I Can See Clearly Now I was at my local eyewear store getting my prescription updated when I mentioned my problems with goggles. The optician took me to an Adidas display of sports eyewear asking if I had ever tried one of them. One model jumped out at me right away; the Jasper. It came with interchangeable lenses, head straps, temples, foam padding, and the one thing that made it all useable for me, a performance insert frame that clipped on and held my prescription lenses (see www.adidas.com/eyewear). I tried them on and found them to be comfortable. He clinched the sale when he informed they would be covered by my insurance company. What did I have to lose? The first time I wore them on my bike, I knew I had made the right decision. The goggles felt secure on my head when using the straps, and I didn't have to worry about the wind catching them and ripping them off like I normally would have with my regular glasses. Yet they didn't feel obtrusive like the over-the-glasses goggles. I had some concern with the prescription inserts at first because of their small, almost tiny size, but it didn't take me long to realize that I needn't have. My field of vision was not much different than with my regular glasses.
The real test took place on my first trip to Port Dover. The weather had changed gradually from sunny skies to light rain, and eventually progressed to a torrential downpour. I swapped my normal glasses for the Adidas goggles and was rewarded with the ability to see with minimal difficulty. The lenses that I installed earlier on the goggles were yellow and provided me with better overall vision thanks to their brightening effect. Amazingly, the foam pads (actually designed for wind and snow) also did their job, and only a drop or two of water ever made it past them. The only negative I could find (and it is a subjective criticism at that), was the geeky look that they gave me (at least with the yellow lenses anyway). What the goggles sometimes lacked in visual cool, they more than made up in real world function. I tried wearing the Jasper goggles with the temple arms, rather than the straps, but found them to be too light to be at ease. Perhaps it is because I am used to the weight of my metal framed glasses, but I didn't have the same confidence of not losing them while riding. The foam pads also lost their effectiveness since they were no longer being pulled tight against the face. In an emergency, they could serve reasonably well as a back-up pair of glasses, perhaps even more so if the foam pads were removed, but I would not be happy with them in extended use.
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