Hello! Welcome to CallieHikes. The Substack where the future is so bright we now have to wear shades! As someone who has been pretty much a lifelong eyeglasses wearer, simply buying a pair of sunglasses at a kiosk in the mall was never part of my narrative. Considering regular glasses alone are expensive, I shoved the thought of splurging on prescription sunglasses so far out of sight. Since it was never really an easily accessible option, I just settled for always squinting when the sun was in my face. It was my penitence for inheriting farsightedness. Until I found Goodr.
We sell them at my local outdoor gear shop and I soon realized the craze, that these sunglasses were practically designed for trail nerds like myself. They come in so many fun, bright colors and appeal to the dirtbag within us all by being cheap, lightweight, and simple. At just $25 for a pair of OG’s, Goodr’s don’t slip or bounce either while doing various trail adventures. I knew I had to get a pair. But the only problem was the fact that I would need to do some hard work to get them in my prescription. For this post, I figured I would outline the steps I had to take in order to get Goodr specific prescription sunglasses. I had never done something like this before and honestly did not know it was even possible up until recently, so hopefully this helps someone else out there who is in a similar position as I was.
First up, I needed to get my eyes checked! It had been a hot minute since I had been to the optometrist, so updating my prescription was important. While there, I talked to my doctor about sunglasses and how I wanted a special pair of frames instead of the ones that they currently sold. They explained to me that all I would need to do is consult with my insurance to see what would be covered, then buy the frames and they would take care of the rest. Simple as that!
From there, I provided my insurance information and learned that a pair of prescription lenses wouldn’t be as expensive as I thought it would be with my type of coverage. I left the office feeling super excited, but also a little anxious because now was the hard part: figuring out which color frames I wanted out of the dozens of awesome styles that Goodr provided.
Since the local outfitter I work for sells a nice selection of Goodr’s and the employee discount is an added bonus, I decided to buy my frames from them. At the time, the limited edition National Park Goodr series had just come out, so I was really having a tough mental debate about getting a solid color or something with a cool pattern. While I could see myself looking super fun and stylish on the trail with the rims of the Grand Canyon on my face, I ultimately thought it would be a better idea to just stick with a solid color that could go with virtually any outfit.
The completely black pair named “A Ginger’s Soul” was calling my name for obvious reasons, but the vibrant bright blue frames called “Falkor’s Fever Dream” was the one I went with because I thought it would look the coolest with my red hair. I think I made the right choice.
I dropped off my Goodr’s at the optometrist with a little trepidation. I had just bought a $25 pair of plastic sunglasses and was getting ready to pay around $300 for someone to put special “Callie-only” lenses in them so I could squint less at the sun. What if the frames broke? What if I lose them? What if accidentally leave them on the bed of my truck, drive away, and they fall off only to get crushed by someone else like I did with a pair of Airpods? Yeah, don’t be like me.
All the “what if’s” were running through my head the entire time I handed over my Goodr’s to the receptionist. I couldn’t help but cringe a little as I inserted my card into the chip reader and left with the reassurance that my sunglasses would be ready for pickup in about ten days. They actually were done quicker than that and as soon as I saw them, I was all smiles. All of my fears melted away. They were perfect, and I was so excited to wear them in off-trail life and stoked to add them to my gear for summer hikes and trail runs.
So far, life with Goodr’s has been all that I have dreamed of and more. I can see clearly now that the sun’s harmful UV rays are gone and I look super cool in the process. They are an awesome companion when tackling particularly exposed sections of trail and they also make my morning commute 95% less aggravating now that I am not blinded by the sun the entire time. Even though it felt like pulling teeth having to fork over that much money for something that isn’t a '“necessity,” I am incredibly glad that I finally did.
If you are reading this and are an eyeglass wearer who does not own a pair of prescription shades (particularly Goodr), what are you waiting for?! Even though it takes a little more legwork to make happen, it is worth it and certainly something I wish I had done sooner.
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See you out on the trail! Looking fly as hell.
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