Transition lenses: no longer for dorks and serial killers?

October 11, 2006 9:14 AM

Has anyone recently purchased "transitions" lenses (that go from clear to shaded) for your specs? I remember kids who had these in high school (this was 10+ years ago) and they always looked terrible- half-shaded indoors. I've had a few friends recommend them lately, though.

What I really want to avoid (well, what I REALLY want to avoid is carrying two pairs of specs) is that creepy "I'm indoors, but my glasses are slightly shaded, now you can't see my eyes!" look.

posted by bobot to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (33 answers total)

My brother had these in the early 80s and they did indeed look terrible. Very slow transitions. They've really improved them since. Try going to a store and stepping inside and out of the store to see for yourself.
posted by orange swan at 9:23 AM on October 11, 2006

I've had them for a few years and, except for the transition (ha) time when you've just come inside and they are in the process of changing to clear again (1-2 minutes), I don't have a problem with that. For me, they are pretty handy, because I need my glasses all the time and I have a long history of losing my sunglasses. With a ten dollar pair, no big deal, but when they are prescription, it ups the stakes quite a bit.
posted by krudiger at 9:25 AM on October 11, 2006

Last I looked, they still didn't work inside cars though - the windows block the UV that triggers the change...
posted by niteHawk at 9:28 AM on October 11, 2006

The new lenses are completely clear when no UV is present. I was a bit disappointed they don't work well in the car. My fault, though - the windshield blocks UV, so they don't get the trigger to turn dark. Outside, they are great. I don't even notice when they turn, and the transition is pretty fast.
posted by dual_action at 9:30 AM on October 11, 2006

The biggest issue with the old lenses was when it freezing cold outside they would change much more slowly. What about that issue on current lenses?
posted by JJ86 at 9:33 AM on October 11, 2006

They work better than 10 years ago, but they are still not as good as true sunglasses.

I wear mine if I don't want to be toting around a second pair of glasses, and if I don't want to look like my grandmother switching them all the time.

They do transition faster, but you do look like a cheesy 80's porn guy while they transition.
posted by Futurehouse at 9:35 AM on October 11, 2006

I was a bit disappointed they don't work well in the car.

This made them utterly useless for me as sunglass replacements, as driving is when I want sunglasses the most. Also, make sure your frames look right as sunglasses. Not all do.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:36 AM on October 11, 2006

previously

That was a while ago, so things may have changed since then.
posted by LionIndex at 9:39 AM on October 11, 2006

Yes, they are still slower to transistion when it's cold outside, but still an improvement over when they first came out. If it's freezing cold outside and they're dark, it takes a good five minutes or so for them to clear again. Other times it's a minute, give or take a few seconds.

They don't turn at all when I'm in my car. If you do a lot of driving you may want to get actual sunglasses.
posted by sephira at 9:40 AM on October 11, 2006

I bought a pair about 6 months ago that has transitions. They work great. Don't even notice the change. Doesn't work in the car, like everyone said.

I was warned that they scratch easier, but I haven't noticed and was thinking it was a ploy by the sales clerk to get me to buy two pairs of glasses.
posted by bleucube at 9:50 AM on October 11, 2006

I love mine, the transition time is pretty quick. I had one of my old pairs of glasses turned into straight sunglasses and leave them in the car.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 10:23 AM on October 11, 2006

What I really want to avoid (well, what I REALLY want to avoid is carrying two pairs of specs) is that creepy "I'm indoors, but my glasses are slightly shaded, now you can't see my eyes!" look.

What's truly creepy is the "These are clearly not sunglasses, but eyeglasses with dark lenses" look. Sunglasses and eyeglasses have different shapes. That's why dark eyeglasses look creepy.
posted by mendel at 10:43 AM on October 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

There's a girl in my office who wears them. While better than what they looked like on my Dad in the 80s, I still think they look pretty crap.

But then, I'm probably a snob about these things.
posted by modernnomad at 10:43 AM on October 11, 2006

I have a pair, and I haven't had a problem with their effectiveness or their looks - but it probably largely depends on your frames. I have small, rimless frames, and they look pretty slick when dark.
posted by restless_nomad at 11:01 AM on October 11, 2006

I really like mine, and don't seem to suffer from the "dark eyeglasses" problem mentioned above. When I started wearing them, nobody noticed. In fact, nobody noticed that I even got new glasses. So maybe I'm just not a very noticeable guy.

They do not turn perfectly clear indoors. They turn almost perfectly clear, and you may only notice the difference in a few situations:

1) The first 3 days after you put them on
2) Diamond shopping ("Why are they all so yellow?")
3) Any work you do that demands seeing accurate color

You will also have to get used to the really creepy feeling of thinking that it's always going to rain when the sky gets cloudy. The glasses turn dark because so much UV makes it through the clouds, and you start nailing your windows shut to avoid the oncoming gale.

Oh, and I believe there are at least two brands of photochromic lens on the market right now. Transitions, and something else. I don't know what I have or how the two compare.
posted by hammurderer at 11:07 AM on October 11, 2006

I have actually been complimented on my sunglasses. By my roommate, no less, who should have recognized that they were actually my regular glasses (he realized his mistake after I'd had them about a week).
posted by spaceman_spiff at 11:40 AM on October 11, 2006

Download an episode of Curb your enthusiasm. Larry David wears them. I still think they look terrible.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:02 PM on October 11, 2006

They have improved, but I still didn't give them a second look this year when I bought my glasses. They still give off the child molester vibe, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by wildeepdotorg at 12:37 PM on October 11, 2006

If you want to see what people mean when they say "they don't quite get all the way clear," set them on a piece of paper next to another pair of glasses. You'll see the obvious difference there.

And also, from someone who drives a lot, it's more frustrating than you think that they don't work in the car.

After about a year and a half of wearing mine, I felt like they didn't get as dark OR as light as when I bought them. I was always stuck in some version of Elton John mode, as my friends called it. But YMMV.
posted by cebailey at 12:56 PM on October 11, 2006

I have them and I love them. I always lost sunglasses before. They are plenty light enough indoors (here's an example). I don't have a good photo of them outdoors but they darken enough. Not as much as the super-dark sunglasses but enough that they are almost always OK.

They actually do darken somewhat in my car, which is interesting.
posted by litlnemo at 2:50 PM on October 11, 2006

And also, from someone who drives a lot, it's more frustrating than you think that they don't work in the car.

After about a year and a half of wearing mine, I felt like they didn't get as dark OR as light as when I bought them.
I have found both of these things, also. The "don't work in the car" thing is a deal-breaker for me, so I went the other way with rimless, anti-reflection coated, almost invisible glasses.

Also, the trend towards very small lenses these days makes them pretty useless as sunglassses if you are at all interested in protecting your eyes as opposed to just looking cool - modern eyeglass lense shapes let way too much "bad' light in around the sides, top and bottom.
posted by dg at 4:03 PM on October 11, 2006

I think they do look very 'dorky' and cheap. The simple fact is they don't work fully, so I can't fathom why people pay so much for a product that, at best, only half works.
posted by oxford blue at 5:18 PM on October 11, 2006

Dorky. Sheesh. No, they pretty much work. Your mileage may vary, but...
posted by litlnemo at 7:04 PM on October 11, 2006

I like the standard of debate here at metafilter:

They don't work.

No, they pretty much work.

Repeat ad nauseam, ad infinitum.
posted by oxford blue at 8:54 PM on October 11, 2006

I own a pair of glasses with these lenses and I can confirm that they are in fact only suitable for dorks and serial killers. Obviously they will look best on you, and be most effective, if you are a dorky serial killer, but you can get away with just being one of the two.

To address your other concern: The "I'm indoors, but my glasses are slightly shaded, now you can't see my eyes!" look never occurs. Even when the lenses are as dark as they get, your eyes will be clearly visible. They transition fairly quickly, so the half shaded look doesn't last long at all, and right now, holding mine up to a piece of paper, I am not able to notice any shading.

Depending on the shape/size of the frames their effectiveness as sunglasses in protecting your eyes will vary. I will say though, that they do a fine job of dealing with the fact that it's just too damn bright outside most of the time.
posted by benign at 10:24 PM on October 11, 2006

I did not find them dark enough for serious outdoor use. I have gone so far as to wear them with clip-ons. Yes, I wear clip-ons, or the spring loaded new design. I can't see much without glasses. I can't handle carrying 2 pairs of glasses.

Get off my lawn!
posted by Goofyy at 6:30 AM on October 12, 2006

I got talked into these a year ago. i mean, i usually dodge that entire bullshit gauntlet of scratch protection and special coatings, but at the time i was thinking "well, if they work reasonably well, then I won't need to buy another pair of prescription sunglasses -- I'll spend an extra $40 but save $200!". The salesman helpfully provided a sample lens, backed with white paper so it looked "extra" dark when you took it outside. Anyhow, it got dark enough that I fooled myself into thinking they'd look a little bit like those semi-translucent mirrored shades that were hot shit at the time.

They don't at all.

Don't get me wrong -- of course transitions lenses work, and they do a pretty good job of blocking UV rays, given the previous mentions of temperature/car problems. Still, looking like a tool is absolutely inescapable. If you are ok with this -- ie, if you are the kind of guy who wears his cell phone in a holster because it's easier to get to than a pocket -- well, transitions may be for you.

It really comes down to which irks you more -- looking stupid when you're outside, or carrying/paying for an extra pair of prescription sunglasses. i've actually decided that I look cooler with a pair of those big honkin' old man glasses that cover your prescription glasses entirely, but my girlfriend disagrees.

I still have/wear my pair -- I'm considering eventually getting them re-lensed with regular lenses when I've got money to piss away. total waste of a sweet pair of vintage frames.
posted by fishfucker at 6:32 PM on October 12, 2006

FWIW (and I just noticed my above comment is nearly word-for-word what I said in that last thread) I feel they do lighten reasonably indoors (there is an ever so slight tint, but I don't think it's noticeable). If that's your major concern, you're probably ok, although I hear that over time they will retain more and more of that tint, as cebailey and dg mentioned. However, I've had mine for about a year now and haven't really noticed this problem.
posted by fishfucker at 6:35 PM on October 12, 2006

OK, I'm just not getting this and maybe someone can explain. "It really comes down to which irks you more -- looking stupid when you're outside, or carrying/paying for an extra pair of prescription sunglasses." What looks stupid about them outside if they just look like sunglasses? The shape of my glasses frame isn't all that different from the shape of the sunglasses I would probably have otherwise. When they are outside, they look like sunglasses.

I don't get the "looking like a tool" comments. If they look bad, maybe it's the frames, but they are as dark as medium-light sunglasses for me, and so they just look like sunglasses. If I look dorky here or in the link I posted above, it's because I'm a dork, not because of my glasses. (BTW, I'm standing in shadow in that last pic, and the glasses aren't fully darkened yet. They get a lot darker once you get out into the bright sunlight.)
posted by litlnemo at 12:21 AM on October 13, 2006

litlnemo:

I didn't mean that as some sort of personal affront. Perhaps I should've said *I* look like a tool when I'm outside, and there's a good chance you will too -- therefore, if you're at all concerned about looking like a tool, take the safe bet and skip 'em.

Better?
posted by fishfucker at 8:42 AM on October 13, 2006

I'm not necessarily taking it as an affront, I'm just trying to get what looks toolish about them. Because they should, theoretically, just look like sunglasses, right? If it's that the glasses style looks funny with dark lenses, then it's the frames at fault, not the Transitions. Or is it that they don't darken enough? But there are plenty of sunglasses sold that aren't extra dark. So I'm just wondering where the "tool" or "child molester" vibe people are mentioning comes in.

I had never heard of this vibe before I bought my glasses, so I'm truly mystified by the response here.
posted by litlnemo at 4:14 PM on October 13, 2006

litlnemo: It's a combination of the frame shape and the way older versions of them worked.

There's the set of sunglasses frame shapes, and the set of eyeglass frame shapes, and those two sets intersect, but they're not the same set. And since you could get any frames with transition lenses, there were people who ended up with frames that were really obviously eyeglass frames, but with dark lenses when they were outside, and it looked pretty weird.

The second part is that the older ones didn't go completely clear inside, they always stayed ever so slightly gray. Also pretty weird.

If you choose frames that are in the intersection of those two sets and you make sure the lenses go clear inside, you're all set.
posted by mendel at 4:58 PM on October 13, 2006

OK, I see, so it is basically the frames, then, not the Transitions.
posted by litlnemo at 3:57 AM on October 14, 2006