SynergEyes Hybrid Contact Lenses - Dirt Rider Magazine

If you're a rider who struggles with riding in contact lenses but doesn't want to get (or isn't a candidate for) Lasik eye surgery, then put on your bifocals and read on.I used to have problems with my lenses drying out then distracting me, causing blurry vision or, worse, falling out. The SynergEyes hybrid contact lens (ask your eye doctor for pricing), which you've probably never heard of, changed everything.My optometrist wouldn't prescribe me hard lenses for riding because any bit of dirt could get under them and be extremely uncomfortable. Soft contacts feel great but flex slightly when you blink, causing a fraction of a second of distorted vision. But worse, when you ride without blinking (involuntarily, from the concentration) coupled with the constant flow of air over your eyes, soft lenses can dry and easily fall out. The SynergEyes lens is a fusion of a hard lens with a soft lens outer rim, and really does provide the benefits of both.Since getting "spec'd" (sorry) with them, the contacts have been a complete solution to my problems when riding. I have constant perfect vision with or without blinking. I haven't had a single performance problem in over a year of riding with them. I never think about them or have them remind me they're there while riding. These are the perfect riding contacts. Find an eye doctor in your area who has experience fitting these types of lenses and I suspect all your troubles are over...while riding.

The downside is inserting and removing these puppies. There's a pinch technique to get them out, but you'd better be comfortable rooting around in your eye as you're learning the remove-move. I also have had problems wearing these from sun up until the end of a long day. They've gotten sharply painful as midnight approached a couple of times. I would not recommend sleeping in these, and I'm not sure how they'd do in a 24-hour race, but definitely bring the option of a "regular" soft contact to switch to if they begin to irritate... Which brings me to a side effect, one common before the era of soft contacts. After a long wear, your "normal" vision in glasses will remain a bit blurry for 20 to 30 minutes from your eyeball swelling from the lens. If that sentence makes you at all squeamish, you won't survive trying to get these things out the first time.Even with all the negatives, these types of lenses are my perfect riding vision solution. There is more than one company that makes them; your eye doctor will know the best application for you. The Lasik surgery option is considered low risk, but still it is surgery. So if you're too scared to go under the eyeball beam but not too scared to ride a dirt bike, take your peepers to your local O.D. and ask about these. -Pete Peterson