help me see again

March 15, 2005 9:10 PM

I'm shopping around for good sunglasses to replace my battered old A Wires. I'm thinking about getting prescription lenses for whatever I buy. Anyone have any experience buying sunglasses with prescription lenses?

So far the front-runner is a pair of Persol sunglasses with polarized lenses. The guy at the store says he can do the prescription lenses in-house. Can I expect the same quality as factory lenses? While I'm at it, anyone have experience with Persols?

posted by showmethecalvino to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (9 answers total)

I've had many pairs of prescription sunglasses, and they've all been totally fine. Just like getting regular specs, really. Is there something you're particularly worried about? No experience with Persola, but I've always gotten lenses from my local optometrist, and never once had a problem.
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:03 PM on March 15, 2005

Seconded. I've always had prescription sunglasses with lenses from the optometrist, and they're just like regular glasses lenses, but, you know... darker.

They've always offered pretty much the same set of options - polarized or tinted, polycarb or plastic, uv coating, anti-glare coating, anti-scratch coating.
posted by Caviar at 10:11 PM on March 15, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks. I'm new to the whole glasses experience, and I just wanted to make sure the quality of sunglass lenses at the local store would be the same as factory lenses.
posted by showmethecalvino at 10:44 PM on March 15, 2005

A third on the perscription sunglasses. Never a problem and makes driving in bright sunlight so much fun and stylish.

I never went for it but some places offered Zeiss glass sunglasses. But I always wondered if that sort of quality was really needed.
posted by Dagobert at 11:49 PM on March 15, 2005

I switched out the normal glass lenses in a pair of Ray-Ban High Street something-or-others for polarized polycarbonate lenses. I actually worried that I would miss the "heavy" feeling of the original lenses, but they came out just fine and I actually prefer them to the non-prescription Ray-Bans. HOWEVER, I get funny effects from the polarization that I believe are a result of the curvature of the lenses: anything reflective will appear brighter in one eye and darker in the other. This can be a little bit distracting.

The only other caveat is that it made changing my prescription a lot more expensive. A lot.
posted by coelecanth at 2:31 AM on March 16, 2005

tip for the future: if you're as cheap as me, when you get a new pair of glasses you get the lenses in your old pair dyed (the optician will do this) and use them as sunglasses.
posted by andrew cooke at 2:54 AM on March 16, 2005

If you are cheap like me, get the prescription lenses from Costco optical: I bought my Rayban frames from MEC and got the polarized prescription lenses at Costco and saved $200 compared to the price at Lenscrafters.
posted by v-tach at 7:22 AM on March 16, 2005

This obviously doesn't happen to everyone, but I have a fairly strong presciption, and find that unless the frames (and hence the lens shape) are the same, I can't switch between two pair of glasses without a several-hour period of headaches and distortion.
posted by jalexei at 8:22 AM on March 16, 2005

When you're looking for frames check out ones made of flexan, a titanium alloy. They are not ultra-stylish but are just so indestructible and last forever regardless of how they're treated. Of course, lenses are more fragile, especially if they're coated.

My flexan specs have been mauled by kids, pets, gardening accidents, and been sat on, stepped on and dropped over and again for years but are as good as new (through several lens remakes). Very highly recommended if you're active.
posted by anadem at 8:45 AM on March 16, 2005