Can you wear Rx glasses under a Giro Air Attack Shield helmet?
 

Long story short...Rx sunglasses are expensive as hell and fragile. I've had 3 sets of Oakley lenses for my Flak sunglasses crack and I'm sick of it. The lenses crack where they mill the lens down to fit the frame. $250+/yr for lenses is getting to be a serious pain in the rear...one set would easily cover the air attack helmet...

I need some sunglasses to ride obviously and have been looking at a helmet like the Air Attack shield. I was wonder if I could just wear my normal Rx glasses under the front snap-on lens.

If any owners can pop in, it would be appreciated...

I had the same question earlier in the year, as I always just wore my street glasses, and dealt with all the watery eyes, dry eyes, rain drop hits, and the like. But I found an alternate solution, and it may help you:

Prescription safety glasses. They are not as expensive as dedicated cycling glasses. I got full wrap black plastic full frame safety glasses for $133 at RX-safety in New Jersey. So far, they have been the cat's behind. I could have gotten 10% off if I had facebook, but I don't. So it may be an option to explore.

I don't have an Air attack helmet, but I've used a shield with a TT helmet and prescription glasses, both sungllasses and regular.

It did not work well. It fogs the glasses badly, particularly when it's hot and humid.

There may be more airflow around your face with the Air attack, but my bet is that it likely won't work well with glasses underneath


Also, if it isn't for a TT, there is the issue of looking like a complete dork.

LOL...yeah...the "dork" factor did occur to me. Then again, I'm a 36 year old fella who dresses up in painted on tights and rides a bike.

I've read that the airflow on that shied is really good...there's even slits on the top of the visor to allow airflow...

I'll have to do more reading. I' sick of dropping $$ on Rx lenses only to have them crack in a year...

It only cost you $13 to not have Facebook. I'd say you got a deal there.

No help for the OP though - I use Rudy Projects with th Rx insert. No cracking problems, but occasional fogging in the winter and/or rain. Never tried the Air Attack.

They could have given me the glasses for free with a facebook like, and I still wouldn't have signed up.

Yes...
http://www.bikeforums.net/singlespee...l#post16553670

I suggest going to a bike shop that sells the helmet and see how it fits. Also, forget about how it looks. I just bought one because it is so comfortable. This is the only bike helmet I've found that uses "webbing" inside the helmet to keep it off your head. If you want to see something really goofy looking, take a look at the old Bell Biker helmets. I wore one in Germany in the early '80's (before helmets were common) and had kids come out, point and laugh as I rode by.

Must you buy such expensive glasses? Why not go for another manufacturer such as serfas?

60$ for frames and has replaceable lenses. Just take them to your doc.

https://www.serfas.com/products/index/optics/rx-modelss

It's not the frames that cost a fortune...its the lenses...replacement Oakley frames are actually cheaper than the Serfas ones...

I have the shield and can verify that your prescription glasses are likely to fit under it without problems. Wearing it without an extra pair of glasses I can verify that I have not had any issues with fogging up at all. The top of the visor has some slits that allow for incoming air and there are 2 'channels' just under that to direct air up and over your brow. I have had the visor on in Vancouver rain (extra humidity) and it didn't fog up until I went indoors, which would be expected. How your glasses would behave in those conditions, I would not know. Basically the shield sits far enough away from you that most hot air can vent easily. I am looking forward to the shield becoming a 'bug screen' in the next month or so.

Just throwing this out there as a possibility, but have you ever looked into contacts? I held off for a couple years thinking they wouldn't do well in the wind, but I was wrong. One of the best things I ever did for my riding because it allowed me to go to regular sunglasses. Just a thought.

LASIK was the best thing I ever did for my eyes. Never having to mess with contacts or glasses is worth the expense 100%

Yeah...twice.

i have extremely dry eyes and couple that with toric lenses and it is not good. Eyes get pasty, lens gets caught off axis and you're stuck in blurry-world until you can get it unstuck.

That sucks. I'm in the same boat as you, my astigmatism is really nasty and almost opposite in both eyes. I have to wear torics as well and find that the first few minutes of the ride are the worst. After that I think my eyes just naturally tear up from the wind which ironically helps keep them on axis (and I blink more when riding). I work in accounting and find that sitting at a computer is much worse than riding. Hope you find what works for you; I know how bad it sucks not to be able to wear what you want.

I've had 3 consultations for LASIK and I never make it past 5 minutes. The Dr. takes one look at my prescription and basically says, "Sorry, pal." I'm WAY farsighted and have an astigmatism in both eyes which according to them makes me as bad a candidate as possible. I'd write a check out for it right now if it were an option.

The Rx lenses come with a 2-year warranty... I just got a set fixed for free, at a little under 2 years. I use them every day though.

I suspect part of the problem is the cases Oakley makes with foam interior that grab the lenses. I'm going to stop using those.

You could also try the Rx insert route like what Rudy does.

Before I went to contacts that was my next option. I can't wear normal prescription sunglass lenses because my right eye is much worse than the left. The thicker lens = darker on one side = instant headache.

I wear Wiley X RX Lenses. They're all mil-spec impact resistant and are used by the military. You can get a full set for as low as $150:

Wiley X Black Ops Prescription Sunglasses: Premium Frames & Lenses

I use a Dux Helm, which has a retractable visor (lens), and which fits over my eyeglasses. It works great for me, although the proximity of the lens to the face means that only wrap style glasses work well. There's probably more space behind the Air Attack since its visor mounts at the leading edge of the helmet, but there are other advantages the Dux Helm offers which may make it worth looking into.

I love it particularly for cold weather riding, rain rides, and summer night rides (when the bugs are attracted to the headlight). It's a little warmer, both with the visor deployed and when it's not, than my Uvex Race, so it doesn't get go-to status at the top of the summer for that reason, but someone else may not notice additional warmth depending on their helmet experience, and it's not awful in any case.

I wouldn't expect the visor to fog; it's the glasses that fog. Whether that happens with the Air Attack remains unkown.

I've been using the attack with shield for about a year. I do normally wear glasses (no line bifocals). I sweat like a hog when I ride and the attack is ok but does the sweat to be more of a problem because of the shield. What I have went to is using a halo head band (has the plastic band in the band to channel sweat to the side of your head. This works great to where I where the helmet year round even in hot missouri summers.

As far as the glasses, i wore them for a while but with the way the helmet fits they don't work well under the shield. I went to wearing one contact in my left eye for distance when I am riding, and this works the best. I tried this a couple of times for every day life and I can't get used to it and prefer my glasses, but for riding it works great as I can see distance with my corrected left eye and close up (my garmin) with my right eye.

I have found this works great with the attack and shield.

I have the same issues as some here.
1-No LASIK due to astigmatism.
2-Bifocals making Rx sunglasses more complex, and expensive.
3-Single-vision Rx sunglasses under $230 are dainty.
4-Toric contacts required, daily use only, and more often out of focus than in.

My "normal" glasses are rather large (Eddie Bauer-but they don't break). My "normal" Rx sunglasses are John Lennons, light, but not sports material. I put up with them while riding or running, but have sought solutions, such as Rudy Projects, etc.

Most of my options were $150-$250 in Rx sunglasses, add another $100 for bifocals. I recently picked up an Air Attack Shield and my "normal" glasses fit behind the visor just fine, no fogging. I like the web system, the straps, the light weight, and the sheild. My normal glasses are photo-grays, so I get that benefit, as well as the shield. Ordered the clear shield today from Amazon, and with the sale price at REI, I'm at $150 total. Love it. I can take the helmet off and read a menu. Let freedom ring.

My Rx was $534 with the $54 frames, progressive. Single vision dropped that drastically,to $454.
They must think I'm billing the government for them.

No