Eye Care Information

Hi,

I'm new to the forum, I'm looking for some suggestions on getting Rx sunglasses with progressive lens at a decent price. Most places I look at the frames are OK but progressive lens and around $200!

Thanks for the help.

Regards,

Pete

pjt113,

Good progressive lenses are not cheap. You can cheap progressive lenses from Zenni and they will probably be adequate for most people. I was fine with them for a year, but I don't have a strong prescription. Looking at the website now, it looks like they describe their progressive lenses as "digital free form" which may be an improved version from what I purchased over a year ago. When I tried to find out if the lenses I bought were free form, I couldn't get a clear answer and was told they were like free form. And you can add tints for a cheap price. The frames start at under $10 and then the progressive lenses add $28 and the tint adds another $5. I recommend adding the standard anti-reflective coating for an additional $5. So you are basically looking at under $50 for tinted progressive lenses.

If you want good progressive lenses, my recommendation is Costco, but you have to be a member. The frames are generally around $50, but you can bring your own and pay $18 (or free if you bought your frames originally from Costco) and then the high quality progressive lenses are $130 ($150 for high index). I don't know how much it is to add basic tints, but you can add photochromic treatment (they get darker when out in the sun) for $30 ($45 for high index), so definitely less than that.

I'd be surprised if there were any other brick and mortar stores where you can buy tinted progressive lenses for around $200, and based on my experience, the Costco progressive lenses are very good.

Hi George,
I am curious why if you had satisfactory results from Zenni, why would you not recommend them instead of Costco?
Thanks,
Jerry

Jerry,

I like the progressive lenses I got from Costco better than the progressive lenses from Zenni. As I said above, they may have improved their glasses at Zenni, as they now list them clearly as digital free form, but when I bought mine, they would not confirm that they were free form lenses. Just because lenses are digital and free form doesn't mean they will be better, but it is a better technology that allows them to make more precise and complex surfaces on the lenses.

In my case, I find that the Costco progressive lenses have fewer blurry areas during day to day activities. They are very good for near and intermediate distances, but I do have some blurriness for far distant vision, but I don't think it is any worse than my Zenni progressives were. My Zenni progressives were fine for near and intermediate, but I found I'd have to frequently adjust my head to make sure I was angled just right towards what I'm looking at. The near vision, when lined up, was far superior to my previous single vision lenses, so I adjusted to them without too much trouble. However, I found the Costco lenses seem to have a wider field of clear vision. There is still some blurriness if I look towards the sides, but it is rare that I need to reposition my head to deal with it.

So, the Zenni glasses are adequate and a great price. The Costco glasses I find very good at a good price relative to the other premium progressive lenses.

Thanks George,
I have only tried Zenni, and while I did not have problems with the glass, I think the corridor is too narrow, and it may be so for whoever makes them. When I have he second cataract surgery, I may try another pair, but since I am not dissatisfied with tri focals, I do not intend to pay several hundred dollars. Eyemart has sales at times with $99 for to pair of progressives. Not sure why they would be better than Zenni for the price of $99/2.
I do not like having my eyes and head looking directly at the object to see clearly. Probably trifocals are my best bet.

Regards,
Jerry