Seaspecs do custom prescription googles, i bought some a while back. There alright but there are down sides to googles. Most have straps to keep them on and during a heavy wipe out the can come off, Most that i have seen are tinted which is not always great especially in the UK, also and whilst this may only be me a felt like a poor mans Bono walking down the beach in them (read that as a bit of a tit). The proof for me is that i have only worn mine a dozen times or so in 3 years, but it depends on how bad your eyes are.
Edward, there are companies that make prescription goggles tinted or not. There was a guy many years ago out at Sunset Bch. Hi. USA that wore goggles all the time. I feel for you. A good buddy of mine that I've surfed with for years has the same problem. I'd catch a wave and paddle back out to him only to realize he was way off position, this used to drive me nuts. Then I figured out that he couldn't see the line ups on shore. After that I never said another thing about it.
I wore soft contacts for decades and they worked great for surfing. A couple of years ago I went for laser eye surgery to correct my perscription- ultimately wonderful, although I was super-sensitive to bright light for a couple of months (trade off was I could see in the dark like a cat- true!).
Either solution may be more than you want to take on, but however you go, you’ll be stoked when you have your first go out with sharp vision! Good luck and enjoy.
Similar issue here … tried contacts but i just plain suck at putting them in and taking em out. Was comtemplating having laser surgery … wondering if there are any issues related with surfing after having it done?
+1 on the contacts, been using them for 20 years and have not lost one yet. Sometimes they get blasted into the corners of my eyes but with a couple of blinks I can get them back into place.
After wearing soft contacts for surfing for many years (such a joy to have one blow out in strong winds as they tend to do, then bob around the outside trying to put a spare in while your buddies crack up), had Laser surgery in 97’…fairly bad astigmitism pre-surgery, came out with 20/20 in one eye, 20/40 in the other. Has been great for surfing, snowboarding, etc…only issue is it left me with a pemanent issue with night glare, primarily oncoming headlights lights in traffic…and as I have gotten older, now 61, my eyes have changed a bit for the worse (laser surgery doesn’t not stop normal aging process), so wear glasses once again, fairly mild Rx, with anti-reflective coating for the glare issues…vision is fine for surfing without glasses, still see the way outside sets building…
The procedure has been greatly improved since I had it done…the process is now very much computerized with much better results, and some of the best eye surgeons are performing revision surgeries on those who had it done earlier with excellent outcomes, and they have pretty much corrected the glare issue with the new techniques.
These are your eyes, however, and it is surgery. Suggest if you investigate it, do so with the most reputable eye surgeons, not the cheaper “mill” clinics…
My 15 year old son has this problem - he’s very near sighted, so alot of the time I actually call out waves to him so he can set up and get ready - we sort of have to work together and coordinate a little bit, but once it gets close (the wave), his timing is pretty good after 11+ years, and he can stroke in and make it down the line on his longboard fine. he’s talked to me several times over the years as his vision has gotten more impacted, about glasses for surfing but I figured they didn’t exist - I’m really stoked to hear this input, as maybe contacts would work. Nearsightedness really holds him back - frustrating not to see that set coming!