Skydiving with Contacts

[freeflyDaLi 0]

I have just started wearing contact lenses and was wondering if anyone has had trouble with contacts while skydiving?

Any comments, advice or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[jlmiracle 7]

sure, I used to have one pop out every once in a great while when I wore goggles instead of a full-face helmet. The contact stays in the goggles generally so if you lose on in freefall, carefully take your goggles off because if will more than likely be attached to the inside of the goggles.

Judy

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[skymick 0]

I've worn contacts ever since I started jumping and had no major problems. Just make sure whatever goggles you get that they are done up real tight. Ive had mine come off twice or come loose..had to close my eyelids to stop them from peeling off my eye which was damn scary..had to track like that and just opened my eyes quick enough to have a look around before dumping.

Also wore glasses on just one jump..the goggles I used were so bulky and hard that they caught the relative wind and blew stright off! amazingly my glasses managed to stay on somehow

[Meathorse 0]

I jump with contacts and have had no issues so long as the goggles are on good and tight. No irritation or dryness or anything.

Once, however, my goggles were not near tight enough. They managed to roll up over my forehead... out of place and inside out

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[Malev 0]

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I have just started wearing contact lenses and was wondering if anyone has had trouble with contacts while skydiving?

I jump with contacts, and haven't had any problems to date.

On the recommendation of other contact lens wearers in the forums, I purchased a pair of Sorz goggles - and they seem to do the trick preventing contacts from being blown out during freefall.

[richardd 0]

Ive worn contacts throughout. My goggles came away from my eyes on a previous jump while tracking but even still contacts remained ok. I was a bit flustered by the wind in my eyes and dumped at predefined alti. Should be ok.

[poohbeer 0]

Check out Comfortable goggles for contact wearers in gear and rigging aswell

------- SIGNATURE BELOW -------
Complete newbie at skydiving, so be critical about what I say!!
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

[betzilla 56]

I just started wearing contacts too, and what a huge difference it makes! I wear good secure goggles with foam around them for a good seal, and so far haven't had a problem.

Enjoy your new clear view!

[TheBachelor 5]

Before I had a full-face, I had one come out in freefall. It stuck in the corner of my goggles, and I found it about 8 hours later (my vision isn't so bad, so I didn't know it was gone until I went to take it out).

There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...

[Luminous 0]

I wore contacts when I started jumping. Get good goggles and remember to blink.

And if one does come out, as mentioned earlier, don't take off the goggles until your somewhere you can put it back in.

Had one or the other come off at various times, but I had BAD vision, (-11 & -12.5 diopter), and always wondered what would happen if both came out.

I found out on a night SCR attempt.

WHOOP!! WHOOP!! WHOOP!!

The "THERE I WAS, THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE" alarm has been activated. Proceed in an orderly manner to the next post.

Couldn't see shit except for the green glow of 7 glow sticks waiting for me to dock. Kept slamming into em. At breakoff I tracked long and opened low to avoid traffic. Knew where I was due to runway lights. Didn't flare as I had no idea I was that close to the ground.

LASIK 3 months later. WOO-HOO!!
BSBD

'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

[freeflyanvil 0]

I've had them dry out a bit with a pair of loose goggles, but that's about it. Ironically, I now wear sunglasses on 90% of my jumps and dont have any problems whatsoever

Vid
"stons fal, evrysing fals, but doesnt on purpos change its flite pas an positioning..."

[JohnRich 4]

Be sure to read the thread called "Help: Comfortable goggles for contact wearers", in the Gear & Rigging section.

If you do have a lens come out in freefall, it will almost always stick to the inside of your goggles. Keep a small bottle of sterile saline solution in your gear bag or car, for such situations. They will dry out quickly in the air, and become so brittle that just touching them will make them fall apart. So, take the goggles off carefully, pour some solution on the lens, and let it soak awhile to become supple once again. Only then should you try and peel it off the goggles and pop it back in your eye.

I recall Luminous' night jump fiasco. He came wandering back in from the far north end of the runway like a blind man...

Sometimes you can tell when they're starting to peel off your eye, as you can feel them flutter. When that happens, squint harder to reduce the surface area to help hold them in.

And if one does peel off, consider keeping the other eye closed to make sure you retain one good lens for your canopy flight, while finishing your freefall with the other eye without a lens. You'll look funny, but that's better than being blind.

All of this is rare though, if you use the right goggles. I have a lens pop out only about once every 100 jumps or so. Keep a spare pair of contact lenses in your car or gear bag just in case you destroy one. You don't want to have the rest of your day ruined, or to drive home blind.

Tape over any vent holes to help keep high-speed air out. This means the goggles might fog up on the plane, but they'll always be clear in freefall. If you want to go to the trouble, you can also buy some anti-fog paste, and use that on the inside of the goggles. There's a kind called "cat crap" (really!) that comes in a handy little dispenser that is great for a gear bag.

http://www.glassafe.com/catcrap.html

[BoogieBob 0]

Here's something I wrote about a contact-related experience I had recently.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=638606#638606

[chronistin 0]

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trouble with contacts while skydiving

None at all. I'm wearing my goggles tight usually, but even when I had to borrow a pair that was a little too big for my face, they just got a little dry from the incoming wind - nothing a few blinks could not correct.

gree'z
Chronistin

Chronistin
(Home @ http://www.fallschirmspringer.net/)

[vonSanta 0]

I use one day lenses, they work great.

As long as your goggles are properly attached. Mine weren't on a jump and I lost both lenses. I could make out the wind indicator, but not what way it was pointed. Ended up landing with the wind in my back, heh.

Other than that (and the problem was caused by me, not the lenses) I've had no problems.

Santa Von GrossenArsch
I only come in one flavour
ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst

[jumper03 0]

Did my first jumps with contacts yesterday and no problems what so ever. Worked better than I could have hoped for.

Jump

Scars remind us that the past is real