Should You Wear Glasses When Using Binoculars?

One question that many people search on online forums and communities is whether they should wear glasses while using binoculars or not. Unfortunately, the vision problem is a common problem – and this issue is more prominent among old people.

So, the question arises: should you wear glasses when using binoculars? Yes, if you have any eyesight or vision problems, you should definitely wear glasses while using binoculars. It will help you see clearer, and better visuals through the barrel of binoculars.

There are many kinds of issues that force one to wear glasses. In this article, we will discuss everything about the usage of glasses while using binos in detail. 

Related Article: Does Costco Sell Binoculars?

Is it Possible to Use Binoculars while Using Binoculars?

Obviously yes, you can use binoculars while using binoculars if you have any eyesight issues. I have seen many elderly people using binoculars while having their glasses on. However, if you choose binos that come with reduced eye relief, then it won’t be possible to use binos while wearing glasses.

In short, there is nothing wrong with using binoculars with glasses on your eyes. It is totally fine – and I highly recommend you to wear glasses in case you have weak vision, or are struggling with your eyesight. However, if you don’t have severe issues with eyesight, then you should use binos without glasses as it would be more comfortable, and convenient.

Types of vision problems that require glasses

If you have read my previous written articles, you will know that I always try my best to provide users with in-depth information so that they don’t remain confused about anything. Similarly, in this article, I am going to explore everything in detail. 

In the section below, you will get information about those popular vision problems that can force you to use binoculars with glasses on your eyes.

1- Farsightedness Or Nearsightedness

Farsighted individuals can see distant objects easily, but they fail to see the objects that are close to them. As the name suggests, farsighted means that these individuals are good for viewing far-place objects. You fix this issue, doctors usually recommend glasses to wear.

On the other hand, nearsighted individuals can see the near placed objects, but they fail to see the objects that are placed at some distance. These eyesight issues are pretty common among people of different ages. The affected individuals usually wear glasses.

As I said, such individuals wear glasses to see everything clearly. So, you should ask if should they use binoculars while wearing glasses. Well, yes they can use binoculars while wearing glasses and see everything. But they actually don’t need to wear glasses while using binos. 

Let me explain why!

The reason is there are many advanced binoculars that come with features of Built-in diopter and focus knob which are super helpful for these individuals. With the help of these features, they will be above focus according to the strengths and weaknesses of the eyes.

Suppose if you are suffering from farsightedness, you can adjust the diopter setting in a way that you will be able to focus on the far distant object comfortably. In fact, with the help of the focus knob, you will be able to zoom in and see everything clearly. You can use these two features even if you are suffering from nearsightedness.

So, these two features actually kill the need to wear glasses while using binoculars. Almost all modern binoculars come with these two features and you won’t have any issues. However, if you still have any issues while using these features, you can always wear glasses and get clear views.

2- Astigmatism

This is the real issue – where you will need to wear glasses when using the binoculars. Astigmatism is the condition where the cornea located inside the eye has an irregular or random shape instead of being perfectly spherical. If you are having astigmatism, you will feel headaches, eyestrain, and blurred vision.

If you have been recommended to wear glasses due to astigmatism, then you must wear glasses even when using binoculars. There is no feature that comes in binoculars that could solve your problem of astigmatism. So, you will have to wear glasses. 

However, when choosing binoculars for astigmatism, make sure that you choose binos with greater eye relief. The reason is that the binos with long eye relief offer a better level of comfort when you use them with glasses on your eyes. 

Keep in mind that glasses occupy some space between your eyes and the eyepiece. So, you should also make sure that you choose binoculars that compensate for the space that your glasses occupy when you see through the binoculars. 

3- Weak Vision / Eyesight

This is another reason why you will feel the need to wear glasses by using binoculars. Weak vision is common and doctors usually recommend using glasses. This issue includes problems for both farsightedness and nearsightedness. 

If you don’t use glasses, you won’t be able to see everything clearly through the barrel of binoculars. This is why I recommend you to keep wearing glasses when seeing through the barrel of binoculars. Make sure that you choose the binoculars’ long eye relief so that you get a comfortable viewing experience. 

Things to Consider if You Wear Permanent Glasses

While discussing different eyesight issues in the above section, I tried to mention some useful tips to ensure that you don’t make a wrong decision while choosing binoculars. However, I felt I should mention one point which is the most important. It is the eye relief in binoculars.

Eye relief is the distance between the user’s eyes and the eyepiece of binoculars. When you see through the barrel of binoculars, there remains some distance, and we call this distance ‘‘Eye Relief’’. It is a very important factor that contributes to the comfort and usability of binoculars.

If you choose a binocular with long eye relief, it will provide you with more space and distance between your eyes and eyepiece and you will see everything more comfortably. This factor is very very very important if you wear glasses due to weak vision or any other reason.

When you wear your glasses and use binoculars, the glasses occupy some space between your eyes and the eyepiece of binoculars which affects eye relief. To compensate for reduced eye relief due to glasses occupying some space, you will need binoculars with long eye relief of 18 mm or more so that you can still get some eye relief when wearing glasses.

Drawbacks of Wearing Glasses While Using Binoculars

Yes, there are some potential drawbacks when you use binoculars while wearing glasses. But again you will trade off. If you aim to keep wearing glasses then you will have to make some compromises. In the section below, I am going to mention some of the drawbacks and potential disadvantages of wearing glasses while using binos.

• If you use binoculars while having glasses on your eyes, you will get reduced eye relief which could be an issue especially if you aim to use binoculars for an extended duration.
• As you know the light beam leaves the eyepiece of binoculars and enters into the human eye. But when you wear glasses, light beams that leave eyepieces will have to pass through the lenses of your glasses which could cause glare production and affect the visual quality.
• If you wear thick-framed glasses, then chances are high that your glasses can put scratches on your glasses or on the eyepiece of binoculars.
• When you use binos while wearing glasses, it adds more burden on your face and reduces eye relief which surely affects your ease of usability for an extended duration. 

Is it better to use binoculars with or without glasses?

To be honest, YES, it is always better if you use binoculars without wearing glasses. It would give you a more comfortable viewing experience. You will be able to use your binos for a longer period of time. 

But, that’s not the complete truth. If you have any vision or eyesight problems, then I don’t recommend you forcefully don’t wear glasses while using binoculars. It can affect your eyes as well as your viewing experience. 

In short, if you have no vision problem, then I highly recommend you use binoculars without wearing glasses. However, if you have serious eyesight problems or suffer from astigmatism, then you must wear glasses while using binos as it would give you better comfort and viewing experience.

Will Binoculars Put Scratches on Eyeglasses?

If you choose the binoculars with long eye relief, then the binos won’t put any scratches on your glasses and you will be able to get a comfortable viewing experience by wearing your glasses and using the binoculars. But the issue comes when you choose binos with shorter eye relief.

As I said earlier, binoculars with compromised relief offer less space between the user’s eyes and the eyepiece. So when you choose such binos, then chances are high that your glasses will strike or touch the eyepiece of binoculars and get scratched as well.

Not to forget that the size of the frame of your glasses also has an impact on whether your glasses will touch the eyepiece of binoculars or not. If you wear glasses with a thicker frame, it will occupy more space between the eyes and the eyepiece and touch the eyepiece and get scratches and vice versa.

Conclusion

In the end, I would say the safety of your eyes first. In case you wear glasses due to weak vision, I highly recommend you to keep wearing the glasses while using the binoculars. However, if you don’t have serious eyesight issues, then you should not wear glasses while using binoculars.

The reason is that using binos without wearing glasses would give you a comfortable viewing experience. You won’t feel eye strain etc. I hope that this guide will prove to be helpful for you. I am stopping now. See you with another useful guide.