Turn Your Sunglasses Into Readers

Back when I was younger, I don’t think that I would have expected to ever write this post. But I now need readers to read maps when canoeing and kayaking. In that past in order to read the maps, I’d take off my sunglasses and put on a pair of readers. Or if I was lucky, I could squint in just the right way and maybe get lucky. I didn’t want to spend the money on sunglasses with readers built into them, so I just made do. Earlier this year, I decided to drop $20 on a pair of StickTite Lenses and I’m glad I did because it turned my sunglasses into readers

StickTite Lenses are reader lenses that stick onto your sunglasses and turn them into a bifocal-style of glasses. They are easy to apply. You clean your glasses and then get them a little wet and apply the StickTite lenses.

These aren’t perfect because they are plastic, but they have made it possible for me to easily read anything without switching to readers. I also use my Tifosi Optics photochromic sunglasses while riding my bike and that makes seeing the smaller numbers on my bike computer possible. While they aren’t as good as a dedicated set of readers, I have found them good enough for my purposes.

If I were to pick one piece of gear that I bought in 2024 as the best paddling gear of the year, it would be this stick-on readers. For $20, I don’t think I could have found a better piece of gear that has improved my life so much. I highly recommend them.

If you face the same eye issues as I do and want an inexpensive solution to help you read maps when out paddling, then these are something to try out.

You can get them here: Sticktite Lenses.