Transition lenses vs Sunglasses.

Oafley Jones

Just looking for some advice on transition lenses. I'm looking to get a pair of fairly robust prescription sunglasses this summer. I usually wear contacts when away, but these are a no-go as I need something for water parks. I've prescription goggles but these aren't really appropriate either.

I'd need a fairly robust frame to take a few waves etc. but I'm curious about how people find transitions. How do they compare to traditional sunglass lenses? I'm around -4 with a slight astigmatism so my choice of glasses is pretty slim e.g. Oakley seems to have almost nothing for me.

copacetic

I have a pair of Oakley transitions, they are quite like normal sunglasses except you can keep them on when it gets quite dark when they just add a little contrast.

There is quite a variation in the transitions you can get, i.e some aren't suitable for very sunny days as they don't go dark enough.

I have them in a half jacket frame which is bullet proof and allows you to swop them out for different lenses also.

Oafley Jones

copacetic wrote: »

I have a pair of Oakley transitions, they are quite like normal sunglasses except you can keep them on when it gets quite dark when they just add a little contrast.

There is quite a variation in the transitions you can get, i.e some aren't suitable for very sunny days as they don't go dark enough.

I have them in a half jacket frame which is bullet proof and allows you to swop them out for different lenses also.

The half jacket seems to be the ideal type of frame, unfortunately I think it's a maximum -3. Gas-can type frame seems to be the only option, but I'm not keen on the design, especially when they're around the 500 mark. Would you now how'd yours compare to say Oakley's dark polarized iridium lenses - which is what I'd normally wear.

copacetic

I have 3 other pairs of oakleys with dark or warm grey lenses, Which I think are all 10% transmission high protection. My transitions are the v50 i think which go from 50 to 15% which sounds about right from how they feel on. However you can get a few different transitions lenses.

I think dark iridium polarised would be around 9-10% transmission so you would have to go for a transitions lens that goes that low to get equivalent in bright sunlight.

G40 transitions got from 40 down to 10 for example.

Claim The Frame

Transitions aren't ideal for everything for instant they will not darken in a car as the window is blocking the UV needed to darken the transition lenses. So if you are the driver you will still need a separate pair of sunnies.

Adidas have a great selection of sunglasses starting at about €120 and they are extremely robust as they are designed for all sports. There is an insert you can get for all prescriptions which you can clip in and out as you please. This might be your best bet!

endplate

Transitions make people look old and they make a ordinary pair of glasses look like sunglasses which in most cases does not suit the frame. My wife (an Optician) does not like selling them to young people i.e. 25 to 45 age group.

Transitions reduce glare but even on a cloudy day you will be walking around with dark glasses plus they don't work well behind the windscreen. However polarised lenses will eliminate glare making wearing in sunny conditions fantastic.

You say you are a -4.00 sphere well there is a high index 1.67 wrap polarised sunglass lens available from a company called Shamir that is designed for bigish prescriptions. The lens is a freeform design so areas of blur and distortion are reduced plus added to a wrap sunglass design will give you a very comfortable and secure fitting frame. Most independant opticians will have an account with Irelands agent for Shamir as we do.

Oafley Jones

Great information there endplate.

A bit of googling says that Oakley's OTD lenses are in fact shamir, so it's all the more perplexing that I can't get lenses in frames I'm used to.

Moonbeam

I can not deal with changing glasses so transitions work for me but my glasses are a lot stronger .
Contacts and normal sun glasses work for most people .
If I could I would definitely have separates .