need help seeing things up close on the stream

Even with the best light on the stream I still need to see things up close. This last weekend I pulled my reading glasses out of my pocket and was horrified to see that they were smudged. I must have spent 5 minutes trying to tie on the derned fly.
So here is my question...
There are the clip on magnifiers for your hat (the ones that fold down) but I'm wondering how well they work in practice. ????

I use them. They work for me even over sunglasses. One nice thing about them is even in cold weather they are already acclimatized to the outside air temp and won't fog up like readers can if kept in your pocket where it is nice and warm.

I love mine. Tucks up under my hat nicely when not in use and can be quickly deployed for when tying on hooks and dealing with @#$^&* tangled tippet. lol

RainX might keep your reading glasses dry and clear until you get you a fold up Magnifier.

Jill,
I use them regularly and I like them. You don't have to mess around with digging your readers out of your pocket, etc..... Try several different magnifications to see what suits you best. Best Regards....

Jill - GREAT QUESTION - I've been thinking of posting the same one since I'm finally starting to admit that I need reading glasses (not easy to admit) and didn't know if the little flip down glasses would work...good to know they do!

Thanks everyone!

Not only do they work, but I couldn't survive a day on the water without them. For me, tangled tippets, wind knots & small hook eyes demand them.

Also, if you wear a fedora type hat and don't like the extra weight of the them hanging from your front brim, you can put them on the back brim and turn your hat around when you need them.

I have a good friend who only needed reading glasses so I found out what strength he needed and got him a pair of the cap bill magnifers which he loved but havig the folded under the bill of his cap bothered him so he kept them ont he top of his cap bill and would put them underneath to use them until he dropped them. They don't float. If you wear sunglasses, which you should, there are magnifer that fit on the lense and turn them into bifocals that work well I am told.
The state of GA says I should wear my glass anytime I appear in public pretty much so its not an issue with me.

Jill,
After Jesse's post it reminded me that I also regularly use a pair of AO/Smith sunglasses that are bifocals. They are expensive but work very well. Best Regards....

i have a pair of the Flip Focals
Maybe my hat brim is too long or something, but I have trouble seeing through them
They're small, and far from your face .
You're constantly adjusting either the angle of the glasses or the angle of your hat
Not that reading glasses are any easier to deal with...............:(
I

The HatEyes slide about 2, may be 3 inches along the brim clip to bring them closer or farther away from your eyes. In addition, they come with two extension arms (short and long).

I use the kind of magnifying glasses that clip on my regular glasses. They work great for me when I need them, they are cheap, and I doubt I will ever lose them. I only clip them on when I am threading small flies, so I store them with my fly boxes when I am not actually using them.

The fold-up glasses that fit on the bill of my hat I have work well with a couple of limitations. They are plastic and, if you are not careful applying insect repellant, they will spot and cloud. Also after much use the hinges get loose and will sometimes drop if you move too quickly. I also have the bi-focal type sunglasses that work great until dusk, Duh!

I knew this was the place to ask with just the input I was looking for. Thanks.

Jill:

Just to clarify, (pardon the pun) there are two major brands of "on the visor" flip up/down magnifiers; Flip Focals and Hat Eyes. The Hat Eyes mentioned by Tyrone are VASTLY superior to Flip Focals in my experience. They also can easily be set up to flip above or under the visor.

They are pricier than Flip Focals initially but JUST the lenses can be replaced if damaged or you need stronger magnification. They don't seem to be as available as Flip Focals but they are worth the hunt.

I've tried the flip focus type and didn't like the weight on my sunglasses. Then I tried the hat brim type and lost one set, another the hinge kept getting loose and had to keep tightening the screw or it wouldn't hold its position. For the last 5-6 years I've used an extra pair of reading glasses and hang them around my neck with a Croakie.
My regular reading glasses are 1.25. For fishing, I got a pair of 3 diopter glasses, all the better to see the hook eye and those tangles. The pair I ended up with are the half height type that sit down low on the nose, so I don't take off my sunglasses, just put the reading glasses over the sunglasses, then slide them off when I'm done. This works for me.

MANY guides use them( the flip ups) . they are an easy , efffective tool

I have a pair of flip ups somewhere. I always seemed to see them out of the corner (top) of my eye. Bothered me a lot. Now I just wear my readers around my neck with croakies.
When I did wear the flip ups, because they sat further from my eyes it seemed like tunnel vision. My eyes don't test bad enough to wear regular glasses or I would try the bifocals.

Since I am pretty much always wearing sunglasses while fishing, I got the bifocal type. They work great and are always there.

I wear bi-focals for reading and the problem with them is they don't focus down to a size 20 hook eye. I bought a pair of hat eyes and no problem anymore. Great focal length which is adjustable. Good for wind knots and tangles too. They flip out of the way on a ball cap and you won't even know they are there.

Beaver