Monovision contacts?

[jtcarm]

Looking for non-surgical solutions for old eyes that will allow me a few more years using iron sights. Especially since the dog just turned my progressive bifocals into a set of monocles.

I’m far-sighted with astig in my master eye and near-sighted in the other. The astig even makes RDs slightly problematic.

Someone recently suggested mono vision contacts, giving near-focus in one eye and longer in the other.

Anyone who’s tried them, how are they for iron-sight pistol-shooting?

[vcdgrips]

Executive Summary- a bit and it is a solid choice for many folks in our world.


I have played with them for your iron sighted use case. I ultimately went with a significant under correction of my right (DOM) eye and a std correction on my left as I thought is was smoother for shooting, driving etc. as opposed to a straight mono correction.

I have 20/60 ish with a distance correction and some astigmatism. I am opposite of you and am “nearsighted.”

If I needed a correction to read and use screens, I would probably be more enthusiastic about contacts in general.

ITRW, I wear my distance correction oriented glasses daily. With an RDS, dots is quite crisp, without it, a usable bloom for pistol distances.

For iron sights, I perceive the need to shoot thru the distance corrected lenses and look over them to acquire a clear front sight and a blurry target, particularly outside 7yrds plus where I really start to lose the ability to read facial features beginning in transitional light. In short, at this point, with no correction, I see the front sight crisply at full extension without correction much better than with.

Vision is a very personal thing and it can be a bit more art than science to get where you want to go. I would recommend taking the gun or some reasonable version thereof with you to the OD. I would let them know in advance re the clinical goal. I have had had no pushback doing this in an old school shop, a new school shop, a chain store and even remotely during the height of COVID.

Let us know how it goes as “our’ experiences can be starting points for others in this realm.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

The problem for some is that different focal points in each eye leads to fusion problems as you have different images in each. That might lead to stereo depth problems or one eye being suppressed by the other. This might not happen to everyone and it might not be a problem for everyone.

Having a correction for shooting in one, well, what if that eye went bad? I chose mono and progressive glasses. KISS worked for me. YMMV.

[piefairy]

Dual correction works for many. Its a popular choice in cataract surgery. But it is not for everyone. Its a like bifocal in the sense that you need to develop a new skill in subconsciously knowing where to look to see, except in this case is which eye to see. Depth perception, as stated above, can be an issue and will take time to adjust to, if you can. It is a very personal thing. I would get a trial pair of lenses when you get your eyes checked and go to the range with them. They should be able to do a dual focus for you on site. Give it a try and if it doesn't work out, go back for a refit and try something more traditional.

[Chuck Whitlock]

I have been near-sighted and worn contact since I was a teenager. A few years ago, I started needing cheaters to read or utilize a computer screen whilst wearing said contacts. I also had trouble with a blurry front sight at the range. My eye doc suggested bifocal contacts, which has been a game changer. My distance sight isn't crisp out to infinity distance....I particularly have difficulty with green/white street name signs until I'm nearly on top of them. But I no longer need cheaters for up close stuff.

Might be an option to explore.

[Dennis]

I am nearsighted and middle aged and have used multifocal contacts very successfully for years now. I use normal distance vision correction in my left eye and a multifocal in my right eye which allows for reading and front sight focus as well as medium distance vision. Everything comes together using binocular vision.

Dennis.



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[JRV]

I compete in bullseye (50Y/25Y precision pistol), air pistol (10m), and 50m pistol. I use irons, mostly.

Monovision contacts allow me to continue competing with irons. I am nearsighted, but also have presbyopia (eye muscles cannot focus at shorter distances). Progressive bifocals are enough to handle activities of daily living and red dot shooting. Irons are usable is really good outdoor lighting without the contacts, but not indoors, even in ranges lit beyond the NRA and ISSF requirements. A single contact in my dominant eye with increased power (depends on the day, I keep +0.50, +0.75, and +1.00 in my bag) makes a huge difference when shooting for precision.

[BillSWPA]

Some people have made monovision work, but it is not something I can recommend.

I wore contact lenses for 30 years for nearsightendess. Towards the end of that time, my then-optometrist tried to postpone reading glasses by weakening the prescription in my non-dominant eye. It did not work well at all for me. I ended up going first to glasses with standard progressive multi-focal lenses, and currently to Varilux-X, which I learned about from GJM here and strongly recommend.

Make sure your optometrist or ophthalmologist defines dominant eye the same way we do: the eye that provides our primary focus. My former optometrist defined it as the eye needing the least correction. Claude Werner has written that the dominant eye - not the non-dominant eye - should be the one which gets the weaker prescription for shooting. I agree with him on this point. Make sure your eye doctor is on board with this plan before going with monovision.

I also strongly discourage corneal surgery based on learning from my wife's experience the extent to which the cornea is permanently weakened. I would happily wear glasses for the rest of my life before I go through the years of misery she went through after an accidental eye poke by our then 18 month old son.

Glasses with Varilux-X lenses have been the absolute best thing I have tried for dealing with the combination of nearsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia.

[jtcarm]

By “Varilux”, do you mean progressive lenses?

I have those now, and they suck for shooting. I have to remember to tilt my head WAY back to get the front sight in sharp focus. If I ever have to shoot prone, I’m screwed.

I practice with them, since I’m the field or in the street, I won’t have time to switch to my near-focus. I use those for work (SW engineer) and at the range when I’m shooting irons from a non-standing position. They leave targets very blurry, though.

It’s been a bitter pill to swallow. I had 20/15 vision until about 30, and didn’t have to acquiesce to glasses till my 50s.

[mmc45414]

Its a popular choice in cataract surgery.
Depth perception, as stated above, can be an issue and will take time to adjust to, if you can.
I am one of the cataract folks, and I am a major advocate. Not exactly sure how it would work for shooting, but I very much enjoy it for day to day life, but...
I very much want appropriate glasses for driving, and potentially sitting in front of the computer. It is legal for me to drive uncorrected, but probably immoral to do it after dark.
Now I have been using corrective lenses to do multi-gun matches, mainly for target acquisition.

[SecondsCount]

I'm nearsighted and did the monovision thing for about 10 years. Interesting thing, I could change eye dominance by put in a contact in one eye or the other. My eyes changed a little so now I run eyeglasses with the prescribed lenses for both eyes.

The front sight is a touch blurry but I practice that way to be prepared for a defensive scenario. Without glasses, the front sight is crisp and clear, and the target is blurry.

[John Hearne]

I’ve run mono vision contacts for roughly three years. I’m right eye dominant and had my right eye set to focus sharply on the front sight. My left eye was setup for distance. I was one of the 80% of folks who could make it work. It allowed me to stay with an iron sighted gun while being able to read license plates at a distance.

It sucked for rifle shooting with a red dot. When i retired, i was considering an LPVO in hopes it would work with my close focused dominant eye.

I’m still running mono vision contacts but may abandon them if I go to red dots on my pistol.

[BillSWPA]

By “Varilux”, do you mean progressive lenses?

I have those now, and they suck for shooting. I have to remember to tilt my head WAY back to get the front sight in sharp focus. If I ever have to shoot prone, I’m screwed.

I practice with them, since I’m the field or in the street, I won’t have time to switch to my near-focus. I use those for work (SW engineer) and at the range when I’m shooting irons from a non-standing position. They leave targets very blurry, though.

It’s been a bitter pill to swallow. I had 20/15 vision until about 30, and didn’t have to acquiesce to glasses till my 50s.

No.

Varilux X has a hexagonal pattern throughout the lens, with distance, mid range, and near mixed throughout the lens Multiple images are projected on the retina, and your brain picks the right one.

The whole point is not having to tilt your head. I got the Varilux X because I also dislike having to tilt my head.

[jtcarm]

No.

Varilux X has a hexagonal pattern throughout the lens, with distance, mid range, and near mixed throughout the lens Multiple images are projected on the retina, and your brain picks the right one.

The whole point is not having to tilt your head. I got the Varilux X because I also dislike having to tilt my head.

Ah, cool, I do some research.

I’m guessing they’re not cheap, though.

[BillSWPA]

Ah, cool, I do some research.

I’m guessing they’re not cheap, though.

Unfortunately no. I buy glasses and prescription sunglasses at the same time which usually gets me a discount, but it is still expensive. They are well worth it.

[vcdgrips]

You got one set of eyes and one set of feet- NEVER scrimp on Glasses and Shoes (and socks) when Tier 1 performance is mission critical.

[jtcarm]

….when Tier 1 performance is mission critical.

That sounds straight out of a Sig or HK ad.

If it’s not, you should copyright it, stat. Someone will pay big bucks for ad copy like that😉

[MGW]

You got one set of eyes and one set of feet- NEVER scrimp on Glasses and Shoes (and socks) when Tier 1 performance is mission critical.

Quoted for emphasis. I wish more people would treat their health this way. Once it is gone, it ain’t coming back.

I tried mono vision contacts this year. I still use them occasionally when running, especially trail running, but ultimately I gave up on contacts in general. I have too many allergy and dry eye issues to make contacts work on term. They had promise though. I’ve gone to a pair of single vision glasses for work set at computer distance and progressive lenses (also a Varilux fan) the rest of the time. The computer glasses just happen to work for iron sites too but I rarely take them to the range with me.

[CraigS]

I wonder, could you get some drugstore reading glasses in the X that you are considering for your contacts? Even if you had to swap one lens from another pair to get your left and right eye lenses different. Could this give you a way to experiment pretty inexpensively and w/o needing to buy different contacts for each setup?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I always wear glasses for eye protection also. Certainly sun glasses all the time when I am outside. I worked under an expert on photo damage to retinas and its cumulative. So UV protection always. Then I took Intro Ophthalmology and listened to lectures on Contacts Going Bad - Ouch. The parasitic amoebas that could live under the lenses if not cleaned and ate your eye ball - YUK. Rare but unless there was a physical reason or employment reasons for contacts - not for me. Same with complex cataract lens replacements. Since I will always wear glasses - they offer nothing to me and there are risks. A friend had at extra cost the astigmatic correction in his and the doc placed the axis incorrectly, the surgery to fix that was a horror show. Glasses for me over simple lens.

Having differential corrections in each eye for shooting - nope. Having special glasses just for shooting - nope, if on DA STREETZ - I won't be wearing them. I'm accurate enough with my eyes and glasses.

[piefairy]

I always wear glasses for eye protection also. Certainly sun glasses all the time when I am outside. I worked under an expert on photo damage to retinas and its cumulative. So UV protection always. Then I took Intro Ophthalmology and listened to lectures on Contacts Going Bad - Ouch. The parasitic amoebas that could live under the lenses if not cleaned and ate your eye ball - YUK. Rare but unless there was a physical reason or employment reasons for contacts - not for me. Same with complex cataract lens replacements. Since I will always wear glasses - they offer nothing to me and there are risks. A friend had at extra cost the astigmatic correction in his and the doc placed the axis incorrectly, the surgery to fix that was a horror show. Glasses for me over simple lens.

Having differential corrections in each eye for shooting - nope. Having special glasses just for shooting - nope, if on DA STREETZ - I won't be wearing them. I'm accurate enough with my eyes and glasses.

I learned the same things in my years in ophthalmology. The negatives of contacts far out way in the benefits IMO. On top on the potential infection issues, the lack of air to the eye causes cellular loss over time, and the cells do not grow back. I've seen and heard all kinds of horror stories from contacts, RK, and Lasik what I will stick with glasses until its time for cataract surgery. Surprisingly, it has better odds of success than RK and Lasik long term. If you take care of your contacts and follow the directions they are fairly safe for use. Just long term use tends to cause cellular loss. They are getting better with each generation allowing oxygen penetration, but still not to the point where they allow your eyes to "breathe" naturally like they need to.

Back to the topic on hand, like monovision contacts may work for you, just take care of them properly and replace them when they expire. Do not overuse them. They lose their flexibility and their ability to pass oxygen through to the cornea over time. Just because they look the same, doesn't mean the are acting the same.

[Archer1440]

I’m going to back waaaay off the initial reaction I had to this last post, this being P-F, where we tend toward civility.

I will say that contacts have been an ideal solution for me for over 40 years, involved in activities where visual acuity is paramount, and my eye health, checked annually, is considered excellent for my age group.

Obviously they aren’t for everyone, but they certainly work well for me.

Currently using Acuvue Oasys Max which has solved the near distance issues that have arrived with being of a certain age, while also providing me with 20-10 distance vision and 100% UV A & B protection. They do cost more than ordinary daily disposables but are well worth it for me. And being a daily disposable probably helps avoid “eyeball eating amoebae”. :rolleyes:

Final point- if on “da streets”, I hope you have the ability and opportunity to keep your glasses on your face, should you need them.

[BillSWPA]

I wore contacts for 30 years. They are fine if properly selected and cared for. However, many people do not properly care for them. I have known people who slept with them in. A short nap can be okay but all night repeatedly will do damage. The concerns expressed above are real. They are not a reason to avoid contacts but are a strong reason to use and care for them properly. My daughter wears them, and disposable lenses which are discarded at the end of every day seems to be the current norm.

The concern about glasses remaining in my face during a defensive event is one I share, and I do not have a good solution.

[Jim Watson]

I never could get on with contacts but I DO wear monovision shooting glasses.

Yeah, yeah, I don't wear them on the Mean Streets.
I do practice with my daily wear progressives for carry.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Final point- if on “da streets”, I hope you have the ability and opportunity to keep your glasses on your face, should you need them.

Yes, but if I don't have them - then I have NO eye protection for sure. I've had enough casings and crap impact my face, that I'm wearing them. If I'm wrasslin', that a different issue. Actually, with my lens implants, I see well enough without glasses for reasonable sight pictures with irons for anything that isn't really far away.

Same with a ball cap, I tend to wear one most of the time when I'm out. First, keeps the UV off my chrome dome. Second, keeps casings out of my face. Yeah, it might fall off but then it might not.

[BillSWPA]

About 15 years ago, when I still wore contact lenses, a tree branch fell and smacked me in the face. The lenses of my then Ray Ban sunglasses were badly scratched, but that was far better than having an eye get hit.

[Chuck Whitlock]

I have too many allergy and dry eye issues to make contacts work on term. They had promise though.



On top on the potential infection issues, the lack of air to the eye causes cellular loss over time, and the cells do not grow back......
If you take care of your contacts and follow the directions they are fairly safe for use. Just long term use tends to cause cellular loss. They are getting better with each generation allowing oxygen penetration, but still not to the point where they allow your eyes to "breathe" naturally like they need to.

Back to the topic on hand, like monovision contacts may work for you, just take care of them properly and replace them when they expire. Do not overuse them. They lose their flexibility and their ability to pass oxygen through to the cornea over time. Just because they look the same, doesn't mean the are acting the same.

This is interesting, because if I wear glasses in lieu of contacts, after about six hours or so my eyes start to burn and I have to take off the glasses....seems those clear shields may block a little airflow? (I have discussed this with my optometrist, and that was his theorizing)



I will say that contacts have been an ideal solution for me for over 40 years,... and my eye health, checked annually, is considered excellent for my age group.

Obviously they aren’t for everyone, but they certainly work well for me.

Currently using Acuvue Oasys Max which has solved the near distance issues that have arrived with being of a certain age, while also providing me with 20-10 distance vision and 100% UV A & B protection. They do cost more than ordinary daily disposables but are well worth it for me. And being a daily disposable probably helps avoid “eyeball eating amoebae”. :rolleyes:

This is me, although I don't get 20/10.

One thing is that I have a silicon(silicone?) allergy....too much silicone content and I will have a reaction (I have a scar on the bridge of my nose from an open, festering sore caused by the silicone gel seal on a CPAP mask). Currently using ProClear contacts, which aren't daily disposables but are cared for and replaced in accordance with the instructions.

[piefairy]

In a case like your Chuck, do your eyes ache or burn? If its more of an ache, then I would lean towards a problem with the script. Optical center being off is very common, same thing if you wear progressives, the progressive channel can be oriented wrong, the script itself could be an issue as well. As far as burning, that would lean more towards an irritation of some sort, so yes a lack of oxygen could cause it but I've never heard of this issue when wearing glasses, airflow is not really restricted by glasses. Your eyes don't breathe in the same way as your nose or mouth (as in pulling in oxygen), but more like the lungs in that they take the oxygen saturating the surface of the eye and absorb it if that makes sense. It is a passive action rather "pulling it in". Your glasses would have to be really close to your eyes to block enough airflow to cause issues IMO. I would expect more of a reaction like that from an RGP lens or overwearing of contacts.

[Archer1440]

I would point out that the few times I have been “hands on” with Steve Tarani at Gunsite in the early 00’s quite thoroughly disabused me of any reliance upon anything attached to my head remaining there in an actual fight.

Including my head itself, in the case of that particularly talented instructor. 😳

[piefairy]

I’m going to back waaaay off the initial reaction I had to this last post, this being P-F, where we tend toward civility.

I will say that contacts have been an ideal solution for me for over 40 years, involved in activities where visual acuity is paramount, and my eye health, checked annually, is considered excellent for my age group.

Obviously they aren’t for everyone, but they certainly work well for me.

Currently using Acuvue Oasys Max which has solved the near distance issues that have arrived with being of a certain age, while also providing me with 20-10 distance vision and 100% UV A & B protection. They do cost more than ordinary daily disposables but are well worth it for me. And being a daily disposable probably helps avoid “eyeball eating amoebae”. :rolleyes:

Final point- if on “da streets”, I hope you have the ability and opportunity to keep your glasses on your face, should you need them.

Sorry if my post caught you wrong. Contacts do work for many, and my post made it seem completely contrary. I should have stated that in my case, the benefits do not outweigh the negatives. I have very negative results with contacts and cellular loss. They do work for many.

[Wyoming Shooter]

After several years of multi-focal contacts, my new optometrist suggested trying monovision. I"m now 5 days into it and first impressions are very positive. While it may not work for you, it's certainly worth a try.