Glasses and (full-face) Helmets
Discussion
I'm looking for ideas. I currently wear long distance glasses for racing. That means I can see the pit signals well. However, I am really struggling to see the dash well in the car. It's a struggle to get the glasses on, but I can jam them in and they are vaguely in the right place.
I thought about going bi-focal or multi-focal. However they need to be placed in the right place relative to your eyes to work, not just vaguely in front of your eyes! I have tried lots of different frames with my helmet on and none allow me to put glasses on sensibly and accurately.
I could try clever contact lenses, but I'm not a fan of sticking things in my eyes.
Does anyone else have this issue and even better a solution to glasses with a helmet on?
Thanks
Bert
I thought about going bi-focal or multi-focal. However they need to be placed in the right place relative to your eyes to work, not just vaguely in front of your eyes! I have tried lots of different frames with my helmet on and none allow me to put glasses on sensibly and accurately.
I could try clever contact lenses, but I'm not a fan of sticking things in my eyes.
Does anyone else have this issue and even better a solution to glasses with a helmet on?
Thanks
Bert
I wear varifocals under a helmet without any issues, other than them misting up in cold weather, which is solved by warming the glasses up before putting them on. Oh, and occasionally trying to take my helmet off without removing the glasses first. I used to wear a Bell full-face and now have a Sparco one.
I've worn varifocals with a full face helmet and balaclava for about 5-6 years now with no real problems. You need to get frames that have got fairly strong arms so they can be pushed inside the helmet without distorting and also so that they, very importantly, sit in the right place.
Guys using helmets and specs regularly (military aviators) use 'bayonet' frame legs which don't have the hook on the end. Hence the distinctive style of Ray-Ban Aviator frames. Some frame ranges now offer these arms with most styles. Still doesn't stop you trying to take the helmet off before the specs - doh!
Bertbert, I have been racing with glasses on for about 12mths now & like you struggled my nuts off to find a suitable pair that I could quickly & accurately place on whist wearing a helmet.
After a whole lot of experimentation I came across a pair of TAG straight armed glasses with a smooth carbon finish they are tapered to grip the side of your head which naturally make them easy to feed inside the helmet, they are strong too enabling you to grab the front of the curving arms & wrestle them in to place without fear of breaking them as there are no hinges.
After a whole lot of experimentation I came across a pair of TAG straight armed glasses with a smooth carbon finish they are tapered to grip the side of your head which naturally make them easy to feed inside the helmet, they are strong too enabling you to grab the front of the curving arms & wrestle them in to place without fear of breaking them as there are no hinges.
I've raced with glasses, contacts and now with laser treatment. I'd put them in that order with respect to effectiveness.
My glasses used to take a few attempts to put on with a balaclava and helmet, but I usually managed reasonably well if I was careful. I found that it helped to have someone else guide them in or at least tell you what was going on. Maybe a mirror would have helped there too. Once the glasses were on, my main problem was distortion of my view based on the angle they'd seated at. I was extremely short sighted, so the strength of the glasses was probably responsible for that. Misting up was also a major problem in the closed cockpit car I was racing at the time. I once did three laps of a race only able to see out of one eye!
Contact Lenses were better, because the vision was never distorted and they didn't mist up. The main issue was them drying up because when I race my blink rate drops. I have quite large eyes, and the lenses never fitted properly, so that contributed. In the end, the drying problems got so bad that I had to stop wearing contacts to avoid eye damage, even when not racing.
My eyes are now lasered, so I have about 6/4 or 6/5 vision in both eyes. Perfect. I had it done by a private surgeon and it cost about the same as a race weekend
My glasses used to take a few attempts to put on with a balaclava and helmet, but I usually managed reasonably well if I was careful. I found that it helped to have someone else guide them in or at least tell you what was going on. Maybe a mirror would have helped there too. Once the glasses were on, my main problem was distortion of my view based on the angle they'd seated at. I was extremely short sighted, so the strength of the glasses was probably responsible for that. Misting up was also a major problem in the closed cockpit car I was racing at the time. I once did three laps of a race only able to see out of one eye!
Contact Lenses were better, because the vision was never distorted and they didn't mist up. The main issue was them drying up because when I race my blink rate drops. I have quite large eyes, and the lenses never fitted properly, so that contributed. In the end, the drying problems got so bad that I had to stop wearing contacts to avoid eye damage, even when not racing.
My eyes are now lasered, so I have about 6/4 or 6/5 vision in both eyes. Perfect. I had it done by a private surgeon and it cost about the same as a race weekend
Are there any "flip front" helmets homologated/certified/whatever for car use?
As a motorcyclist who wears glasses I found that being able to quickly, easily, and consistently settle my normal glasses securely and comfortably in place under what's effectively an open-face helmet before swinging the chin bar into place was absolutely priceless and was bitterly disappointed to find that (in spite of the ACU sticker) I wasn't allowed to race (bikes) in my Nolan X-Lite - for my money knowing that my glasses were in the right place, weren't going to slip, and wouldn't start rubbing or poking my ear in an uncomfortable manner removed the potential for a major distraction[1] and (given that it had passed the same tests as a normal helmet) any potential minor shortfall in structural integrity seemed like a reasonable trade-of.
[1] I actually pulled over into the pits mid-race on a couple of occasions because I wasn't happy with how my glasses were sitting - I just couldn't be doing with the distraction and discomfort while hurling a bike round a circuit in close formation with a couple of dozen other riders...
--
Jonathon
As a motorcyclist who wears glasses I found that being able to quickly, easily, and consistently settle my normal glasses securely and comfortably in place under what's effectively an open-face helmet before swinging the chin bar into place was absolutely priceless and was bitterly disappointed to find that (in spite of the ACU sticker) I wasn't allowed to race (bikes) in my Nolan X-Lite - for my money knowing that my glasses were in the right place, weren't going to slip, and wouldn't start rubbing or poking my ear in an uncomfortable manner removed the potential for a major distraction[1] and (given that it had passed the same tests as a normal helmet) any potential minor shortfall in structural integrity seemed like a reasonable trade-of.
[1] I actually pulled over into the pits mid-race on a couple of occasions because I wasn't happy with how my glasses were sitting - I just couldn't be doing with the distraction and discomfort while hurling a bike round a circuit in close formation with a couple of dozen other riders...
--
Jonathon
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