Can You Use Binoculars with Glasses if Yes HOW?

Everyone wants to use binoculars, but eyesight is a problem for many outdoor activists and they feel like they cannot use binoculars due to wearing glasses. But what is the reality? 

It is the fact that our eyesight is not in our control and many of us have problems from birth. If the issue is not severe, then you just keep going with slightly weaker vision. But if the condition becomes worse, then the doctor will ask you to use permanent glasses.

Wearing glasses permanently can be frustrating especially if you’re an outdoor enthusiast who loves being out and enjoying nature or flying birds. Many hunters who earn money by hunting wear permanent glasses. In this guide, we will drill down and give you the solution that will help you use binoculars.

Related Article: Best Binoculars for Astigmatism

Can glasses wearers use binoculars?

In the past, binoculars used to come with very minimal features and the users had to compromise. If you had asked me this question a few years back, I would have answered no because the old binoculars did not have the eye relief adjustment features.

But things have changed now. All the modern binoculars come with adjustable eyecups which means that you can rotate them to increase or decrease the eye relief of binoculars. It is important for you to note that eye relief is very important when it comes to using binoculars by wearing glasses.

Eye relief is the distance between the eyepiece and human eyes when he uses binoculars. But when the users wear the glasses, this distance shortens due to glasses which end up creating problems for the user. But, modern binoculars come with adjustable eyecups so you can increase or decrease the eye relief depending upon your own needs and preferences.

Takeaways: The glass wearers now can use binoculars by increasing the eye relief. However, the binoculars who don’t come with adjustable eyecups cannot be used by the glasses wearers.

How Much Eye-Relief is Enough for Glass wearers?

This question is a bit tricky as there is no exact answer as everyone has different face dimensions. So, we would answer this question generally which will suit most glasses users. The eye relief above 15 mm is considered decent and you should be fine with the level of eye relief.

However, it is not perfect and we recommend you to choose binoculars which have eye relief above 16mm. This is kind of eye relief which works perfectly fine for all the users regardless what age or face size you have. Choosing below this range can create trouble while using binoculars with glasses.

Also Read: What Happens if You Look at the Sun with Binoculars?

How to use binoculars while wearing glasses?

Using binoculars with or without glasses is quite simple and you need any serious knowledge or piece of information. However, we have found many people confused about using binoculars with glasses. Here are some useful instructions that could help the cause.

• Put your eyes at the barrel of binoculars by having glasses on the eyes and check how much eye relief you’ll need for viewing through the binoculars.
• Once you have noted the eye relief you need, remove your eyes from the barrel.
• Rotate the eyecups and adjust the eye relief. Rotating towards the side which is indicated by + sign will increase the eye relief and vice versa.
• After adjusting the eye relief, put your eyes again on the barrel and check the results. 
• If you can view everything clearly, stop adjusting the eye relief and you’re good to go. In case you are unable to view clearly, adjust the eye relief accordingly.

Should I wear my glasses when using binoculars?

It depends on the eyesight of your binoculars. In case you’re suffering from eye disease and doctors have told you to keep wearing the glasses then you should follow the guidelines of doctors and keep wearing the glasses while using binoculars.

But if you’ve perfect eyesight and don’t have any sort of problem, we suggest you not wear glasses as they can force you to adjust eye relief and can cause a bit of a problem. Viewing without wearing glasses is going to give you much better  views and comfort.

Final Words

If you’ve been told that the glasses wearers cannot use binoculars, then laugh out loud as if you were pranked! Whether you wear glasses or not, your viewing experience through the binoculars will not be affected at all. By adjusting the eye relief, you will be able to use binoculars even by wearing the glasses. However, if you compromise on eye relief and choose binoculars having eye relief less than 15 mm then you’ll end up regretting.