Can You Skydive With Glasses Or Contacts?

Can you wear glasses while skydiving? Indeed you can! Skydiving goggles are best friends with the bespectacled – and there are other options too! 

People tend to think about skydiving equipment and gear only in terms of parachute deployment, but the super-mega-awesome part that comes before canopy flight – the freefall – deserves thought too. When you skydive you go pretty fast, typically 120 mph, as you zoom belly-to-earth in freefall. The pressure of the rushing air against your body is a good thing, as this force is what ultimately allows people to move around in the sky with precision and grace. But all that wind requires special considerations when designing parachute containers, skydiving jumpsuits, and other kit – including eyewear. You don’t have to worry about leaving your lenses in the sky! 

Vision

Whether you’re an experienced skydiver jumping solo or a tandem student harnessed to an instructor, seeing where you’re going during a skydive is important. 

Your other senses are called upon during your jump, of course, but in freefall the noise of the whooshing wind means you have to rely on your eyes to serve as your guide. If you’re a solo jumper, it’s downright dangerous to not see, and if you’re a first time skydiver every millisecond of your experience is amazing! You don’t want to miss a single moment! 

Can You Skydive With Glasses?

The most popular and accessible option for protecting your peepers is skydiving goggles over glasses. Skydiving goggles are simple – clear, flexible plastic with a stretchy strap to keep them snugly on your face – and fit over top of your prescription lenses. Your instructor can help you to fit them correctly and comfortably to your face. 

Can You Skydive With Contact Lenses?

Skydiving with contact lenses is also no problem – the same rules apply as skydiving with glasses. Be sure to let your instructor know that you’re wearing contacts, though, so they can ensure correct fit. 

Can You Skydive With Sunglasses?

A surprising amount of information is conveyed between people through eye-contact, and all skydiving students are given clear goggles to best communicate with their instructors. 

Once you become qualified and gather some experience, it is then possible to opt for a different and darker choice. Skydiving sunglasses are not especially popular. More often, skydivers wear regular sunglasses with a retainer, like Croakies, or underneath a helmet with a clear visor. Still others will elect to wear skydiving goggles that provide protection from the sun, and are also cushioned and shatterproof.

Skydiving After LASIK

If you’ve had LASIK to correct your vision, you’ll want to avoid excess airflow during your jump. Closing the vent ports on standard skydiving goggles with a little strip of tape tends to keep the feeling of dry-eye at bay. If you wish to go skydiving after LASIK, follow the advice of your medical professional.  

Specialty Glasses for Skydiving

Some sports offer special versions of the eyewear required for people that use glasses. Prescription masks for scuba diving, for example, when clearing a fogged lens is not an easy fix. Skydiving glasses are not a thing, and fogging is less of a concern for skydivers, because as soon as you jump the airflow clears it up right away. Once qualified, many skydivers choose to wear a full-face helmet with a visor that can be flipped up and down, and space for their usual glasses or sunglasses underneath.            

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If you were concerned that your glasses or contact lenses were going to stop you from skydiving, then worry not – you are good to go! Ready? Let’s fly – book now!