OT: glass prescription lenses

[hummus_aquinas]

Hello! Does anyone have any practical experience with glass prescription lenses?
I'm considering a pair and want to know if its worth it. They're not going to be an "everyday" pair and I won't be doing any "active" (?) activities with them. I'm thinking of them as a pair for formal occasions, a "forever" pair of glasses; something I can take to the grave. I'm reading about the scratch resistance and clarity and am attracted to those features.
What's your take? Are these features worth the cons (weight, safety, cost, etc) of glass lenses?

[parris]

I haven't had glass lenses in a new pair of glasses in years. That being said I still have a pair that I keep in my car that have Corning thin and dark photochromic lenses that still change well. Given the age of the lenses they're shockingly durable.

The things that I like about glass for me is the clarity and scratch resistance. If Corning still offers the Thin and Dark lens it's a nice option.

The things that I don't like about glass is the weight, cost, and limited distribution in my area. The weight can be reduced by going to a high index lens. If you go with clear glass and want they can be tinted.

[Hindmost]

Do frames sit comfortably on your nose or will the additional weight cause of frames to slip downward? If it's not an everyday pair and a person is halfway careful, polycarbonate is pretty durable. Prescriptions have a shelf life. As the young man they would last for years, now that I'm older not so much.

[CDollarsign]

Pay up for the thinnest lenses you can get with anti-reflective coating. Scratches are a function of your handling. If you’re looking for quality frames to go along with lenses Lindberg should be at the top of your list.

[veloduffer]

How strong/weak is your prescription? The weight is probably the biggest issue.

I have poor eyesight (-8.0/ -9.0 diopters) and growing up with glass lenses were a pain - very heavy despite going with small frames. In the summer, I had to conscious of when I looked down as the glasses (with plastic frames) would just slide off if I was a bit sweaty.

When I was able to use high index plastic lens, it was such a relief and finally was comfortable wearing glasses all day.


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[benb]

Glass is in no way the more durable "forever" material.

Polycarbonate is what is required when you need tougher lenses, safety, etc..

If you are actually sensitive about scratches and such I would just be way of coatings.

A lot of the defects & wear are to the coatings. Don't ever leave your glasses in a hot car, that's death to expensive coatings.

The idea that prescription lenses will last a long time is semi-silly anyway. Your prescription is fluid an unlikely to last any longer than any lenses, even if you mistreat the lenses. No one is going to know whether you're wearing Glass or Polycarbonate, if you are treating a pair of glasses as "dress" glasses and not wearing them they will inevitably be the wrong prescription at some point when you go to use them.

[keevon]

Slight thread drift, but does anyone have an opinion about polycarbonate vs. Trivex? I wear glasses full time for everything - including cycling. Have had polycarbonate in ic Berlin frames for the past 15+ years.

[DfCas]

I prefer glass. I once ordered both poly and glass eyeglasses and wore them interchangably. The glass provided better vision and was much more durable. Since that time I only wear glass.

My experience with coatings has been that they cause more problems than they solve. They always wear off and leave you with rainbow colored lenses.

Glass lenses are tempered to prevent shattering so they are safe for anything except a bullet.

[veloduffer]

Originally Posted by DfCas

I prefer glass. I once ordered both poly and glass eyeglasses and wore them interchangably. The glass provided better vision and was much more durable. Since that time I only wear glass.

My experience with coatings has been that they cause more problems than they solve. They always wear off and leave you with rainbow colored lenses.

Glass lenses are tempered to prevent shattering so they are safe for anything except a bullet.

How long ago did you have poly? The coatings are much more durable these days. I'm not easy on glasses and the coatings have held up, where as over a decade ago you could see the coating wearing off.

Also, where do you get your glasses made? I go to a local optician that was recommended by my ophthalmologist, rather than the chains like Lenscrafter. I think the quality control can be better, and you can have your eye doctor check the lenses to make sure they are what was prescribed.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by keevon

Slight thread drift, but does anyone have an opinion about polycarbonate vs. Trivex? I wear glasses full time for everything - including cycling. Have had polycarbonate in ic Berlin frames for the past 15+ years.

I've been an eyeglass wearer for more than 40 years, and I've tried a variety of different lens materials.

Glass has the best optical qualities of all the common lens materials. It is also the most scratch resistance. The downsides are that it is heavy and not shatter resistant (and with the drop in cost of some other materials, can be a bit expensive).

CR39 plastic isn't far behind glass in optical quality. It is probably the least expensive common lens material also. Unfortunately, due to it's lower index of refraction, it tends to be thick, particularly for high prescriptions.

Polycarbonate has about the worst optical quality of all the common lens materials. It also isn't very scratch resistant. However, it is light, thin, highly shatter resistant, and not that expensive, so it has become very popular.

Trivex falls somewhere in between CR39 and polycarbonate. Its optical qualities are decent - not quite as good as CR39, but much better than polycarbonate. It is nearly as shatterproof as polycarbonate, so it can be made nearly as thin and light as polycarbonate lenses. It is also a bit more scratch resistant than polycarbonate (closer to CR39) It is a bit on the expensive side.

I've been using Trivex lenses almost exclusively for the last 20 years. They're not quite as good optically as the glass and CR39 lenses I've used, but they're quite a bit thinner and lighter - and they're way better optically than polycarbonate.*

*I've tried polycarbonate lenses a few times, and it has had me seeing double - literally. It has high chromatic dispersion, and refract different colors at different focal lengths. For example, when viewing a white object against a dark background, unless the object is viewed directly in the center of the lens, the image of the object can separate into a side-by-side red and blue objects. When I've mentioned this to opticians, they'll say, "yeah, people get used to it". But I never was able to adapt to it, despite trying several times.

[ultraman6970]

Sport-rx and oakley.