Has anyone ever had eyeglasses with transition lenses? Do you like or dislike them and why?
Thanks mamas. These were for my husband, and he's decided not to get transition lenses based on everyones responses. He thought I was silly for asking a bunch of mamas, but I emailed him the responses, and he found everyones comments to be insightful and really helpful...thanks again!
I agree with the others.
I have them on my eyeglasses. I LOVE it when I go outside, because they automatically darken.
They do NOT darken inside if you are looking out at the sun. This includes the car. So if you are in the car or in the house, and you still need sunglasses, the transition lenses won't help you.
That said, I will always get them on my glasses. I just know if I leave the house to drive, I put in my contacts.
Amanda,
Are these for you or your child? I am a mom and Optician (over 25 yrs in the business) and I would say this...if it is for your child good idea. Kids are mostly outdoors in the sunshine needing protection from the UV and glare and tend to loose clip-ons and can't keep up w/sunglasses. However, if they are for you and your primary need is for driving...bad idea. These types of lenses work best in moderate temperature conditions and in direct sunlight, all vehicles have UV inhibitor in the windshields blocking out UV light which makes the Transitions lens change. I only recommend them to my patients for certain uses if you think you are getting one pair which will serve two purposes you will be disappointed.
S.
Hello Amanda,
I have them and love them. I am a PE teacher and go in and out all day and they really really help me. I would highly recommend them. God bless.
My 8 year old has them on his glasses and I think it was worth the money. He had the regular lenses on his last pair and during the summer when I bought our other kids cool sunglasses, he couldn't wear any because he had to wear his glasses. I personally would not buy them for myself because I like my eyeglasses to be smaller and classy while I like my sunglasses to be a little larger and trendy (although not the giant bug-eye glasses! lol)
If you are in and out often then it would be great not to have to change them all the time. All the kids think my son's are so cool because they magically change when he goes inside and outside so it was a great buy for him!
I was just at the eye doctor two weeks ago and there was another patient there asking about Transitions and this is what the assistant told him: Transitions react to UV light in order to darken. So, unless you drive a convertible, your glasses won't really darken very much (unless you drive an older car without UV protection on the glass). I highly recommend the glasses with the magnetic sunglass clip. I've used these (in various styles) for many years. They look just like regular glasses (not like those corny clip-ons from the 80s/90s). They are easier to keep track of and can be replaced for cheap if you lose them.
EDIT: one more thing - When I was a babysitter (in high school), there was a young boy I watched who had transitions and he hated them. He said people made fun of him at school and called him names like "Darth Vader" because they would be dark when he was inside buildings (like class). I know that the technology has improved since then, but just thought I'd share that story.
I have them and in my opinion they don't get dark enough outside. Somone said earlier that they won't stay dark when your driving in a car and that is true. You would just be better off getting a pair of very dark perscription sunglasses. That is what I did and they are great. I have had the same pair for at leat 5 years. I have not changed the prescription in them for that long and can't really tell.
Lonie
I had them a few years ago and I think they were awful. They didn't get dark enough outside, esp in the car, and often took too long to go clear once I got inside.
For my husband and I both they did not get dark enough outside on a bright day.
Mine work great...I was concerned that they would not "lighten up" enough after coming back inside, but they do. I have had zero problems with them.
My husband got them and loves them outside but hates them in the car. They don't work in cars and that's when you need them the most! Car windows filter out UV light and that's what makes them darken. He's even had to stick them out the window to darken them when driving into the sun. Outside of that they seem to work fine.
C.
My husband has them and loves them. He drives a truck for a living...he said they don't get as dark in his truck. He has said they take some getting used to, but he said in the car or truck he doesn't need them as dark because it's not as bright with the tint on the car or truck.
Yep, my 9 yr old just got transitions lenses and loves them. He has VERY light sensitive eyes so we got him glasses with the magnetic sunglasses that he could pop on whenever, but he never had the sunglasses piece when he needed them.
He loves his transitions lenses.
Amanda-
I use to be an Optician so I'll give you my opinion...The technology has gotten better but if I was to buy glasses I would get seperate sunglasses. The Transition lenses don't always get dark enough in the sun, they don't darken that much when you are in your car and eventually they don't fully lighten up to clear glass (usually after a year or so) get a pair of clip-on for your glasses instead (I know it's a pain to take on and off) but you will protect your eyes better.
