Spectacle solutions

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
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20,311
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west Texas
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Display name:
Dave Taylor
It is getting more difficult to find my old standby, rx glasses with magnetic sunglass clips anymore in this area (and I'm not sure I want to buy glasses online).

I am told the only solution is to buy two pair; clear lenses & a pair of rx sunglasses or get transition lenses.

Two pair is more awkward than clipons.

The transition lenses do not work in the car as not enough UV gets through the glass.
They have newer ones to circumvent that problem...but the demo ones I saw don't get very dark. Plus I worry about them responding fast enough ie driving into a tunnel etc.

I am open to your ideas.
 
My eye guy has plenty of frames with magnetic clip-ons. At least he did the last time I needed glasses. Maybe they are going out of style? Your local places should be able to order some for you to try on.

Like you said, there are some transition lenses designed to darken inside a car, they do warn you they don't ever get completely clear though. Trasnsitions have their place, but they are a compromise.

I've stuck with clip-ons for a lot of years, but am considering an extra pair of rx sunglasses next time.
 
I've been through this and have settled on two pairs of glasses. Wear contacts/ nonrxsunglasses occasionally in the summer.
 
I tried the two glasses thing for a little while. I did not like having to carry both glasses with me whenever I went somewhere. Maybe I need a man-purse.

I think I'll do the two-glasses route plus clip-ons. Then I can reserve one set for the car/airplane, and clip-ons for times I don't want to carry both.

Good vision sure makes life simpler. I've tried contacts before, but my astigmatism just doesn't let me get the same clarity with contacts as with glasses. I might have to try again, maybe they've gotten better.
 
I keep my sunglasses in the truck, wear my clear glasses and change in parking lots. When I fly, I wear the sunglasses, and keep a cheap pair of clear glasses from the "2 complete pair as low as . . . " store for those flights than need them. [Found out the hard way about flying after work in sunglasses, and needing to land. With a burned out landing light. Never Again!]

It's awkward, but it works.
 
I tried clip ons when I lost my sun glasses (left them in a rental car), but I had no where convenient to put them when I wasn't using them. They kept breaking when I put them in my pocket. I went back to two glasses and I hang the one I am not using on my shirt collar. I don't picture myself ever going to contacts.
 
I wear transitions lenses plus sunglasses.

Back in the day, I wore Serengeti Driver gradients but when they pretty much drove glass out of the business (the day Corning started making plastic lenses, I knew I was in trouble), they pretty much became unobtainable.

I also keep a few of those inexpensive "spring loaded" things that attach to the frames.

After being fitted by a decent optician, I now tend to just take my paperwork to Costco and buy there. They don't seem to be any worse than Lenscrafters (who've screwed up things for me in the past...though they always made it good).
 
Flip-up clip-ons have worked for me for decades.

Nothing fancy, and certainly not stylish, but handles some of the complaints about what to do with them when not needed.

Photo to follow.
 
8294451946_156f4dc021_z.jpg


Other advantage is they can be worn flipped part way down, shielding you from the glare outside while still seeing the panel untinted.

WalMart has them in various sizes, for no more than about $12.
 
FastEddieB said:
8294451946_156f4dc021_z.jpg




Other advantage is they can be worn flipped part way down, shielding you from the glare outside while still seeing the panel untinted.



WalMart has them in various sizes, for no more than about $12.
Click to expand...


I didn't really see those available anymore. I ended up with the spring loaded clip ons ($12 to $20, depending where you buy them) and I broke a couple of them just carrying them in my pocket. My GF wouldn't go for the flip ups, anyway, she would probably break them for me.
 
Cheap,not stylish, but I like to keep the pupil dilation glasses in the airplane. They are flat,easy to store and slip behind my glasses and work vey well. Never had a pair stolen and never lost any. No one would be seen dead in them eliminates a fatal aviation accident.:D
 

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Let'sgoflying! said:
The transition lenses do not work in the car as not enough UV gets through the glass.

They have newer ones to circumvent that problem...but the demo ones I saw don't get very dark. Plus I worry about them responding fast enough ie driving into a tunnel etc.
Click to expand...


I bought the newer photochromatic lenses. They work fine in the car. Best purchase in years. I have a pair of lesser strength clear readers (I'm nearsighted) for long timeframes at computer monitors.
 
Oh and my glasses Doc can order the magnetic sunglasses just fine. He doesn't stock them. Whatever vendor he's using does not make an unpolarized version anymore.
 
Been wearing transitions for years with no difficulty at all. I bet plenty of UV gets through the plastic of our windshields.
 
steingar said:
Been wearing transitions for years with no difficulty at all. I bet plenty of UV gets through the plastic of our windshields.
Click to expand...

I thought I heard somewhere that the typical GA airplane windscreen does not block UV.

I've been trying to find a reference, but no luck so far.
 
I'm going to try the stick on magnifiers ,for my sun glasses.If not great,going to go flip ups.Dont care what they look like.Also plan on leaving a pair in the aircraft,just in case.
 
Took me several attempts to find clip-ons ...have always found easily on "Solar Shield" racks, at places like CVS or Walgreens, for about nine bucks.

Solar shield racks are now pushing the spring-loaded jobs ...racks are loaded with them ...but check the very lower section of their racks ...voila!! Have to get down to floor level to find them!!
 
Matthew said:
I thought I heard somewhere that the typical GA airplane windscreen does not block UV.

I've been trying to find a reference, but no luck so far.
Click to expand...

My motorcycle helmet doesn't, and its made of the same stuff. My eyes are hideously sensitive to sunlight, but I have no trouble flying with the transitions on the clearest day.
 
steingar said:
My motorcycle helmet doesn't, and its made of the same stuff. My eyes are hideously sensitive to sunlight, but I have no trouble flying with the transitions on the clearest day.
Click to expand...

If it doesn't block UV then transitions should darken fine.
 
frfly172 said:
I'm going to try the stick on magnifiers ,for my sun glasses.If not great,going to go flip ups.Dont care what they look like.Also plan on leaving a pair in the aircraft,just in case.
Click to expand...

I bought a set on Amazon recently based on a recommendation here and they work really well. I keep them in the plane at all times. They are a little pricey for what you get, but when you fly someplace on a sunny day you can keep wearing them instead of toting both along (assuming you remain outdoors).
 
PS another problem I have is living in a world of sandstorms and constant grit on everything. The last pair of plastic lenses I had were showing scratches within 30 days. I am thinking about glass lenses, I hear they are the hardest but also the heaviest. And more breakable. Anyone want to dissuade me from doing that? I can give the lens, um -diopters? if needed. Ie the Rx.
 
My glasses have the anti-scratch and anti-reflective coatings (clear and sunglasses). It really helps, and makes it easier to blow dust and light dirt off.
 
You can also have a look at Scheydens. They know a little about aviation eyewear and have models with built-in flip-up capability. Not cheap, though!
 
I've tried a lot of different things. One was to get my regular glasses (progressive lenses) through my eye guy and order sunglasses through Zenni Optical. This year I went with transition lenses through my regular guy. So far I really like them.
 
I just got new glasses that attempt to correct all the minor vision problems that never bothered me before, as well as the presbyopia, in one set of progressive lenses. I told the doc I was tired of losing reading glasses, and the astigmatism was starting to bother me enough that I wanted to correct it, anyway; so he wrote me a prescription for progressives with multiple corrections.

The optician told me everything was going to look really weird for a while and that I shouldn't wear the glasses for driving or flying until I got used to them. Needless to say, I put them on as I walked out the door. I figured if I could find the car, I'd try driving it.

I almost changed my mind when I tripped over the curb in the parking lot, but as it turned out, driving the car wasn't a problem at all. It only took a minute or two for my eyes to adjust.

Walking and reading have been more of a challenge. There's a pretty narrow spot that's in near focus (which the doctor had told me would be the case because of the multiple corrections), so I have to move my head side to side, not just my eyes, to get the clearest picture. And if I look down with just my eyes, rather than moving my head, the ground looks concave and blurry.

But the improved distance vision and not having to put reading glasses on and off all the time are nice. I haven't tried the glasses for flying yet. Maybe next weekend if I stop tripping over things. I have to get used to moving my head, not just my eyes.

-Rich
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
PS another problem I have is living in a world of sandstorms and constant grit on everything. The last pair of plastic lenses I had were showing scratches within 30 days. I am thinking about glass lenses, I hear they are the hardest but also the heaviest. And more breakable. Anyone want to dissuade me from doing that? I can give the lens, um -diopters? if needed. Ie the Rx.
Click to expand...

The optical industry has largely given over to polycarbonate lenses in the past ten years. While these are immensely hard and shatter resistant (it's what safety glasses always have been typically made out of), they are REALLY prone to scratches. There are some coatings that make this better. Your better optical places may still have acrylic lenses available. Note that no store "grinds" lenses anymore. They buy the blanks already with the right optical precription, all they do is cut them to fit the frames.

I used to always wear glass lenses because they don't scratch and they were much easier to keep clean. However new consumer safety rules pretty much put that out of business. The stores can't even cut those lenses because they need to be tempered AFTER they're cut and after a few rounds of special orders I just relented. I've been meaning to try the new Crizal lenses that are supposed to be better with this regard.
 
I've worn Crizal lenses for the last seven or eight years, they hold up pretty well. I've only really noticed fine scratches toward the end of the second year when my prescription only changed 1/4 diopter and I kept them.

Now I've moved, and am using Hoya lenses with their scratch-resistant coating. They work well but look sort of blue while sitting on the counter. Great clarity, though.
 
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