Glasses vs. Contacts for Thru-Hiking

There are plenty of things to complain about on a thru-hike: no fresh vegetables, distance from loved ones, and persistent pains across your entire body. However, easily topping the list for me is the daily hassle of taking out and putting in my contacts while on trail. My hands are never clean, dirt inevitably ends up in my eye, and I spend the first few miles each day blinking away the irritation. I’ve met plenty of hikers who have opted to undergo a surgical procedure just to avoid this frustrating and often disgusting chore. 

It’s frustrating how such a mundane and common task at home can become this stressful, uncomfortable, and potentially unsafe activity within the four walls of my tent. There’s not much with me in my pack on a thru-hike and, for me, the ability to see is an absolute imperative in the outdoors. 

In this article, I’ll briefly touch on how to generally protect your eyes on trail before diving into the nitty gritty of wearing glasses vs. contacts for thru-hiking. And who would I be if I didn’t leave you with a few tips on how to make wearing glasses or contacts just a little bit more ultralight?

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor! Please consult a qualified medical professional if you have any concerns about your vision.

But First: The #1 Way Every Hiker Can Protect Their Eyes

Whether or not you need vision correction, all hikers need to take care of their eyes on trail. Conditions in the mountains can be harsh on your eyeballs, and if you don’t take steps to protect them, it could cause problems down the road.

UV exposure intensifies at higher altitudes, increasing by approximately 4% with every 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) of climbing. Additionally, snow reflects a substantial 80% of UV light, drastically elevating the risk of photokeratitis, commonly known as snow blindness. The damage from UV exposure accumulates over time and can lead to long-term conditions such as cataracts, macular degeneration, and corneal damage.

Continuous, prolonged exposure to environmental stressors, even seemingly minor ones like low-level UV radiation or dust, can accumulate over weeks or months on trail, resulting in significant long-term damage or chronic irritation that may not be immediately apparent. 

So, how can you help prevent this? Sunglasses!

High-quality sunglasses are your primary defense against UV rays and glare. Make sure to prioritize lenses that offer 100% UV protection and are polarized, as polarized lenses significantly reduce glare from reflective surfaces such as water and snow. Sunglasses also do a great job at protecting from a lot of physical irritants you may encounter while on trail, such as low-hanging branches and dust-filled wind gusts.

A hat with a brim is an excellent addition to your sunglasses, as it reduces the amount of direct UV radiation reaching your eyes. And if it’s the middle of your day and your eyes just seem tired, take a little break, sit down, and shut your eyes for a few minutes. Eyes need rest, too!

Wide-brimmed or baseball hats do a great job of reducing the amount of UV radiation reaching your eyes. Polarized lenses are best for protecting from glare.

Glasses vs. Contacts for Thru-Hiking

Thru-Hiking with Glasses

OK, now that I’ve said my piece about the importance of protecting your eyes in general while on a thru-hike, we can get into some specific tips for glasses-wearing thru-hikers. Over the years, I’ve found that everything from choosing the right glasses to taking care of them on-trail contributes to how well I’m able to keep my glasses functional and unbroken.

Choosing Frames and Lenses for Backpacking

I had to buy new glasses a few weeks before starting out on the Continental Divide Trail, which gave me the opportunity to choose frames that would perform over the course of a thru-hike. I wanted to prioritize strength, lightweight construction, and material that could withstand a little wetness and a little weather.

Materials such as titanium, aluminum, and plastic are excellent choices for these criteria.

When it came to the lenses, I splurged on getting the anti-fog coating, and never had to think about condensation buildup during my hike. While it was more than worth the cost to me, budget-conscious hikers may want to consider picking smaller frames (and, by extension, smaller lenses). Less surface area means less propensity for the lenses to fog up.

My silly little ultralight hack for wearing glasses on trail is to find a very lightweight glasses case and have it double as your first aid kit. I knew I wanted a case to protect my glasses from breaking in my bag during the day, but I didn’t love the idea of all that wasted space in the case around my glasses. I was able to fit almost all of my first aid kit in there, including leukotape, gauze, ibuprofen, alcohol wipes, and iodine wipes.

Even in tree cover, the sun is bright and you should be taking steps to protect your eyes from the UV radiation.

Prioritizing Strict Hygiene in Remote Environments

Handwashing is the single most critical step for contact lens wearers. Hands must always be washed thoroughly with soap and water before touching lenses or eyes. If soap and water are truly inaccessible, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used as a substitute, but it is important to allow it to dry completely before touching your lenses or your eyes. I found this out the hard way.

Fresh contact lens solution must be used every single time lenses are removed and stored. Reusing old solution or “topping off” existing solution in the case significantly reduces disinfection effectiveness and dramatically increases the risk of eye infections. Did I follow this advice all the time on trail? No, but do as I say, not as I do.

Selecting the Best Contact Lens Type for Thru-Hiking

Daily Disposables are my recommendation for thru-hiking due to the inherent difficulties of maintaining strict hygiene in the backcountry. These lenses are worn for one day and then discarded, eliminating the need for cleaning solutions and cases and significantly reducing the risk of infection.

They offer an ultralight advantage as hikers only need to carry the lenses themselves, not bulky solution. However, the logistics of constantly supplying yourself with new contact lenses on trail may be a bit of a headache.

Extended Wear Lenses, while designed for overnight or multi-day wear, carry a significantly higher risk of serious corneal infection with any overnight wear. If considering this option, talking with a doctor first is important!

If you choose reusable lenses, a multi-purpose solution serves as an all-in-one system for cleaning, rinsing, disinfecting, and storing soft contact lenses. You’ll have to carry enough contact solution with you to use fresh solution each night.

LASIK for Thru-Hiking

Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) is a refractive surgical procedure that offers potentially permanent vision correction, eliminating the daily dependence on glasses or contact lenses. For thru-hikers, the prospect of perfect vision without extra considerations on trail is very tempting.

Risks and Side Effects of LASIK

As a surgical procedure, LASIK carries inherent risks. Common temporary side effects, typically resolving within a few weeks to six months, include dry eyes (affecting up to 60-70% of patients), vision fluctuations, glare or halos around lights (especially at night), mild discomfort during healing, and sensitivity to light.

Less common but more serious complications can include undercorrection or overcorrection (requiring additional procedures or corrective eyewear), regression (a gradual return of some refractive error), flap complications (rare with modern techniques), infection (extremely rare, less than 0.1% of patients), and corneal ectasia (a rare but serious condition where the cornea thins and bulges, severely harming vision). In very rare cases, vision may worsen or be lost.   

The decision to undergo LASIK involves a trade-off. While it offers significant long-term convenience and freedom from glasses and contacts, this comes at the cost of upfront surgical risks and potential complications, some of which, like dry eyes, can be exacerbated by the trail environment. The decision requires a careful weighing of these permanent benefits against the high cost of the procedure and the inherent, albeit low, risks of an irreversible procedure.

If you do plan to go this route, it would be best to get your LASIK done at least a few months in advance of your hike to give your eyes a chance to fully heal and for short-term side effects to abate. 

Every scratch on my sunglasses by the time I reached Canada was a scratch on my eyeball that the glasses physically prevented.

If you have questions, go talk to your doctor!

Glasses vs. Contacts for Thru-Hiking: Keeping Your Time On Trail 20/20

Navigating a thru-hike is hard enough without adding the complexities of vision into the mix. While you can take many approaches  to get your vision up to 20/20, you’ll need to prioritize your ocular health regardless. Make sure to bring good sunglasses and a brimmed hat to whichever trail is calling your name!

Featured image: Photo via Katie Jackson. Graphic design by Chris Helm.