Tuesday, March 09, 2010

I made a poor transition

I don’t know how many of you out there still wear glasses, but I do. I’ve tried to make the conversion to contacts, but I just can’t. They’re not comfortable enough … etc. So I went in and got new glasses a couple of weeks ago.

When going over frame and lens options, I was talked into getting Transitions lenses. It’s my first time having any kind of photochromic glasses, so I finally caught up with 1991. I’ve always had a slight interest, but they’ve either been out of my price range, not an option or just always seemed kind of gimmicky. But my insurance now makes them relatively affordable (cheaper than a pair of prescription sunglasses anyway), so I decided to take the plunge.

So far? Not very impressed.

I have two main problems with the lenses. The first I was expecting: While the lenses transition to dark quite quickly, the lenses take a significant amount of time to transition back to light once inside. I knew this to be the case, but it’s a gripe nonetheless. My second problem? Well, I spend probably 95 percent of my outdoor time in a car. Guess what happens to transition lenses inside a car? They almost completely lighten. The windshield and windows in cars are UV shielded and the UV rays are what trigger the photochromic response in the lenses. So, inside a car, they’re pretty much worthless.

If you’re a glasses wearer and haven’t tried transition lenses, my caveat would be this: If you spend most of your outside time in a car, don’t bother. If you’re active outdoors, it may be a good product for you. Me, I’ll be sticking with sunglasses in the future.

4 comments:

nightfly said...

Most sellers of eyeglasses stock clip-on sunglasses that will fit any style of frame, and they're usually quite cheap. Those are always a viable option: keep one in the glove box, and keep another one with the glasses themselves for when you're in the sun but not in the car.

Cullen said...

I know it's kind of bitchy, but I don't like the clip-on sunglasses. There's something about the little clasps on the side that always seem to bug me. Also, I never seem to be able to find any that fit my particular frames correctly.

I do have a pair of sunglasses designed to go OVER your regular eyeglasses. They work just fine, but are kind of cumbersome. Preferable to the clip-on variety for me, though.

captcha: rerboil - that is just disgusting.

Maggie May said...

I have had the same problems you describe with my transition lenses. I ususally stick my glasses out the window for a minute or so before I start to drive, but of course this only works if your commute is relatively short.

Rob said...

My wife wore glasses and then contacts since she was 5 years old. I suppose contacts are much improved now but they seemed like such a high maintenance thing to me that I don't know why she did it. It was a 10-minute production every morning and every night. Her eye doctor is one of the pioneers of RK and Lasik and offered a two-for-one special. She got both eyes done for about $1100 and maybe $80 worth of pills and eye drops. That was 15 years ago. Money well spent in our case. She and I both wear glasses to read and I wear them when I'm on the computer but neither of us would ever consider contacts.