I just took up racquetball, and since it’s only fun until someone loses an eye…I need some safety glasses. But I have no idea where to start.
To complicate matters, I wear glasses, and the only models I see that allow for specs look like those safety goggles from eighth grade science class.
Anyone have any recommendations? Favorite brands? Will I be stuck going with prescription eye protection?
And if so, where do you get it? Lenscrafters?
Any advice is appreciated…thanks!
LS
Lisa
I’ve been in similar perdicaments and found lens crafters to be most benificial. (not that I’m plugging any particular eyewear store, but my ex wife worked there and the discount is still in effect) They have a good selection of sports glasses as well as frequent sales/discounts. Just check your Sunday paper
Also, do you wear contacs? If not then you might want to look into some. I only wear mine for sports, so they last quite awhile and you won’t have to worry about the whole “goofy goggle” look.
Hope that helped…
B.
Hmm, yeah that would suck if you had to wear prescription eyeglasses while playing.
I actually dont wear protective ones when playing anymore. Yeah I know the chance of getting hit in the eye and all that, but just got sick to death of the dang glasses fogging up or pooling the sweat. And then they become more dangerous due to lack of proper attention.
It’s sorta like riding motorcycle with helmet. Saves one thing but makes another worse, kind of a tough call.
Thanks, Brad and AL. I have contacts, but I hate them, so I think I’ll head over to Lenscrafters and see what I can get. And use this as impetus to get off my butt and finally get the laser surgery done.
LS
Well, I play racqetball all winter so I’ve got a little practice at this. I wear contacts when I play so I don’t have to worry about the whole goggle thing.
However, my friend doesn’t wear contacts and he does wear the big type. The place we ended up buying ours was a safety supply store, they have a selection of about 200 different types of safety glasses so we got to pick what we wanted.
I’ve been drilled in the head a few times and my glasses have saved my butt a few times too so you’ll never get me in there without them. In terms of the issues people mention:
They only fog up when they get cold so if you never take them off it’s not an issue. Plus make certain you get goggles designed not to fog.
Buy big wrap-around lenses, that way the frame doesn’t interfere with your peripheral vision.
I’ve never had a problem with the sweat but I’d rather sweat on my glasses then lose an eye.
Get the ones with a strap across the back if they fall off on you. I personally don’t use the strap and they’ve never come off my face but I have the strap in case I want to use it.
STU
I don’t play rball much anymore, but I was sponsored by Wilson from 2000 to 2002. Most of the sponsored players I know either wear contacts or get prescription eyewear. Oakley M frames are the way to go in that department. Also, some the Wilson glasses can be ordered in prescription and cost somewhere under a hundred bucks. And to those of you that play without glasses, you are nuts. The one time I played without glasses in the past few years, some idiot amateur hit me in the eye and caused me to go blind for about four hours. Needless to say, that freaked me out. So, whatever you do, find some type of protection and enjoy the sport.
Well you guys are obviously at a higher level than me.
Im not the “hit the ball perfectly into corner so it dies” type, nor can (or even try) to serve the ball so it skims the ground the whole way.
I also cant make the ball backspin at the front wall like some people do.
I mainly played for HIIT activity, also to spend some time with brother before he went off to afghanistan. Good example is one day we played left handed (we are both rightys) so it was all femme looking every time we hit ball, pretty sad how little control you have with wrong arm.
How did you guys get hit in the lenses? Were you looking backwards when other person was hitting or ?
Anyway, I probably would wear them if i bought nice ones that worked well. Also if i played often enough I would wear them.
Just make sure to wear the glasses.
Sturat hit me in the eye with the racquetball once. I dropped like a ton of bricks. Felt like the back of my head exploded. Most painfull memory that I have.
Didn’t answer the question, sorry.
Anti,
You should be watching your opponent hit the ball (well sometimes you break off just before contact) so that you know what shot he/she’s hitting. That way you can start moving before the ball hits the front wall.
STU
Ahh, see you guys are playing a different game than I.
Mind you back in college I played a lot more competitive, then it was against many other guys and we were all same age and so on.
Now the times i’ve played were all vs my brother, who is 7 years older than me and not as well conditioned.
So honestly I played just for the exercise and comraderie, didnt want to go all out, especially since I wasnt eating enough and muscle retention was my primary goal. Yeah it sounds funny but 1 hour of racquetball surely can burn some cals…
Already miss playing with him too, hoping he shoots some of bin laden’s guys and comes back in one living piece.
Safety glasses are an excellent idea–my GF is a physicist, so she’s got stacks of them at work. Are they safe for something that moves as quickly as well-hit ball? Or are sport-specifc specs built to withstand more impact?
Thanks! Can’t wait to play–just ordered my racquets.
LS