Learn me glasses

I've gone 38 years without the need for vision correction. I made an appointment for wednesday with a local optometrist. I'd be surprised if I didn't end up with a prescription for glasses. Learn me. Night time driving is where I've really noticed the issue, and sometimes with the computer.

I figure I'm in for glasses at least part time. Any special lenses that are cool for the average tinkerer/car guy? Frames. Indestructible is a plus.

No, I will not consider contact lenses at this time.

I normally wear contacts, but my glasses are titanium-framed. Flexible, light, and pretty well indestructible. Consider light-sensitive tinting unless you plan to get a dedicated set of prescription sunglasses as well.

If you want them to double as safety glasses you will probably want to ask about lens materials, and perhaps go for a larger style for better coverage.

Likely an astigmatism. Glass lenses are more expensive but don't seem to scratch as easily as the polycarbonate ones. You do have the shatter risk though.

As for frames, I've been wrenching in my Versace frames for 5 years now without trouble. I don't think you need to really worry about the frame.

Crizal(or spelled somewhat the same) coated lenses......they prevent most glare associated with normal glasses driving at night and working in areas with light sources. I went without the auto darkening this time, as I traded that off to get the titainium Oakley frames instead of the steel version.

Glass lenses will generally hold up better. A wee bit heavier, but much more scratch resistant. Plastic lenses will scratch. Any coating they put on will deteriorate after time, but they will try hard to upsell you the coating. After more than 50 years of wearing glasses, I have never had a lens break. Including a lot of time doing metal work. Good luck, and use a real eye doc, not a big box store guy. There are reasons why they are working there, none to your advantage.

I'm nearsighted. I've had glasses since I was in 7th grade. Had all sorts of combos. Tried contacts in college but decided they weren't for me.

I prefer as light as possible for frames and lenses. Usually polycarbonate lenses. I like the rimless glasses for general use. Had a couple pairs with titanium arms and bridges. The main drawback is the arms on them can be difficult to work with when you are wearing a helmet.

I like the anti-glare coating on the lenses. Eventually it wears down, but around that time you should be going back for a fresh exam anyway.

I have a pair of prescription safety glasses too. They have been handier than you would think. And were cheap.

A couple years ago I tried some yellow #3 glasses for fowl weather and nighttime driving. They cut the glare down significantly. Go to any store with a sporting goods section and you should be able to find some inexpensive non-prescription versions to try.

Last round with prescription sunglasses I tried the "flash chrome" coating on them. It's not the state trooper mirror chrome finish, just a light transparent coat. So far they have been better than the extra dark tinting I would usually go for.

Don't wipe your lenses clean when they are dry. If you have glass lenses it's OK, but any of the plastic ones will scratch.

sachilles wrote: I've gone 38 years without the need for vision correction. I made an appointment for wednesday with a local optometrist. I'd be surprised if I didn't end up with a prescription for glasses. Learn me. Night time driving is where I've really noticed the issue, and sometimes with the computer. I figure I'm in for glasses at least part time. Any special lenses that are cool for the average tinkerer/car guy? Frames. Indestructible is a plus. No, I will not consider contact lenses at this time.

I've had corrective lenses for 18 years. I hate glasses and don't mind contacts, though they can be bothersome at times.

In January, I am getting these: http://www.paragoncrt.com/

Just wear them while sleeping and you don't need corrective lenses the next day, possibly even being ok for a few days.

It might take a week or two for the full effect to become apparent.

+1 on the anti-glare coating. helps with lens flare at night as well as long hours in front of a monitor. One caveat for the auto darkening lenses - even with the best, there is some residual tint when they are "clear.' It's not noticeable in regular use, but I've had friends complain when you're under a car and every little bit of light helps. the residual also gets darker as the lenses age.

Back when I wore glasses ( before switching to contacts years ago) I found that I preferred to have separate clear and sunglass pairs, but that has it's own issues.

As the trend now is toward smaller frames, you might consider getting a cheap, large-lense clear pair for wrenching that are impact rated, and a more fashion-conscious auto-darkening pair for daily use. The small lenses are a pain when you are straining to see around some odd angle in an engine bay while folding your arms in 8 different places to get a wrench on that last damn bolt...

In reply to m4ff3w:

Dang. You had me interested. Then I read it only works with mild to moderate astigmatism. I've got it pretty bad. I was going to do Lasik next year, but the FLEX spending rules changed, so this was the last year to do it affordably, unless I do one eye at a time.

I've been wearing glasses since 4th grade. I need poly-carb lenses otherwise I'd have coke bottle lenses with glass.

I'd suggest not getting the transition lenses. They don't transition back to clear fast enough.

I've had transition lenses for almost 7 years now and would recommend them highly. No, they don't go back to clear instantly, but you'll never notice it. I only notice it when someone takes a picture of me not long after I've come back into a building.

I also have to take my glasses off to have my picture made when out of doors.

Transition lenses do NOT work inside a car so you will still need sunglasses except when driving the convertible.

CGLockRacer wrote: In reply to m4ff3w: Dang. You had me interested. Then I read it only works with mild to moderate astigmatism. I've got it pretty bad. I was going to do Lasik next year, but the FLEX spending rules changed, so this was the last year to do it affordably, unless I do one eye at a time. I've been wearing glasses since 4th grade. I need poly-carb lenses otherwise I'd have coke bottle lenses with glass.

I was really interested in ICL - but FSA rules changed and bit me in the ass there. CRT is ~$1000 for the pair.

Check out, Visian TICL. Though the cost is greater than Lasik, I like the idea of reversible procedures.

One thing I just thought of, isn't there a "grace period" for FSA? So if you put $2500 on it for 2013, didn't use it, added another $2500 for 2014, would you have $5000 in January of '14?

cwh wrote: Glass lenses will generally hold up better. A wee bit heavier, but much more scratch resistant.

A "wee bit?" If your prescription is coke-bottle bottom like mine is, a polycarbonate lens is a godsend. It feels like nothing compared to the massive weight resting on your nose that glass provides.

My eye doc also insists on the sturdiness of polycarbonate, even though I buy my glasses elsewhere.

I have found coatings to be of little value. The anti-reflective coating will wear off quite quickly, leaving you with an un-even look to your lenses, such that they will look smudgy even when they aren't. Don't invest in the coatings unless you want to buy new lenses every six months -- which would suit the people selling them to you just fine. Coincidence???

I have found that polycarbonate lenses hold up surprising well. Granted, they will scratch when you drag them over a rusty muffler clamp bolt, but I try to keep a worn-out pair in the garage for such tasks.

I got glasses for the first time in my 30's. I have found that lightweight is best, and I always go for transition lenses and the scratch coating. Yes, it will wear off eventually, but I rarely have them that long. That is because I buy my daily glasses from WalMart or VisionWorks. My insurance covers the first $100, so I just get a cheap pair every year and consider them disposable. I am HARSH on glasses, so it works out well for my lifestyle.

I also have prescription safety glasses, motorcycle goggles and sunglasses because contacts just don't work for me. My eyesight just isn't as good as with contacts. FWIW, my prescription is very weak so my lenses are thin. That allows me to get very lightweight frames. My wife's lenses look like the ballistic armor in the Presidential Limo, so her options are more limited.

Anybody wear computer glasses?

I hated wearing glasses and contacts, so I got LASIK. I probably needed glasses for awhile before I actually got them; everything was soooo much clearer afterwards.

I use an anti-glare coating and like it. It doesn't seem to wear off. Since you're new to glasses, and winter's coming, be prepared for your glasses to fog up if you get into a warm car from a cold environment, just like they do when you walk into a warm house. It's a small thing, but it can be off-putting before you're used to it. It IS possible to fan your glasses clear with your hands while you're still wearing them, but you will look slightly strange while you do. You can also take a moment to hold them in the nice dehumidified air from your defroster. Both these techniques apply only while the vehicle is stationary.

Also, if you only have to wear them part of the time, be prepared for the location of Daddy's glasses to become part of family folklore. (Ask me how I know.)

Anti glare coating was a monster pain in the ass for me, mostly because it doesn't handle any sparks at all. Now that its mostly worn off, I'm happy again.

I went 45 years without glasses, and ended up with half moon bifocals, just like my Grandmother wore. I was happy with them, but my next time I needed progressives, which give a much narrower field of vision. Drove me nuts for about 6 months until my brain finally got used to it. I still wear the old bifocals in the race car, due to the poor peripheral vision I get with the progressives.

If you ask why they can't widen the field of vision, even for the long distance portion, they say that would give a line across the lens that would be visible to others. Really. Did you look at me? I'm bald and grey and old. Gimme a break.

Been wearing glasses since age 7, yeah I'm the kid in your class you called 'four eyes'. Plastic frames are light and pretty durable but will get brittle as they get older, I once had a pair break while i was standing still talking to someone, just split in two under the lens. That's why I wear flexible metal frames.

Real glass lenses combined with metal frames can get heavy, I had a pair which was painful to wear after 3-4 hours, the bridge pads dug into my nose. Even the little soft pads didn't help so I wear poly lenses with metal frames. If you keep the lenses small this may not be a big deal.

I had transition lenses, did not like them. Not dark enough to be true sunglasses and they don't go all the way clear again. I got a set of those 'pop on' sunglass lenses but I only need them in the convertible on really sunny days.

I had the anti glare coating, that stuff sucks. It's soft and easily scratched. My latest pair is ~2 1/2 years old so no antiglare but I did get antiscratch which is worthwhile. About that: do NOT clean glasses with any sort of paper! Paper towels etc are basically wood pulp and it does have stuff in it sharp/hard enough to scratch plastic. I always clean mine by flooding the lenses with glass cleaner, rub gently, then dry with a soft towel. The 2 1/2 year old pair I am wearing right now have no scratches on them at all.

I also saved my last pair of glasses, they have a crack in one lens but are otherwise serviceable. Those are my 'garage glasses'. You might ask about a cheap pair just for that sort of thing, sometimes you can even find them on those racks of 'universal' glasses you see in K Mart etc. That's what my brother does.

sachilles wrote: Anybody wear computer glasses?

No, but my no line progressives are set for best vision at ~18" which is right about where a keyboard should be. Unfortunately, that means for anything closer than about 12" I wind up taking my glasses off. Welding is a prime example; to get where I like to be so I can see the puddle etc I wind up taking my glasses off.

In reply to m4ff3w:

I'm going to have to look into that and see if it is available near me. It doesn't look like it is approved yet though. Thanks!

A friend of mine turned me on to zenni.com . They're really ridiculously cheap glasses but they seem okay. I haven't ordered any from them, but my wife did, and they worked out pretty well. Obviously it's not top shelf stuff, but for $40 or so per pair (with lenses! and anti-glare coating!) they are really nice.

dculberson wrote: A friend of mine turned me on to zenni.com . They're really ridiculously cheap glasses but they seem okay. I haven't ordered any from them, but my wife did, and they worked out pretty well. Obviously it's not top shelf stuff, but for $40 or so per pair (with lenses! and anti-glare coating!) they are really nice.

How do you pick a frame that fits, is comfortable and looks good on you doing it online?

I've been wearing glasses/contacts for 35 years & have never had a comfortable pair of glasses.

I saw my brother in law recently & he was wearing a pair that looked like some sort of sport goggle. He said they were the most comfortable he'd ever had & attributes the comfort to the curvature of the lenses,sorta makes sense to me. I'm gonna investigate this sort of glasses next time I get a pair.

I haven't checked these site out, but he suggested I look at sporteyes.com,sportrx.com, and clicgoggles.com.

No affiliation yet.

M2Pilot wrote: I've been wearing glasses/contacts for 35 years & have never had a comfortable pair of glasses.

I had 31 years of glasses getting wrapped around my head or punched off my face in grade school - dealing with the nightmare of contact lenses for 20 years - having my prescription change and get worst year after year as an adult - always "aware" of the glasses I was wearing.

In 2003 I went in for laser surgery - haven't looked back.......Good luck with glasses.