I've been in emergency services for over 20 years now, and down at the firehouse, I've been around long enough for the complete lifecycle (buy it-use it-dispose of it) of not only the small stuff (gloves and goggles) and the bigger stuff (air packs) and the biggest stuff (fire trucks), but also to see the changing nature of what we keep in stock at the station and on the trucks.

For example, when I joined, we carried map books, now, we still carry map books, but we never use them - we have mapping on our phones and via GPS.

We used to use a gas-powered hydraulic pump for our vehicle extrication tools, now we use battery-powered tools that are much faster and easier to deploy.

But the newest equipment we now deploy to all of our trucks is a little different, and is in keeping with the current needs of our membership. When you're in the officer's seat (that's the passenger seat) it's a piece of equipment more important than the thermal imaging cameras, combustible gas detectors, more important than any of the types of radios we have on board, or the response management documents. What could possibly be more important?

Can you guess?


Try again....


its....
READING GLASSES.

Yep, I can believe it! I finally caved to the inevitable and got bifocals although I mostly just wear them when I'm playing AD&D.

Makes perfect sense. My vision is still pretty good, but for super-fine detail a pair of 1.00 or 1.25 magnifiers from the dollar store are very helpful. These are in my kits, vehicles, and shop. Unlike prescription glasses, if I sit on these I won't cry too much.

Safety glasses are also available with readers. Great way to protect your eyes and still see. Available up to 3.0 diopter.

https://www.amazon.com/DPG59-115C-Reinforcer-Rx-Bifocal-Performance-Protective/dp/B000646VF8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=24GFV3PN0A000&keywords=safety+glasses+with+readers+1.5&qid=1689375199&sprefix=safety+glasses+w%2Caps%2C257&sr=8-3

My history of wearing prescription glasses since my early childhood has desensitized me to the idea of requiring reading glasses. The need for such glasses doesn't hold much weight or importance.

Jeanette Isabelle

That may change when you're older. Typically around age 50 the lens of the human eye begins to lose elasticity/pliability. This means you're not able to pull focus as short distances (around the length of your arms). Your distance vision may be unchanged but your ability to focus your eyes for close up tasks is compromised. This doesn't happen to every person but it does happen to most. I had no problems with this til around age 49 or 50. It's a natural part of getting older I'm afraid. But hey, getting old might suck but it beats the alternative!

Vision, even limited, is so critical. From an emergency/survival perspective, it might be wise for people with prescription glasses to test out simple magnifiers.

The question to ask: can you function, somewhat, with off the shelf magnifiers of a certain strength?

Emergencies have a way of taking things away from us. It's valuable to know how to keep functioning with less than ideal equipment.

At 76, I always wear tinted (day) or clear (night) reader safety glasses when I drive. (Owing to an unfortunate incident several years ago - apparently airbags and metal frame nose posts don't mix very well.)

I don't like bifocals, and after experimenting with various diopter strengths, I found that 1.75 was a good compromise that allowed me to both see the dashboard instruments, and read distant road signs.

I think that's a smart strategy, brandtb. It makes you resilient. If for whatever reason you are far from home without your usual gear, you can pick up some 1.75 readers locally, from just about any retail store/pharmacy, and you're in business!

Personally, I'm lucky with my vision and I know it. I also worry because I don't know if/how DW could function if she lost her increasingly complex prescription glasses.

Musing: as much as I loathe the whole personal digital online assistant (Alexa / ??the Apple one??) I can see great value if they can be easily voice activated on someone's phone in an emergency where their glasses are smashed/ down a ravine and they can't see well enough to function.

I don't love bifocals but they're the best solution for some situations (for me). I have prescription reading glasses and while they work well they make it impossible to do any tasks that are more than six week away. My distance script is nearly 5 cylinder power so pretty nearsighted! I can't do much without glasses which is one reason I have at least twenty pairs (20!) on hand. I keep them stashed all over; one pair in my work knife case, two pairs in the Subaru, one pair in my largest survival kit, etc.