Prescription Polarized Glasses?

[brownheron]

Has anyone gone the route of getting Rx Costa or Smith Polarized Glasses? Are you happy?
For the longest time, I would just check the polarized box at my optometrist when they filled my sunglasses lenses and I'm beginning to wonder if they just not the best polarized lenses I can get.

I also have the Smith's Guide's Choice with prescription lenses and Costa Whitetips also with prescription lenses. I really like them both. The Smiths are more comfortable but I prefer the lens tint (Sunrise silver mirror) in the Costas.

My only beef is that you can't get the lightest Smith lens (Low light Ignitor) in prescription. My fishing is almost all on the OP and much of it in dawn/dusk so I'm usually looking for the most light transmission possible.

 

[Brian Miller]

I also have the Smith's Guide's Choice with prescription lenses and Costa Whitetips also with prescription lenses. I really like them both. The Smiths are more comfortable but I prefer the lens tint (Sunrise silver mirror) in the Costas.

My only beef is that you can't get the lightest Smith lens (Low light Ignitor) in prescription. My fishing is almost all on the OP and much of it in dawn/dusk so I'm usually looking for the most light transmission possible.

I really like the Drivewear polarized photochromic versatility. The amber to brown tint that darkens to visible light behind behind a windshield handles a lot of lighting situations.

Drivewear Effect

www.drivewearlens.com

But again, I cannot comment on how effective they are compared to Costa - Maui - (latest) Smith lenses for fishing.

 

[Old Man]

I wear Cocoons and I like them. They come in different sizes. I have the "Slim Line" ones. They don't look like Barney Google lens.

 

[_WW_]

I had LASIK about 5 or 6 years ago and now I'm back to needing glasses. There's the other procedure that's out there you might check into that.

 

[Old Man]

I had LASIK about 5 or 6 years ago and now I'm back to needing glasses. There's the other procedure that's out there you might check into that.

I had both eyes done about 4 years ago. My eyes still bother me. When I wake up in the morning I have a hell of a time seeing without my glasses on, so I put them on when I wake up now. Bright sun light is rough on me along with the sun on the snow.

 

[Brian Miller]

Unfortunately it was shortly before I needed to start wearing glasses that I picked up a pair of REI branded mountaineering sunglasses (discontinued long-long ago). They were glass amber to brown polarized photochromic with dual gradient mirrored lenses. They were rugged, stylish, very comfortable plastic frames that fit my size 7 3/4 head, didn't need separate nosepieces, and had removable leather side shields. They were AWESOME for climbing and skiing in a wide variety of lighting conditions. I did some research and found the Group Health vision shop would do a single vision polarized prescription photobrown lens and put a mirrored dual gradient on them so I had my (first?) prescription filled for them but the tint wasn't quite as good for low light and whiteouts. I still have 2 sets of the frames but they are somewhat curved and I would have to be convinced they wouldn't cause nearfield prescription distortion.

 

[Dogsnfish]

What are your everyday prescription polarized glasses?

Hi Brian, the frames are from Ocean Pacific. To be honest, I am not sure if that is the same place they get the glass part of it. One thing I do like about them is that I got transitions which really helps fishing in the early AM or late PM. I do not know enough about how they do these, but is the polarization some kind of coating on them, and more built-in for the Maui's? Beats me. I do know that the Maui's are much, much nicer.

 

[mcswny]

I had LASIK about 5 or 6 years ago and now I'm back to needing glasses. There's the other procedure that's out there you might check into that.

yikes, thats not a great return on investment.

 

[Bruce Baker]

I have a pair of Maui Jim reader (non-prescription bifocal) for when I wear contacts and a pair of Maui Jim prescription progressive bifocals. I love the progressive bifocals. I rarely wear my contacts.

 

[Northern]

My Lasik lasted about 15 years before I started losing some distance clarity. That change stabilized after a year, so prescription shades have worked fine since then (~3 yrs now.)
I got all the bells and whistles Costas in bifocal and a pretty dark tint for bright days - love them.
Then, when I got new regular glasses, I had lighter tint, polarized bifocal lenses put into my old frames. They're a very different shape from the Costas, and with a nose piece that holds them further off my face. I can switch back and forth between these depending on light conditions, with the bonus that doing that helps minimize the inversed-raccoon tan I often end up with in the summer!

 

[Brian Miller]

Hi Brian, the frames are from Ocean Pacific. To be honest, I am not sure if that is the same place they get the glass part of it. One thing I do like about them is that I got transitions which really helps fishing in the early AM or late PM. I do not know enough about how they do these, but is the polarization some kind of coating on them, and more built-in for the Maui's? Beats me. I do know that the Maui's are much, much nicer.

A little research reveals...
"Plastic photochromic lenses have molecules of [light reactive chemicals] that are usually layered or embedded evenly onto the surface of the lens providing an even shade of tint when darkening."
"Glass photochromic lenses have the molecules contained within the glass and this can sometimes cause an uneven tinting effect on a lens with higher prescription due to the different thickness of the lens from one edge to the other."

Photochromic Transition Lenses Explained [2023 UPDATED]

Transition photochromic lenses darken to sunglasses tint when exposed to sunlight, or UV ultraviolet, and return to a clear state when indoors.

www.onlineopticiansuk.com

"Polarized lenses mitigate glare by using a chemical film either applied to or embedded in the lenses. The chemical filter on polarized sunglasses removes glare by absorbing the incoming horizontal light, while still allowing vertical light. What we perceived as glare is usually reflected horizontal light. The horizontal light that creates the effect of glare is absorbed and nullified by the chemical film on polarized lenses. The lenses only allow in vertical light, acting as a chemical venetian blind."

https://www.randolphusa.com/blogs/blog/how-do-polarized-sunglasses-work

Anyone know what process is used for making prescription vs non-prescription Costa - Maui & Smith (photochromic) lenses?

 

[SurfnFish]

An old surfer, wore Maui Jim for decades, few Smith's as well...these days fave's are Rx polarized Drivewear Transitions from Costco with the flex poly Ray-Ban frame....fairly inexpensive, great in sun, excellent behind the wheel,.

 

[Brian Miller]

An old surfer, wore Maui Jim for decades, few Smith's as well...these days fave's are Rx polarized Drivewear Transitions from Costco with the flex poly Ray-Ban frame....fairly inexpensive, great in sun, excellent behind the wheel,.

How does Drivewear compare to Maui and Smith for fishing for you????

 

[Kfish]

Yes I got rx made with Costa 580 amber lenses. It was outrageously expensive but it was the only sunglasses frame that fits my face well. Been very happy with them past several years under various conditions and locations. So happy I bought another backup frame from ebay for future use since Costa have since discontinued that model.

 

[Snakes]

The amount of eyeglasses knowledge here is really impressive. Wow!

 

[SurfnFish]

How does Drivewear compare to Maui and Smith for fishing for you????

Maui and Smith for lotta hours in tropic level or high altitude sun, nothing beats them. For all around polarized lens, fishing the PNW through sun and overcast, Drivewear my choice as I prefer a medium dark brown lens over darker lens for such. And way more affordable for an Rx wearer like myself.

 

[SurfnFish]

Was an early adopter of Lasik, done in 1999, loved it, no longer lost contacts when surfing (surfed around the globe for decades), and only needed mild drugstore reading glasses.
And then in the last decade began having an increasing problem with night glare, especially on single lane roads out in the country, oncoming headlights would present as high glare vertical bars, and got bad enough that I stopped driving at night unless really neccessary, which was a total bummer, as predawn runs for either surf or fish had always been routine.
Causality was the flap procedure performed during Lasik at the time, which decades later left many if not most of us early adopters with increasing scar tissue from the flap cut as we aged, that scar tissue refracting and increasing nighttime glare.
Underwent cataract removal 5 years ago, hoping that would at least remove one of the two problems...helped some, not nearly as much as I'd hoped.
These days Lasik is performed as a non-flap procedure, which eliminates the glare problems that tagged so many of us.

 

[Brian Miller]

Maui and Smith for lotta hours in tropic level or high altitude sun, nothing beats them. For all around polarized lens, fishing the PNW through sun and overcast, Drivewear my choice as I prefer a medium dark brown lens over darker lens for such. And way more affordable for an Rx wearer like myself.

Thanks for the comparison! That's the first I've seen from someone who's used those three brands.
I've been wearing Drivewear since around 2010. They have worked very well and have been more effective for me to wear for fishing in a wider range of PNW lighting conditions than the Smith photochromic prescription glasses I had used for several years prior to that.

 

[clarkman]

Here are my Smith Soundtracks (medium fit for my face). You can see that there's not a ton of curvature to them, but they do a pretty good job of blocking out light from the sides. not perfect, but I'll take the trade-off of less distortion.

You can also get an idea of just how thick my lenses need to be.

I thought about the Costa's (I love their 580G lenses), but the $200+ price difference put them a bit out of my budget. I'm super happy with what I ended up with though.

 

[PhilR]

Was an early adopter of Lasik, done in 1999, loved it, no longer lost contacts when surfing (surfed around the globe for decades), and only needed mild drugstore reading glasses.
And then in the last decade began having an increasing problem with night glare, especially on single lane roads out in the country, oncoming headlights would present as high glare vertical bars, and got bad enough that I stopped driving at night unless really neccessary, which was a total bummer, as predawn runs for either surf or fish had always been routine.
Causality was the flap procedure performed during Lasik at the time, which decades later left many if not most of us early adopters with increasing scar tissue from the flap cut as we aged, that scar tissue refracting and increasing nighttime glare.
Underwent cataract removal 5 years ago, hoping that would at least remove one of the two problems...helped some, not nearly as much as I'd hoped.
These days Lasik is performed as a non-flap procedure, which eliminates the glare problems that tagged so many of us.

If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t had lasik and also am starting to have trouble with glare on dark roads.