I just got my first ever set of prescription glasses 10 days ago and I chose Transitions Active photo grey with anti-scratch & anti reflective coatings and Silhouette 5479/5473 rimless frames/chassis for their light weight, relatively obstruction free field of view and reported durability of the titanium ear pieces that can be twisted around and return to the original shape, but the bridge of the chassis appears to have been built crooked and needs to be rebuilt, so I get to decide whether to get the same frame/chassis as a replacement or pick a different frame/chassis that I think may serve me better than the current frame.
Concerns with this frame are it’s robustness, or lack thereof, for paddling and active sports - it seems pretty flimsy and definitely requires two hands to remove them from the face, otherwise they twist around a lot.
The arm pieces aren’t aligned with each other and I haven’t devised a way to correct that.
They keep sliding down my nose and I have gotten that figured out, either.
My current mindset is to replace the frames with some that are more robust, more user friendly for for adjustments and more fool proof for beginners, yet still be relatively light weight and comfortable.
It’s a minimum of an hour round trip to get to the eye clinic to get the optician’s assistance with evaluation and adjustments, so I thought I’d tap the extensive wealth of knowledge and experience of the Paddling.com prescription glasses wearing community.
I am a complete noobie an cluless about this, so any help would be appreciated. This set that I bought is quite expensive and I don’t have money for a second set for now, so I need to try to get a good set to start with.
I have two sets of glasses. Polarized sunglasses in titanium frames, for distance viewing only and paddling. My regular glasses are with crizal lenses and progressive focusing. Crizal lenses are great, crystal clear and crisp.
My lenses are progressive with Crizal Avance, Transition Xtra Active, Back Side UV and Trivex. I’m trying to get by with one set of glasses for everything. My frames seem to be the most questionable part of my rig - they may be too delicate for some of my uses.
These frames are titanium, but they are rimless and the nose bridge and the ear pieces fasten with two screws through the lens, that’s why I was wondering about durability compared to frames with top rims or full rims. These are very flesh and require two hands to remove from my face.
I’m a bit wary of applying too much force to try to bend the frame out of concern that I make break them. I may ask the optician for instruction on the best way to adjust this particular frame.
The one time I tried Transitions lenses, about 12 years ago, I didn’t like them for canoeing - made rocks or other underwater obstructions harder to see with the lenses darkened. I later got prescription polarized sun glasses which are MUCH better for paddling in my opinion. Maybe the new Transitions are better.
Doing fine with transitions in a sports Oakley frame. Wish I could remember the name of the frame, but it wraps around your eyes and even comes with a headstrap. This is perfect for paddling in my case, sturdy and not going to come off my head anytime!
@shiraz627 said:
Make sure you get a floating strap in case they fall off.
Or use the other option, which is to use a strap which ensures that they won’t fall off in the first place. On skinny, modern frames, that may take some ingenuity instead of relying on some off-the-shelf product.
Some cautions about the Crizal brand: As Andy S. said, they provide an exceptionally crisp image, but, I’ve been wearing glasses nearly all my life and I’ve found every claim they make on their TV commercials to be false. They are not more scratch-resistant and not more fog-resistant than other lens materials, at least not compared to any I’ve used over the last 40+ years. The slightest touch by something other than clean lens cloth is very likely to leave a mark, and as to fogging, even slight wiffs of my breath blowing across them on a day as warm as 50 or 55 degrees will cause a wave of fog to instantly form across the lens, so that same issue in the winter is 100-times worse than with any other lenses I’ve had. Also, don’t ever expose them to air or water that’s more than about 10 degrees warmer than the current temperature of the lenses or the coating will instantly craze into billions of tiny cracks. The first time that happened to me (all I did was set them on the dashboard of my car on a winter day when surface of the dashboard was already warmed up), my optician said “oh yeah, I probably should have warned you about that problem.” I’ve destroyed two sets of Crizal lenses in that way (the other time was due to rinsing with lukewarm water instead of room-temperature water).
Still, I like them for the crisp, distortion-free image and light weight (lightweight lenses of years ago provided a very distorted image, but these don’t have that problem at all).
Dang, that’s scary info about the crizal lenses. Has me second guessing whether I should change to a different lens material before my 30 day trial period is up. I don’t want to have to pamper them too much.
I did figure out why the glasses kept sliding down my nose - I didn’t have the ear pieces all the way down and resting on my ears, so the hooks weren’t wrapping around the back of the ear like they were supposed to. Staying in place pretty well now. I told you that I am a nooby at this.
@Yanoer said:
Dang, that’s scary info about the crizal lenses. Has me second guessing whether I should change to a different lens material before my 30 day trial period is up. I don’t want to have to pamper them too much.
Really, the Crizals are well worth it unless for some reason you can’t avoid rough handling. All plastic lens materials will degrade in time if not treated gently. The difference is just one of degree.
This time around I tried to get by with one pair. I ordered Transition XA and progressive lenses.
Two problems one of the Progressive lenses was a little off and the XA didn’t get dark enough in the car or when wearing a visor.
Store was sending the lens back to regrind and I ordered plain progressives for indoors and Polarized bifocals for driving and paddling. I guess something that does everything doesn’t do anything really well.
I use full metal frames with a one piece bridge.
Tinted lenses are a challenge when trying to take photos in the bright sun. Heck, taking photos in bright sun is a challenge even without tinted lenses.
You may just have a narrow bridge on your nose. Mine is as narrow as a child’s so I can’t wear ANY adult frames that don’t have the adjustable nose=piece that you find on wire rimmed glasses – most plastic frames just slip down my nose. Fortunately, there are now more standard plastic frames that have those adjustable nose pads. I got a pair 18 months ago made by Nine West that have a sort of classic RayBan “Wayfarers” look but have the “pinchable” wire mounted nose pads. Like the photo linked below. They also came with the option for the magnetic catch sunglass “clip-ons” that attach with tiny magnets drilled into the lenses. So far I have not lost those clip ons (they are expensive so that has motivated me to always put them in their case and keep the case in a good place.) The spring loaded bows hold on well when I am doing active stuff. And I knelt on them a few weeks ago and twisted both bows and hinges badly, but was able to easily twist them back into shape with no lasting damage or distortion.