Transitions Lenses

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Z06_Mir

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Anyone use them? Thinking about taking the regular lenses out of my glasses and replacing them with transitions (or Costco equivalent if they're OK) or maybe just buying a new pair. I'm sick of carrying an extra pair of glasses around when I want sunglasses. I hear they aren't great for things like driving/flying but as long as they're a little better than standard clear glasses then I'd be OK with it I think.
 
I've used them for a last few years. No real issues, however when it's cold outside and go into a nice warm house, etc., you'll find that the glasses don't go to clear as quickly as you might like. Once the glasses warm up though, they'll transition just fine. No issues when you have the same scenario at night.
 
They're tolerable but have quite a few shortcomings since they react to UV rather than visible light.

They don't get dark when in the plane or car on a bright sunny day because both car glass and plexiglas cuts UV.

They get far too dark when outside on cloudy days because the clouds don't cut UV.

Andy mentioned the issue that they're slow to lighten up when coming indoors. I've found this to be true regardless of temp, they darken quickly...lighten slowly.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give them about a six.

I'll take my Calvin Kleins with the custom, matching clip-on sunglasses for convenience and practicality any day.
 
timwinters said:
They're tolerable but have quite a few shortcomings since they react to UV rather than visible light.

They don't get dark when in the plane or car on a bright sunny day because both car glass and plexiglas cuts UV.

They get far too dark when outside on cloudy days because the clouds don't cut UV.

Andy mentioned the issue that they're slow to lighten up when coming indoors. I've found this to be true regardless of temp, they darken quickly...lighten slowly.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give them about a six.

I'll take my Calvin Kleins with the custom, matching clip-on sunglasses for convenience and practicality any day.
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exactly the reason i ditched transitions. i now just get my prescription and buy cheap online glasses. If you research into Luxotica, a mega corporation, you'll see why glasses are so expensive at a store. Luxotica owns pretty much all of the chain stores you see around town. they look like competitors with each other but they aren't. They also own virtually all name brand frames.
 
I have em and love em. They don't darken in the car, but they do darken in the plane. I've never noticed them ever being too dark. Maybe it depends on the brand. If I can find my paperwork for them, I can let you know which ones I got.
 
I've been wearing them since they first came out as photograys 30 years ago. The advantage is that while they are not as good as dedicated sunglasses I always have them on. I'm 57 and have extremely good night vision and I attribute that to never burning out my eyes with bright light.
 
If you want to try them and not spend a lot of money and have your prescription info you can use Zinni Optical online.
 
Been using them for years. Not the best, but like someone said it beats dragging around sunglasses or those awful clip-on thingies. If the glasses don't lighten quickly enough when I go indoors I usually take them off for a minute.
 
EdFred said:
I have em and love em. They don't darken in the car, but they do darken in the plane. I've never noticed them ever being too dark. Maybe it depends on the brand. If I can find my paperwork for them, I can let you know which ones I got.
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I'd definitely be interested in which ones you got.

EppyGA said:
If you want to try them and not spend a lot of money and have your prescription info you can use Zinni Optical online.
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I looked that up, and they are cheap! But I am really picky with frames, the current ones are Oakley's. I've actually only worn glasses about a year (should have done it sooner!) because I decided I wanted a first class medical. Turns out life is a lot better when you're not squinting and straining to see normal every day things, who woulda thunk it? :rolleyes:


Days like today where it's overcast I don't really need sunglasses. The only thing I am concerned about is flying since that's where I don't feel like switching typically.
 
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steingar said:
Been using them for years. Not the best, but like someone said it beats dragging around sunglasses or those awful clip-on thingies. If the glasses don't lighten quickly enough when I go indoors I usually take them off for a minute.
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Same here. But that is not a frequent problem for me because they change more in cold weather than in hot, and I live in Florida. But I find that if I am outdoors on a sunny day without them, my eyes start hurting from the glare. With them, I am almost always comfortable and don't have to carry sunglasses. If I did, the sunglasses would either need to be prescription, or the would need to fit over my prescription glasses. The former is expensive, the latter is clunky and they are both annoying.
 
I wore them or an equivalent product for about 20 years. At around 45, I was noticing that I needed a totally transparent lens for night driving and I gave them up.
 
Thanks all. So I think I'll probably try them. Any good places online to get discount name brand frames?
 
I like them in summer , but absolutely hate them in winter .
And they really don't work in the plane, at least not for me.:nono:
 
I've always used photo-grey in my prescription lenses. Whether the shop used transition or some third party, I do not know. Since I always wear glasses (bifocals), carrying a separate pair of sunglasses never worked for me and I was never rich enough to have enough pairs to leave them in my vehicles. So no special sunglasses for me, just the one pair (well, a couple actually).
 
I used them decades ago.

Then I started using dedicated sunglasses - OK, but inconvenient to carry that extra pair all the time. Made the mistake of taking the kids to a theme/amusement park one day - the place also had a tour of a local cave that has an entrance inside the park property and my regular glasses were in the car. I spent an hour hitting my head on things that I couldn't see because either I was wearing sunglasses in the dark or I had taken them off in an attempt to see.

Then I started using clip-ons. OK, inconvenient because you have to carry them with you but cheaper than dedicated sunglasses.

I'm thinking of giving transitions a try the next time. The downside that I've seen is that they do not get as dark as dedicated sunglasses and that might be a problem if you do a lot of outdoor events on bright days. Plus there is the problem of them not fully darkening in a plane or car.

I don't know the best solution. I've tried contacts and non-prescription sunglasses but my astigmatism just doesn't work so well with contacts. I get much clearer vision with glasses than with contacts, so it's a trade-off.
 
There have been steady improvements in the technology over the years. They get darker and clearer, and change quicker now.

I have 'em, but don't like them that much. With my insurance, they are a free option. Mine don't often work in the plane or car, because you're shaded and out of direct sunshine. What particularly bugs me is that they don't work when you want them the most... when the sun is low in the morning and late afternoon. Even though you're in the direct sun, the UVs aren't strong enough to trigger a change. Driving West into the sun in the late afternoon is misery.
 
I've been using them for at least 20 years. They are a compromise. Not as good as dedicated sun glasses, but they have the advantage that I'm already wearing them, so I'm less likely to be without them when I need them. I have a pair of prescription sunglasses. I THINK they are in a case in my flight bag. Not sure I've ever used them.
 
Until last year I have worn "Transitions" prescription lenses [started out with "Photograys" in the 1960s]. The degree of "darkness" is adjustable [min/max]. They worked very well for me all that time. Day and night. No problems in the plane either. A slight annoyance: If light is blocked by let's say a brim of a hat with perforations, the same pattern may appear on your lenses...
 
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Been on em for several years. Didn't have the color changers for a few years cause they were really slow about going both ways light and dark. The latest pair are great. Like they said a little slower to lighten up but only a few minutes. The transition is the only bifocal I've ever had, I think its harder if you're coming from standard bifocals. Still I can't imagine having to look through two lenses. Merf
 
Clip-ons have their advantages - just need one pair of glasses, for example. But one of the things I've had a problem with is glare/reflection between the lenses when the sun comes from the side. In that situation sunlight bounces around between the regular and tinted lenses and causes a lot of problems. Maybe it's the size and shape of the glasses and clip-ons that I have, or maybe others have the same problem.

I came very close to getting Transitions last time, but didn't (I got progressives for the first time, instead of bifocals, and wanted to get used to just one change at a time). I'll probably look much closer at Transitions the next time.
 
Geeky perhaps, but I use flip-up clip-on amber lenses. I got used to them during training, when pattern work at dusk made my photograys impractical. Now, I can flip them down when flying into the sunset, and flip them up when the sun's to my back.
 
I have a pair of sunglasses specifically for flying and driving. Otherwise, I love my transitions for everything else. My first pair of glasses were transitions and I sort of took them for granted. My second pair were not transitions and I missed it enough that I went back to transitions again with my new pair. I'll be using transitions from now on.
 
Here's another question for those of you who are not newbs to glasses like I am. Can I just take my current frames back to where I bought them and ask them to order Transitions and pay for just the lenses and not buy a whole new pair of frames?
 
Z06_Mir said:
Here's another question for those of you who are not newbs to glasses like I am. Can I just take my current frames back to where I bought them and ask them to order Transitions and pay for just the lenses and not buy a whole new pair of frames?
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Yes, they can relense frames no problem. I leave rx sunglasses in the car and switch, had transitions loved them at first then not so much. They seem to age quick and not work as well at least mine did, also read that even when clear the transition lenses block light so night vision is compromised more then people realize. Had a sailplane with a tinted canopy and that worked well tinted glasses walking around the airport close the canopy glasses lighten up and everything is cool.
 
Z06_Mir said:
Here's another question for those of you who are not newbs to glasses like I am. Can I just take my current frames back to where I bought them and ask them to order Transitions and pay for just the lenses and not buy a whole new pair of frames?
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Yes, but you may be surprised about the price to do just that. I have used transitions for years, there are a couple of situations where I would like a pair of dedicated sunglasses. So I took in an old frame and asked for a quote. Wow!

I need to go pick up the $15 flip up clip ons I ordered.

Ernie
 
Z06_Mir said:
Here's another question for those of you who are not newbs to glasses like I am. Can I just take my current frames back to where I bought them and ask them to order Transitions and pay for just the lenses and not buy a whole new pair of frames?
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Yep..
 
Anyone used glasses.com? Found a pair of frames I love for a reasonable price. Transistions are an option but it doesn't specify which specific type of transistions they use.
 
Just get a pair of prescription sunglasses. I got mine a few months ago. Found a cheapo pair of frames and with insurance, I only paid for the lenses. I really only use the sunglasses for flying and driving. But they work well. And DON'T get polarzied lenses. My dad found this out when he was flying and couldn't see any of the instruments
 
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