Tragically myopic...

[baitedstorm]

Damsel,


I have used Transitions lenses for some time now. They darken sufficiently, and darken / lighten much more rapidly than older Photo Gray tech, but when driving or riding in a vehicle the tinted / polarized safety glass keeps the lenses from darkening to the same degree of "darkness" you would obtain standing outside a vehicle - but they do take the edge off. Works pretty well for me.

very true, do to the way the transitions work, they are totally activated by UV rays. Most windshields have a uv filter built right into them, therefore, the lenses never get their darkest in a car. I wouldn't recommend the Transitions for a photophobic person, or someone with very light blue/green eyes (at least not for in the car)

now if they could only invent contact lenses that darken outdoors we'd all be set.... (eeek, get a visual on that one, someone walking up to you with their entire iris covered, freaky)

 

[damsel]

Wow, thanks much for the info, everyone! Heading to the optometrist's tomorrow, and will definitely try to test out a pair of Transitions to see if I like them. My only worry is the one you mentioned, geraldp - that if they're dark enough for outdoor use they might be too dark at nights or indoors. But I'll give it a go!

I can definitely see the benefits in sticking with my contacts, and I do wear 14-day disposables, so if I lose one, it's no big deal, but I'm in the water most every day, and between losing contacts and just having them disintigrate on me (chlorine/saltwater and soft plastics are NOT friends), I end up replacing them every couple of days, and it's getting both annoying and expensive. A 'scrip mask will set me back a bit, but I worked it out, and it's just more cost-effective in the long run. Plus losing a contact mid-dive and having to squint monocle-style for the remainder is not fun.

Thanks again!

[ps: apologies, there, Damselfish, didn't mean to gank your nick! I hadn't realised there was another pomacentrus swimming around these parts ^_^]

 

[Damselfish]

[ps: apologies, there, Damselfish, didn't mean to gank your nick! I hadn't realised there was another pomacentrus swimming around these parts ^_^]

np, room for lots of fish in the sea

 

[captain]

I use extended ware gas permeable hard lenses . If I want to I can sleep with them and do so often. I have never lost a lens diving or otherwise. They last years. I have never worn the soft lenses because my problem can't be corrected with them.

Captain

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Damsel,

Have you considered daily disposable contacts instead of 14 day? My brother has gone totally to contacts since going to a bifocal presription for spectacles, and swears by daily disposables (he's my older brother and in greater denial of showing the effects of entropy than I am). I wear spectacles more at work due to the nature of my job (I work in a petroleum refinery and I don't want to be a test subject / statistic), and so never looked in detail at daily disposable contacts.

On vacation to sunnier areas than I now live, and in my off hours (including dive vacations when possible), I prefer contact lenses and $10 sunglasses.

The Transitions do lighten indoors to have the same transparency as lenses without the Transitions feature from what I can tell. My older Photo Gray lenses always had just a slight tint even at night, so I understand your concern.

Hope all this helps, and you find the right solution for your needs!

 

[damsel]

Decided in the end to go with a pair of 'scrip sunglasses. I actually happened to get an optometrist who dives, which was neat, and when I asked her about the Transitions lenses was told that they weren't polarised, which would be a consideration with all the glare you get on the water. The new specs have already arrived and I'm quite pleased with them. Thanks again for all the help! Now to shell out the $200 for the 'scrip mask... wish my insurance would cover that as well as my glasses...

[bonus: apparently my vision has actually improved a quarter since my last checkup. woo! quipped the doc: 'hey, at this rate, by the time you're 190, you should have 20/20 vision!]

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Lucky Damsel! I lost 3 quarters (two in the left, one in the right) in my most recent checkup last month. You must have found one of the ones I lost - some sort of karmic cosmic eye bank. Good luck to whoever got the other two of mine. I'll see you (philosophically anyway) underwater.

The scary part is in the state of Ohio I still pass the drivers license test without corrective lenses (but wear them anyway as a navigation aid) - this explains all the other folks on the roads here that do things which cause me to yell "ARE YOU BLIND???" - the fact is they must be!