

[RevRay]

Whip, I feel your pain or should I say see your pain. I just got back from the eye doctor, to find I need glasses. I use to balance a pair of drug store magnifiers on the tip of my nose under my helmet so I could see my maps. Now it seems the problem as morphed into diminishing sight on distance objects. Affecting my depth perception. So now I need glasses to see far and near? My solution was bi-focal that I'm going to wear all the time. Frames that you can tie in Knots shatter proof, light sensitive lens. Had no problems with ear hooks on the magnifiers hoping for same with new glasses. Hoping to see you at UN, OK OK pun intended

RR

 

[scout6]

If you wear a helmet liner, sliding the glasses between it and the helmet can give your ears a break as you build up calluses. I did this a few years back when I had the wrong glasses with me. Got me through some really long days.

[99Roadster]

Another option in case you or anyone is interested. These can be a bit pricey but they are multi-purpose and the detachable lenses are replacable with only a shipping charge if scratched.

 

The flip-up style is handy as well and the earpieces on most are straight so they can be fitted with a helmet. Bring a helmet when trying anything like these on - some will interfere with the top of the helmet. The nose-pieces can be adjusted on most to lower the frame.

 

These will accommodate a prescription lens -

Rudy Project

[Heck]

Having run the gamut with glasses/helmet ear issues, trimming the helmet pads to accomodate a fairly rigid frame seems to work best for me...

My eyes dont tolerate lenses that are bent or otherwise distorted from their normal position while stuffing them into a helmet.

I use a flip-up helmet with the padding adjustments made for comfort. The flexible frames mentioned before seem to change the eye-lense distance, pupil-pupil distance and even the rotation of the lense to the eye...

All these make for great headaches in a relatively short period of time...The more rigid the frame, the less movement of lenses under the helmet. If they are comfortable outside the helmet, adjust the helmet interior to accomodate...

ourse not everyones eyes are as sensitive to change as this...YMMV...

 

BTW, been wearing glasses since I was 3......

Good luck..

[SageRider]

I'll go against the Flexon type frames.

I use a polycarbonite (Lexan) frame and lens, progressive bi-focal w/Transitions and antiglare coating.

I wear an Arai Corsair helmet. This helmet has channels to allow for the ear pieces of glasses.

With the Arai, the Flexon frames were a pain to install once the helmet was on due to the flexibility of the earpieces. The near rigid polycarbonite frames slip right in.

Another (however slight it may be) advantage of all polycarbonite is no fear of injuries caused by frame or lenses during a crash.

 

[Quinn]

Old joke time

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A: Hey, how'd you get that line across the top of your nose?

 

B: From glasses.

 

A: Have you ever thought about using contact lenses?

 

B: Yeah, but they don't hold enough beer.

 

---

 

 

 

[Joel]

I was convinced I couldn't deal with contacts, until I actually tried them. Then I kicked myself for tolerating glasses for ~10 years when I didn't need to. Give 'em a good try. I like 'em WAY better than frames.

 

Even if contacts work for you, you'll still need glasses anyway, for backup if nothing else. Just like your helmet, fit is everything, and it tends to be subjective. Take your helmet, and ask the eye Dr. or optician for suggestions. I bet he or she has dealt with this before. Try on everything and wear the combo for at least 20 minutes, unless it starts hurting before then.

 

Even though I almost always wear my contacts, I also almost always wear sunglasses in my helmet. My eye Dr. recommended some sunglasses with interchangeable lenses -- Bolle Vigilante -- that I just love. I even put in the clear lenses to ride at night, because my eyes and lenses dry out easily. YMMV, but my point is that the Dr./optician could hold the key to a good fit.

 

I'd be surprised if any glasses that actually fit you well didn't also fit well in your helmet. Arai does a good job of making a workable slot in the padding for glasses, at least in the Quantums I've had. I'm sure Shoei does, too.

 

[MWS]

Bolle' Vigilante's with the SES Rx inserts. Swappable lenses. Just slide off the rubber ends on the ear pieces, and they slide right under the helmet.

I've used them for 8+ years for skiing (I wear a hemet), golfing (no hemet, but people around me should), and MC riding.

This spring I upgraded my RF-1000 to a RF 1100 and no issues under the Shoei's at all!

[Deek]

"......You didn't ask, but I'd suggest staying away from progressive lenses for motorcycle work. Go with a single vision lens....

"

 

Really? Why? In my experience with progressive glasses they are fine. What has been the problem you're experiencing?

[James H.]

Have glasses here as well. They have a fairly flexible frame that allows me to 'walk' them into position in the helmet. Since the frames came with their own magnetically attached sunglasses (clip-ons without the clip) sun is no issue.

[awagnon]

I've found a few helmets that work well with glasses and many that don't. My Schuberth flip-up works great, but I understand there isn't a US dealer any more. My cheap HJC works well and the Nolan modular also. None of the other brands I tried would work with glasses, for me anyway.

 

You can often work the foam inside the helmet with the back of a spoon, gradually compressing it until the pressure on the glasses or your skull is gone. Or else you can remove the foam and trim away as mentioned in an earlier post.

[blackyam]

Hi. I was clearing out some old Rider magazines when I came across a very positive review of Panoptx riding glasses in the Sep '06 issue (p. 81). Has anyone tried these? Any good? TIA.

 

---John.

[markgoodrich]

Hi. I was clearing out some old Rider magazines when I came across a very positive review of Panoptx riding glasses in the Sep '06 issue (p. 81). Has anyone tried these? Any good? TIA.

 

---John.

 

John, look at the frames, and think of what you'll see in your peripheral vision: black plastic. I wear prescription sunglasses, different brand, but they have a plastic rim around the lenses, they're actually dangerous; I have to turn my head to see to the side.

 

Whip, not sure why you have this problem; Heck's solution may work for you. Good luck with it.

[philbytx]

Whip,

Flip-front helmets work well with glasses......