UKH

As I slowly start to fall apart as I get older, I find myself in the position of needing reading glasses.

I can read this OK as I type, but anything much smaller/closer is getting hard to focus on. My distance vision is still 100%.

The optician has given me various options on coatings - anti glare, blue filter etc. As ever, the interweb is full of conflicting advice/opinion, so I thought I'd come to the source of all wisdom & knowledge that is UKC.

Any comments/opinions/info on coatings from the UKC speccies would be very much appreciated.

Cheers
Chris

In reply to Chris Harris:

This probably won't help as I've worn glasses since i was 5 (45 years) and i'm so used to them i'm not sure i even notice new developments. But it'll at least give you a bump.

I always get anti scatch and it seems to work ok.
The blue filter is relatively new and is meant to help you sleep after watching TV or PC. Don't have this so not sure of it's effectiveness.
I also always get anti glare and again seems useful.

I tried transitions this year for the first time but gave up as they were too dark for normal use. Had to revert to separate prescription sunglasses as usual. Good luck, i find wearing glasses a complete nuisance. Possibly one of the reasons i'm always grumpy....

In reply to Chris Harris:

I have to wear glasses at all waking times and have done so for the last 20 something years. My experiences on the following:

Anti Glare can be useful, great if you have to drive in glasses.
I once had anti-fog lenses and honestly I don't think it helped at all, technology has probably moved on a bit since then.

Blue tints- I have never had so cant be any help.

Depending on your prescription I would suggest lighter lenses. They make the lenses harder so are more scratch and chip proof. Also they do really make a difference in weight so for someone not use to glasses it can help with pressure sores on your nose.

Hope this helps!

In reply to Chris Harris:

My first pair of glasses had no coatings, my next pair had an anti-glare coating and the difference was significant; having fewer reflections of things that are behind you and less 'bloom' when seeing bright lights in the dark.

As a climber, I accept that no anti-scratch coating is going to properly protect my glasses when I scrape them against gritstone, but it probably helps a little.

In reply to Chris Harris:
For reading glasses, I wouldn't bother. I have a decent pair which cost a lot. A pair that are fairly knackered which are bedside reading glasses. A pair off a stand in the supermarket which live in the garage for bike fettling and two new supermarket pairs (one for the office drawer and one TBC) The latter cost 3 euros each.

Our new puppy got hold of the decent pair yesterday - the ear pieces are now less presentable than they used to be.

Most of the time, I'm half looking over the top of them and half looking through them - they are rarely squarely positioned as the manufacturer intended. I have no idea if the decent pair has a coating - the answer (at over £200/pair) is 'probably'.

What I really want is a pair of bi-focal Oakley Bottle Rockets .........

In reply to Jimbo C:
I buy my glasses for £15 each from select specs. I treat them as disposable items as they will inevitably get scratched, bent or sat on eventually.

I've had expensive coatings before and none of them seem to do much, and can make the surface both more delicate and harder to clean.

Having said that, I highly recommend everyone gets polarised shades for driving, they are magic.

In reply to Chris Harris:

Like the other posts on here I can offer experience from a lifelong glasses wearer, but I'm not sure it's that relevant to someone needing reading glasses.
Anti glare / scratch coatings do make a big difference for everyday use, but decent ones are expensive and even those fail after a couple of years. For reading, I'm not sure they're worth it.
Thin lenses are worth it for large lenses for all round vision, but for reading you can get away with a smaller lens and so the weight difference isn't as important.
Also, your eyesite will continue to change quite rapidly for the next few years, requiring stronger lenses. It's probably not worth splashing out on expensive lenses when you'll be replacing them soon.
If I was you, I'd start with a basic pair and see how you get on.

In reply to Chris Harris:

Thanks for all the input. They're only going to be used for close range indoor stuff, so probably no point over egging the omelette.

As stated, my eyes will change anyway, so I can always upgrade later.

Cheers

In reply to Chris Harris:

I'll add to the mix that for the first time I had a blue tint added to my lenses this time round. My glasses are primarily for distance, but my eyes can still use them when reading. With discounts it was only an extra £10. For what it's worth I found that when reading from white A4 paper it made things easier and less tiring on the eye. The easiest way I can describe it is that the colour shifts from a white to a slightly beige shade - a bit like some of the eReaders, but not as extreme.

One disadvantage is that you can get a purple reflection from the coating visible to you, but I didn't find off putting, but also visiable to people looking at you which, at the wrong angle can obscure your eyes.

In reply to Chris Harris:

Anti-reflection coating (that greeny tinge you see on reflection) works very well in preventing you from seeing your own eyes and skin reflected in the lens and gives you much clearer vision. Definitely worth the money.

In reply to Chris Harris:
I use these when out on the hill - dead handy, even if they make one look like a bit of a knob.

https://www.nooz-optics.com/en/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=M...

In reply to Chris Harris:

For reading glasses, you probably don't need anything fancy. Most coatings do something useful, but if you're just using them now and then, IMO you'd be better off spending the money on more spare cheap pairs rather than coatings.

For those that wear specs full time, I'd go for good coatings, thin lenses, etc; but remember your optician is under pressure to sell all this stuff to anyone they can, regardless of whether it's useful on a pair of readers. They lost money by giving you an eye test, and they will only make it back if you buy an expensive pair of glasses (or preferably 3 pairs and join their contact lens direct debit scheme).

Jon (Optom)

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:


I had this on my last pair, cannot say I've noticed a great effect from it.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Optoms at your place are Jon, that ain't necessarily so in the independent sector. We'd rather sell something appropriate this time on the basis that they'll keep coming back.

In reply to Chris Harris:

Agreed. A quality optician will sell you good quality glasses and not the rubbish you'll get from a high street chain.

In reply to Chris Harris:

I've been wearing glasses since I was 12 and, personally, I have noticed that more recent pairs of glasses seem to scratch very easily, compared to the pairs I used to have when I was younger. I am not talking about big, deep scratches - one usually knows the story behind those - but small and fine ones.

I have often wondered why this is, considering all the fancy anti-scratch coatings that we have, now.

Just a thought...

In reply to Xharlie:

Some coatings come with guarantees, which are in fact worth the paper they're written on! We sometimes get specs from patients whose specs have clearly been abused, and the guarantee has still been honoured by the manufacturer.

Probably not usually worth paying the premium for such a coating on a simple pair of readers though.

In reply to Rigid Raider:


You can get a top of the range Zeiss lens in a custom-made frame in the high street chains too, if that's what you want (for your readers?). I think there are lots of reasons to choose to go to an independent optician - a good one, anyway - but the chains only selling low-quality products ain't one of'em.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:


Something about the OP (not the person, the content of the post!) tells me it was a chain trying to oversell...

In reply to Jon Stewart:


No, it's a 2 branch independent. Options were made available, information provided, no pressure to buy applied, and no issues when I said I'd not be upgrading.

In reply to Chris Harris:


Sounds good.