It may have happened to you that whenever you want to get new glasses you find stores that offer $60 progressive lenses and others that offer up to $400 progressives. Have you ever wondered if there’s an actual difference in day-to-day use?
Well, I’ll explain it to you today as quickly and simply as possible. (It all rounds up to “you get what you pay for”)
As an Optometrist I’ve always told my patients that buying progressive lenses is like buying a car (only considerably less expensive). Every car has the same goal which is to be a tool for you to move easily and protect you from outdoor aspects such as wind, rain, sun, etc. Every progressive lens has the same goal: allow you to read and look at far clearly without having to take your glasses off. Now, you can choose to get a car with seat heaters, automatic or manual, offroad, etc. Same thing with glasses!
Let me explain:
The most economic progressive glasses which I consider “low tier” will allow you to see clearly when reading and looking at distances. The negative is that they won’t allow you to look to the sides because of their very reduced field of view. They’ll be really uncomfortable and hard to get used to. Although it’s not all negative; they can work great for someone who doesn’t have much of a vision problem and just wants a tool for reading now and then without having to take them off to watch the TV.
On the other hand, “middle tier” progressives are enough for people that just need a tool to do their day-to-day activities like walking, reading, using a tablet, you know activities that are not demanding for your eyes. They have their downsides because the field of vision is not the best (its considerably better than the low tier lenses though).
And finally, the “High tier” glasses which are designed for people that want the best experience: They have the best field of view available and not only that but they require extra tests so they can be personalized to your reading behavior (not everyone has the same behavior when reading such as distance of reading, eye reading or head reading, head tilting, etc.). So, these glasses are aimed for people that work in computers for more than 6 hours a day, programmers, accountants, also surgeons, pilots, etc. People that need the best tool available to do their work with the best clarity available.
Of course, this is a really simple way of explaining things since I’m giving you an idea of how these glasses work. Here are a couple of examples so you can have an idea of what brands are best for you: Usually “low tier” glasses are generic and don’t have a brand so I’ll just give you middle tier and high tier examples.
Middle tier:
– Ovation
– Nikon balance
– Varilux comfort
High Tier:
– Varilux Physio
– Nikon Power
– Varilux XR Series
– Zeiss SmartLife
So yeah, in my opinion if you want the best of the best you can look for Varilux XR Series or Zeiss Smartlife which are the best ones available. Although Zeiss is rather difficult to find in Ecuador, Varilux is easier to find.
If you are interested in more information, feel free to email/text us.
This is Ignacio Carmona, Optomerist and tech enthusiast.
Ignacio Carmona: 099 595 7034
opticaoptimex@hotmail.com
City: Cuenca
