Does anyone have a solution for (EDC) carrying spare eyeglasses? A hard case, obviously, but beyond that.

I keep a spare pair in each of my cars in a hard case. I figure the time they're most critical is in driving.

HJ

I've got so many pairs of drugstore readers hanging around, I'd say it would be difficult to be without!
2 pair at work
1 in my vest pocket <<-- this is my goto pair of glasses as they are on my person
2 pair in my vehicle
1 at computer at home
1 at reading chair
2 extra pairs waiting to be repaired

I only have 1 pair in a plastic case, however.

Each is different but I need my glasses for any closeup work. It would be impossible to thread a needle or read the instructions in anything smaller than 10pt without them.

I keep a spare pair (with sunglass clip-ons) in my EDC bag in a hard case. Very handy if I break my main pair or unexpectedly need cunglasses.

You can also find online outfits that sell prescription glasses for as little as $7 a pair (Google "cheap eyeglasses"), so redundancy could be a viable option too. You just need an up-to-date prescription to send off.

Those $7 ones must be real lady killers. lol.

$7 glasses are cost-effective because they double as birth control.

For reading glasses I buy a bunch from the 99cents store,They come in semi-hard plastic cases,all folded up,they ain't pretty or strong but they are Cheap & Effective,& All my packs have them,in various strengths!I think I saw them at the Dollartree also!

Check out Zenni Optical online. Tons of different frames at a fraction of DOC or other retail eyeglass places. My wife got 6 pairs for $30-something.

Not quite the same quality but definitely better than Walgreens.

http://www.zennioptical.com/

How do you pack them? I've had success in putting a layer of foam inside the hard case to keep them from rattling around/ getting scratched.

I've used these for quite some time. They're not as convenient as framed glasses, but they can be stored almost anywhere (e.g. an Altoids tin, your wallet). Since they're flat, there's not much to worry about crushing.

i4u Emergency Reading Glasses

Bear

a trick that most that wear glasses know, but will pass it on anyway... make a very small hole (aperture) by rolling your index finger over your thumb... when you look thru the hole without your prescription lenses on you should see with better visual acuity

For lots more info on on-line ordering of prescription glasses try

Glassyeyes.com

I had my prescription installed in optical-quality folding reader frames. The two cheapest brands I've found that are good enough are "Wonderfold" and "Myspex". Their cases are little, maybe the size of a cellphone.

Personally I don't EDC them, but they go into my hiking pack and traveling bag. I stick older, regular glasses in my glove compartment and work desk as spares.

A few years ago I bought (on line) a pair of folding prescription glasses in a very small package (smaller than an altoids tin). The glasses were cheap (under $20), rugged and well protected in their hard case. They were the perfect backup glasses for carry. Like CrookedKnife, I use old regular glasses in the car and desk. You have to be careful of heat molded frames in the car though. I had several pair of GI glasses and sunglasses that I kept in various cars only to find them warped when I tried to use them. I am trying to find the site for the folding ones or something similar and will let you know when I find it.

Respectfully,

Jerry

These are interesting

http://www.myopia-solutions.com/folding-reading-glasses.html

Unfortunately, unlike the rest of you (seemingly), I can read just fine. i just can't see distance!

I keep my old pair in my home BOB. Usually if camping < 3 days I'll just keep my contacts and bring my home pair of glasses.

I actually now have several pairs, thanks to the Navy. Not to mention 3 goggle inserts (that, for some reason, don't work well for me, despite theoretically being correct). All the glasses I have are a little off from each other, but after about a day with the same pair, my eyes seem to adjust to the differences.

I have the same issue. Reading and small details I'm usually fine with....it's anything past a foot that gets fuzzy. When I was a kid I just needed them to see the board in school, now my vision is so bad I need them all the time. More often than not, I forget to take them off and end up sleeping with them on.

Typically I go every couple years to get my eyes checked and what not. At that time, I usually get a new pair of glasses to replace my everyday pair. I then save the older pairs. They tend to be a bit worn out (and scratched), but still serviceable. I've got these all over the house, my car, in my bags, ect. Just a simple hard case and old pair of glasses.

With that said, I keep telling myself to just look into getting LASIK. I'm still not 100% sure on it though. The thought of someone cutting into my eye (especially while I'm awake) has me a little skittish.

You sound like my brother -- no way this side of h*ll will he let somebody touch his eyes. Me on the other hand, I was totally comfortable with it. But each person has to know their comfort level and in discussions with their ophthalmologist find out whether it is right for them. I've got mine recorded on video - one of these days I will get it transferred to an electronic format, post it and give everybody a real "eye full" of my experience. The keratome knife that slices the lens is actually pretty cool. I used to be near sighted, -20/550 & -20/650 with 1.5 diopter astigmatism to be exact. Today I am +.25 far sighted and next to no astigmatism but presbyopia has caught up to me and I need readers for close up work.

I have moved to strong metal glasses cases for edc and travel - fits easily into my laptop bag.

I'm not getting surgery. I like my glasses. They are apart of my Geek Goddess image.

Jeanette Isabelle

LOL!! Thata girl!!

JI, that is one dry and self-deprecating sense of humor you have! Bravo for you.

I have 2 pairs of normal prescription glasses a pair of prescription sunglasses, My military issue birth control glasses that are unbreakable I think trust me I tried to beak them in boot camp because I hated wearing them. I also have the glasses that work for gas masks also military issue.

Is that code for a really hideouuspair of glasses?

Using the advice and a coupon found on that site, I spent $37 on new glasses instead of about $200 at Costco. If they work out as well as I hope I'll be buying at least one more pair from them. Thanks!

What I'd love to find and haven't yet are compact, flat-folding "reader" style prescription glasses. If all I needed were reading glasses that would be easy, but I want something compact that I can carry with me for driving and other distance-vision tasks.

I guess I should've elaborated; my bad. In my case I am near-sighted, and I bought the reading glasses so I could have my normal prescription installed in them, not to read with them. The trick is that many optometrists won't install prescription lenses into reading frames unless they're "optical" quality. I don't know what the threshold is for that quality, but $70 seems to be the starting price where you start seeing it listed as a selling point.

I also have a pair of those goggle inserts you talk about. They're flat and easy to stash, but I'm not too crazy about them... the straps seem fragile, and the lenses are so big that they distort differently than my small everyday glasses, even though they correct to 20/20. I think I'm just not used to having a lens that far towards the edge of my vision.

The typical reading glasses found in places like a drug store is cheap quality. I would not want my lenses in such poor quality frames.

Jeanette Isabelle

LOL!!! Thanks for the giggle Izzy!

...except now they might be hip. If you're 20.

Current test. Old pair in cloth bag in foam in a hard case. And I might rubber band that thing shut.

And then another form of military BCG...

Mask Compatible, Combat Spectacle, Mag-1

Not pretty, but they feel sturdy.

OK a little off topic, but for you bifocal wearing pistol shooters out there, have your optician make a pair of glasses with your near vision prescription for the entire lens for your dominant eye... raise the bifocal line up a couple of millimeters in your non dominant eye...it will take you about 30min to get your depth perception with the monovision arrangement but your brain corrects... you will be able to see front sight, even with scope...I use regular bifocals to shoot 5 stand and sporting clays

I carry two pair in my shooting box in the car, and if things turn bad in a hurry, I'll probably need the shooting glasses