Waldo Contacts Review

I’ve always been an Acuvue guy. That’s not by design or choice, but out of simple convenience. The optometrists I’ve been to have always been Acuvue distributors. Furthermore, I’ve always been a 2-week disposable guy too. So, how did I wind up with a daily use Hi Waldo monthly contact lens subscription? COVID-19.

I ran out of contact lenses during the pandemic, and my prescription had expired. In Colorado, we were under a shelter-in-place order and the eye doctors were closed. I resorted to daily eye glass wearing, which has its downsides. Any eyeglass and contact lens wearer will tell you that glasses are a pain when your sweating or doing anything active. So, as the home improvement projects increased, and I started exercising I was anxious to replace my contact lenses.

Finally Getting to the Optometrist

After months of dealing with glasses and not having the ability to get my eyes checked, businesses started to reopen. I scheduled an eye appointment and got a traditional eye exam. Does everybody else hate the eye puff? My prescription had changed slightly and my left eye was between -3.25 and -3.50, while my right eye was -3.25. So, my doctor elected to give me -3.25 in both eyes. I was given a pair of Acuvue Oasys 2-week disposable lenses and I went on my merry way, happy to be able to see again without glasses.

Something wasn’t right

Normally, I don’t order my replacement lenses during the eye appointment. I like to see how the contacts feel after a few days, whether they dry my eyes out, and are comfortable after all-day wearing. On my drive home, I noticed my vision wasn’t great for oncoming street signs. I immediately went back to the eye doctor and asked to have the stronger lens for my left eye. They obliged.

After a few days, I noticed I was squinting a lot and straining to focus. I was more sensitive to light and I felt like my vision was not as crisp as the first day. I made a follow-up appointment, thinking that the prescription was slightly off. The lenses felt too strong. My hunch was right. Although the “test” machine showed my vision was good with the contact, the lens test showed that my prescription was indeed too strong. I ended up with -3.00 in the right eye and -3.25 in the left. The doctor also recommended I try daily disposables, instead of bi-weekly lenses. So, they sent me off with a weeks-worth of daily disposable contacts.

Once again, I didn’t buy my supply of lenses at the doctor. I wasn’t convinced daily’s were the way to go and I needed to be sure I’d be able to see by the weeks end. However, I did like the logic behind daily lenses.

• No Hassles – At the end of the day, I can toss the lenses in the bin and move on.
• Cleanliness – The lenses go straight from a sterile container to my eyes
• No Solution – I don’t need solution anymore. It’s a cost savings and less hassle at the airport

I never buy glasses at the optometrist because I can find brand names cheaper online, or non-branded glasses for next to nothing. So, I assumed I could do the same with contact lenses. Acuvue has been great, but I felt like I was paying for the name. I’ve used 1-800-CONTACTS before and the experience was fine, and I even saved some money. Yet, I wanted more – or less to be honest. Basically,  I wanted to spend less.

I came across Hubble, which seems to be the major contact lens subscription service, but they were charging $36 for a monthly supply. I figured if these were the “big guys” there might be a smaller monthly contact lens subscription company that offered quality lenses for even less. That’s when I found Hi Waldo.

Hi Waldo is a direct to consumer contact lens subscription service that delivers high-quality contact lenses direct to my door for a very reasonable price. I spend more on coffee in a week than I do for a month of contact lenses, which says a lot about their low pricing and the high cost of my coffee!

When I did the research, I saw that Waldo contacts have a slightly higher water content than Hubble. Since I struggle with dry eyes, this seemed like a smart choice too. Both brands claim to have a “think-edge” technology which makes the lenses more comfortable. Hubble lenses are made from Methafilcon and Waldo is made from Etafilcon. To be honest, that doesn’t mean anything to me. Waldo claims to be ultra-breathable, while Hubble stated they were a high-grade hydrogel materials (again that means nothing to me).

All the jargon aside, I made my choice based on the price and I wasn’t disappointed. Hi Waldo shipped fast, and free, getting my contacts subscription in a matter of days. In fact, I received my box before I ran out of the weeks supply from Acuvue. They were packaged nicely, in a solid box that was easy open and small enough to fit in my mailbox (instead of being left on my porch).

Waldo Contacts Review – Day 1   

The lenses initially felt a little flimsier than my Acuvues, which I don’t perceive as a bad thing. Daily lenses are thinner than 2-week disposables anyway. If the Waldo lenses were thinner than my Acuvues, it would’ve been measured in microns or some indiscernible measurement. Bottom line, the lenses were thin and soft. One lens had flipped in the package and I ended up putting my right eye lens in inside out. I promptly removed the lens, flipped it, rinsed it with solution, and put it right back.

Genuinely, I could not perceive the difference between my Waldo lenses and the Acuvue lenses. I saw just as well, I didn’t have any sensitivity, my eyes stayed moist, and they were just as comfortable.

Waldo Contacts Review – Days 2 and 3

I woke up with my typically dry eyes, no difference from any other day with or without contacts though. I wore my glasses most of the day and popped in my Waldo contacts after lunch. Same feel to the contacts, same great vision, and same comfort. It was so nice to wear sunglasses again in the blazing Colorado sun. At the end of the day, I had worn my contacts for only a coupe of hours to I decided to wear them again the next day.

I do not advise re-wearing daily contacts, and I don’t think anyone else would support this decision either. However, I didn’t feel a major difference between my daily lenses and my 2-week lenses. So, I figured wearing daily’s for 2-days would give me double the usage and half my costs – I sound really cheap in this review…

Anyway, the comfort and my vision were just as good throughout the day and I didn’t notice any issue until I took them out on day 2. Nothing major, but apparently the contacts were a lot dryer than I realized. When I took them off, it felt like I was pulling a layer of my eyeball off with them. So, please don’t wear daily lenses more than once!

If you’re looking for a quality contact lens subscription that won’t break the bank, Hi Waldo should be your go to choice. If you’re still unsure, they offer a 10-day trial for $2.95. That’s less than 30 cents a day. Overall, I am completely satisfied with the Waldo monthly contact lens subscription. My only concerns are whether they’ll be in business long enough to continue taking advantage of their low cost and whether they’ll be able to maintain manufacturing consistency. Otherwise, I say 20 bucks is a great deal to #seehappiness.

Interested in trying the Waldo Monthly Lens Subscription? Click here to get a 10-day trial or click the coupon below!