bi-focals vs cheaters

"Larry L" wrote in message
...
Got a card saying it's time for my annual eye check, and the insurance
buys
one pair of glasses/ year

I'm tempted to get bi-focal polaroids ...

BUT

I fear they will increase my, already well developed, ability to trip and
fall while trying to watch the river and walk at the same time

If you use bi-focals fishing .... reports? suggestions ?

I've worn bifocals for several years and had the same experience as others
in respect to difficulty with depth perception.

Last time I got new glasses I bought two pairs: a normal pair and a pair
with polarized lenses. I told the optician that I was a fly fisherman, and
she knew exactly what the problem was.

She understood that the biggest problem was seeing to tie knots, and knew
how hard it could be to walk. So they made the dark glasses with the
close-in focus only in the very bottom of the lens, unlike the 'normal'
pair, which has something like 1/3 of the lens designed for reading and
similar work. That made it much easier to see the ground and also to see my
flies floating over fish. Over and over and over and over.

Also, since a surprisingly high portion of the cost of glasses is the frame,
you can get rugged utilitarian frames for the fishing glasses that don't
cost a hell of a lot if you don't mind looking like a nerd. They've even got
hinges ready-made for paper clips. :-)

Bob