Prescription Eye Wear

[Phil_P]

Was just browsing the shop and spotted the glasses section which reminded me; I need corrected vision these days, and prescription protective glasses from my opticians were a) pathetic & b) over priced.

So I went browsing t'internet for US sites (knowing that even with the crappy exchange rate, prices over the pond tend to be MUCH more reasonable).

I ended up at ; http://www.heavyglare.com and had a good hunt through the site. I eventually chose for myself a pair of 'Seven Eye (previously 'Panoptix')' Churada specs. I got them with Photochromic scratch resist lenses, to my prescription and with vari-focal reading/mid regions too (no line). They come with a pair of cushion seals that you can clip in and out to make them ideal for our flying malarkey. As I also like ski-ing, I got an additional clip in seal that incorporates a second set of tinted lenses, to make the lenses dark enough for high glare snow activities.

Heavyglare also had a special on Churada non prescription photochromics, so I bought a pair of those too, for when I'm flying with my contact lenses in. I also picked up a pair of stick in bifocal lenses to add to the non prescription pair so I can read GPS etc when I'm wearing the contacts.

They weren't bargain basement, but they are quality gear at a good price and ideal for our sport. There is a page on the HeavyGlare web site with all sorts of interesting info, and if you read it all, you find a paragraph at the bottom that tells you that you can have a 10% (I think) discount just for reading it all the way through.

The customer service was faultless, and when I had a small problem with a bit of decoration falling off one of the legs of the specs, they sent me a new set of legs in double quick time.

I think they also made a small typo on the customs declaration too

[Guest]

Spot on!

Colin and 'eye' were just talking about perscrition sun glare stuff last week (we were trying to find a goggle the fitted over normal glasses.)

I may well look into a pair the next time I get a perscription.

Let me know what they are like when you get them

I currently have a normal pair of polarised perscription sunglasses. but the wind comes in from around the edges causing red eye for much of the rest of the day.

Nice work!

SW

[Phil_P]

I've already got them Simon, and they are a first rate bit of kit. They wrap round a long way, so you maintain good peripheral vision, and the eye seals work really well keeping just about all drafts away from the eye. Without the seals fitted, they are completely wearable as your everyday specs, and it only takes half a second to put the seals in place. The seals have a soft foam edge, and are completely comfortable and wont injure you in the event of a spill. The lenses are high impact so will protect you from most hazards like stones thrown up by prop blast (or bird strikes ). The varifocal lenses let me read my instruments even though they are tucked up quite high on my front mounted reserve

The photochromic lenses get reasonably dark in bright sun, and I chose the brown tint as it tends to improve sky/cloud contrast and haze penetration. With the additional tinted inserts, they are fully up to the high glare of skiing.

The one bit of required information that may not routinely be included in your opticians prescription is your inter pupil distance, but if you ask your optician to make a note of it, they will do. This is essential to make sure the optical centre of the lens is in the right place.