Don't forget this in your BOB

Macchina

Macchina

Joined
Apr 7, 2006
Messages
5,215
People bring all sorts of stuff in their BOB, but one of the most important things is often left out: eyeglasses! I am almost legally blind without my contacts/glasses. I would be a gonner in a survival situation without my eyes. Many people forget that if all they have is their BOB, and are wearing contacts, you gotta put them somewhere. I keep a pair of old glasses in a case, as well as a screw-lid contact case, and a sample pack of saline solution. If you pack a 6 pound rifle, make sure you're going to be able to see to use it.
 
Great point -- this is one of my nightmares in a SHTF situation; I also have very poor eyesight. I could deal with climbing out of debris or something (i.e., within arm's length I'm okay) but I couldn't hit anything out past 12 yards without a sawed-off shotgun. :(

I keep my 'last' pair of glasses (i.e., the pair I wore before my newest prescription pair, which are on my face) in my glovebox. I also invest in the sturdiest frame I can afford, even if it means putting off some knife or other 'toy' purchases. :D

Right now, I've got titanium-frame Oakleys with polycarbonate lenses, spring hinges (so they can take being knocked off my face without popping a hinge) and clip-on sunglass lenses.
 
I keep a pair of reading glasses in both my GHB and BOB. I also keep a pair of sunglasses with my gear.
 
Not to rub it in but i got a 20\20 *L* . Cant see what you guys are talking about lol

Sasha
 
sasha said:
Not to rub it in but i got a 20\20 *L* . Cant see what you guys are talking about lol

Sasha
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I can see just fine as well.... what ARE you talking about;) :D

Vey good point in reality. Of all the survival stuff... if ya can't see it... well can't be good....

It's the small stuff we could miss:thumbup:
 
I'm in a similar boat, without the specs' I am in big trouble. I keep a spare set in my car 100% of the time and every kit I make has at least 1 eye glasses repair kit in them.
 
I have a pair of glasses, I'm diagnosed slightly off on distance but am perfect for close up. The quick eye tests come back 20/25 or so. I wore them once or twice, but that's about it. They are very nice for looking at minute detail marks, but I find them to be a pain for prolonged use. I don't intend on having them in my bag, actually I'm not a 100% sure where they are right now.
 
I have pretty good natural vision, but I'm getting old, and I still wear prescription glasses for distance viewing and driving. I have four pair: two clear, one brown sun glasses, and one yellow-tinted. I also have several pair of drugstore reading glasses. I always have two or three of all of these within immediate reach.

I agree, losing a pair of glasses would be a big bummer for your sense of security.

For those of you who have not tried yellow tinted glasses, I highly recommend them. They will cut into a grey solid tree line and give great depth to what you're looking at. They will cut through fog. I also use them for night-time driving; they cut the glare of oncoming traffic but still give great depth perception.

Sun glasses and tinted glasses work by cutting out certain parts of the color spectrum and highlighting others. My brown sunglasses make reds pop out and I think that would be perfect for finding and following a blood trail.

The yellows just make a grey day look sunny, good for the spirit, but they also give me great depth of field of vision in the woods and on the road.
 
If I ever think civilization's going to go bye-bye, I'm going to get LASIK asap. Of course, I may not see it coming (no pun intended) but I'm a little nervous about getting my eyeballs sliced open.
 
I've done the eyeballs sliced open thing. At an early age, 48, I got cataracts in both eyes. I now have plastic lens implants in both eyes. What they do is slice open the eyeball near the cornea, pull out the old natural lens and stick in a new plastic lens...all under anaesthesia of course ;)

It's a one-day out-patient operation, if any of you ever face it, don't be afraid, it is painless. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me, I have something like 20/25 vision now, I only wear glasses for distance work. It's been like that for 16 years.

If it wasn't for this technology, I would today be walking around with sunglasses and a white cane.
 
I had lasik nearly 10 years ago now. It's an operation and so there's risk involved, but IMO it's well worth it. After a lifetime of wearing glasses, I felt like I'd thrown my crutches away when I got my eyes fixed.
 
Good point Michael. I can recall a 5 day Kayak trip with my brother a few years back when he lost his sunglasses 2 days in. We had to share my pair after that and both had scratchy sore eyes for weeks afterwards. I've always packed a spare pair of tinted safety glasses after that.
 
I'll put in another vote for Lasik. I saved for it using the Flex Health Savings Plan. Being older I started needing close-in reading glasses. So I've got a pair of the fold up type stuffed in my BOB. I also have a magnifying glass that doubles as a sun fire starting device and close in reading if I need it.

Good advice for those who need it. And a general 'special needs' reminder. If you've got any out of ordinary needs, prepare for it.
 
sasha said:
Not to rub it in but i got a 20\20 *L* . Cant see what you guys are talking about lol

Sasha
Click to expand...

Well, I've recently had the eye-surgery and it's been outstanding...with that said, you still can't go wrong with eye-protection. Over here in Iraq, I keep a pair of Oakley half-jackets with both polarized lenses and the amber lenses in my calf-pocket...during night ops/helo rides, I'll pop in the amber lenses. With all the blown sand, wind and potential for more serious flying objects, eye protection is paramount. I plan to keep a spare pare (with extra lenses) in my BoB when I get back home.

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
Well, I've recently had the eye-surgery and it's been outstanding...with that said, you still can't go wrong with eye-protection.
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Absolutely, there's not much bad to say about shielding yer peepers from UV, dust, flying bugs, whatever.

I sometimes see pics of knifemakers grinding or forging with "bare" eyes, and I just shake my head...
 
When I was young and stupid, unlike today, I used to grind and clean things with bare eyes...until I started to feel pieces of wire brush stuck in my face ;)
 
I added a microfiber cloth to clean my glasses for my wallet and PSK. Dirty glasses would be a real pain when you are trying to work on survival tasks.
 
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