Wakeboarding with contact Lenses??

[Shoemaker Mobius]

My sons wakeboard and are pushing me to give it a try. My big concern (along with being old, bad knees and ankles from football and snowskiing) is the fact I am blind as a bat and the only way I can see anything is with my contacts or my glasses. I know I could not even try wakeboarding without the contacts - I wouldn't be able to see the wake, the boat, etc. So, does anyone wakeboard with contacts and if so, have you ever lost them?? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

[AJones]

I slalom and barefoot with soft extended wear disposable contacts (Acuvue 2). I have kneeboarded and wakeboarded but they are not my favorite activities. I've taken plenty of hard falls slalom and barefooting and never lost a contact yet. From what I understand hard contacts and gas perms are harder to keep in. I've also opened my eyes under water in the swimming pool and never had problems but my eye doctor probably wouldn't recommend it.

[lowdrag]

I've had gas permeable contacts since I was in 8th grade. I'm now 30 just for a reference. I've been barefooting, skiing, and wakeboarding all the time and have never lost a lense. I have had them slip off to the side of my eye after hard crashes, though.

If you're really worried about it get soft disposables and keep and extra set in the boat.

[Shoemaker Mobius]

I currently wear 30 day disposables. I can keep a spare set with me in the boat, but a 12 month supply of these costs about $350 (I'm blind as a bat so they are special order). Would a serious faceplant tend to have a better chance of losing the contacts? What other crashes are more liable to lose? Thanks.

[MEDIC151]

I don't wear them myself, but there are a few of the people that go with us that do. They either do as stated before, and wear soft or, they use spec's'. They don't stop all the water, or so I am told, but the initial impact is lessened by them. They are available in alot of the watersport catalogs. My wife wears contacts and doesn't wear spec's, and has never lost a pair. She doesn't fall as hard as the rest of us, but i think that the difference is minimal.

Medic

[lowdrag]

If it helps, a couple weeks ago I took a very hard faceplant with my contacts in. I was doing a butterslide and let the front of the board nose under. It was the kind of face plant that pretty much gives you an instant headache and makes you feel like you got hit with a ball bat. Contacts stayed in. I don't think it's really a problem since the natural reaction to something like that is to close you eyes in the first place.

[MartyC]

I slalom and wakeboard in my disposable contacts and like the other guys, even with some pretty good falls, I have never had a lens come out.

[noneya]

I guess I'm the odd man out, I've lost several soft contacts while boarding and skiing. It has happened when my upper eylid gets flipped up. I am as blind as anyone, I just ride w/out em now...cant see the boat or anything but its not that big a deal once you get used to it

[J-Lawv]

I wear contacts all the time when i board... i have the 30 day disposable ones... i loose one every once in a while when i fall hard... i think i've lost 2 this year... but i figured the price to be $3 per contact because i get 6 per eye for like 40 bucks or sometin...so... its really no big deal to loose one every once in a while.. but you could always get those goggles w/ the lenses in them...if you wanna look like a geek behind a boat hah... but hey..i play basketball and people where them all the time... who knows... mabye if you start it every one will do it.... but i know for sure i'm not ginna be the one to start it

[suvlako]

My Fiance has lost one after taking a nasty digger. She now brings an extra pair of disposables with herin the event that she loses one. Hope that helps. ARt