Review: Air Optix Night & Day Contacts

Don’t you just hate wearing glasses when running? They’re uncomfortable, easy to break, and they aren’t compatible with most sunglasses.

And what about contacts? They can be a pain to take out and clean every night.

Well, quite a few years ago I got these new contacts called Focus Night & Day contacts. The idea was genius – you could wear these contacts for up to 30 days straight without messing with them!

They are now called Air Optix Night & Day Contacts, but they’re the same thing I’ve been using for all these years.

The lenses are super light and have great air flow, and that means your eyes don’t suffer from being covered by them all the time. You’ll want to check with an optometrist to make sure these contacts will work for you, and they can explain the science better than I can.

But what I can tell you is what I think of these contacts after about five years experience with them!

What I Like About Air Optix Night & Day Contacts:

Superb Comfort

These contacts are extremely comfortable! They made them thin so that oxygen can get to your eye, but the byproduct of that is that the lens is so lightweight you don’t even feel it. Once on, you truly don’t even feel it.

You Can Always See

Since you wear these contacts 24/7, you can always see clearly, even at night. So if you get up at night, you won’t be bumping into the coffee table. And you’ll be able to read your alarm clock in the morning.

Time Savings

You don’t need to take your contacts out at night or put them in in the morning, which saves time. It really doesn’t take a long time to do that, but a few extra minutes of sleep is always nice!

Great For Camping Trips

These contacts are so convenient for camping trips. You don’t want to be messing with contacts out in the woods (I doubt that’s sanitary,) and it’s certainly nice to be able to see at night. You know, like if you hear a bear or something outside your tent!

Likewise, if you go and spend the night at a friend’s house, no worries if you forgot your contact cleaning solution!

Save Money

While these lenses are more expensive than regular ones, you do get to save money on cleaning supplies. You’ll rarely, if ever, have to take out these lenses and clean them, so that means less use of cleaning supplies. It adds up, especially when you consider the price of that hydrogen peroxide overnight cleaning solution.

But these lenses have some drawbacks, too…

What I Dislike About Air Optix Night & Day Contacts:

Expensive

Air Optix Night & Day contacts are more expensive than regular lenses. It’s a pretty significant price difference.

You Still Need Cleaning Supplies

In an ideal world, you wouldn’t need any cleaning supplies, because you’d wear these lenses for 30 days straight in perfect comfort. But in reality, I don’t always wear these for that long. Sometimes it’s 30 days, sometimes it’s two weeks, sometimes just one week. And since I don’t want to throw away perfectly good lenses, I clean them and wear them again the next day.

I also keep lens drops on hand in case my eyes ever feel dry. I never needed drops with regular lenses I took out each night.

Uncomfortable Sometimes

Every so often, these lenses would get uncomfortable and just not feel right on my eyes. I’ve come to realize that this almost always coincides with me getting sick. This might not apply to you, but if I’m sick, wearing contacts overnight doesn’t bode well for me.

Easier to Tear

The light weight and comfort comes with a price. Since these lenses are so thin, they are easier to tear when you are handling them. Usually I don’t know if I tear them until I’m wearing them, and I can tell something’s up.

It really sucks when it happens, but it’s only happened maybe twice per year on average. And I’ve never torn a brand new one – just ones that I’ve already worn a while and had to take out early for cleaning.

To summarize…

Air Optix Night & Day Contacts Summary

Overall, I still think these lenses are awesome. The benefits totally outweigh the drawbacks.

These are definitely my #1 recommendation for runners. The only other lens I’d consider is Focus Dailies, which are replaced each day. But this is only my recommendation if you’re doing adventure races and the like, like Tough Guy, Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, etc. where the lenses may get dirty each day.

I’d check with your optometrist for a trial pair to make sure they work for you.

Then if they do work, I highly recommend Lens.com for buying contacts. The prices are the lowest I’ve seen online, and the service is great. My last order for these contacts, I got two boxes for $93.13 total (and that includes shipping & handling.)

Do you already wear Air Optix Night & Day contacts? Leave a comment below letting me know how you like them! 🙂

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