Progressive lenses

[WindingRoad]

I think if you are looking at progressive lenses for the first time especially the frame fit is crucial to getting them to work for you. A lot of the styles these days are plastic and they don't really fit 'back' on a lot of peoples noses so the lenses sit too far out from their eyes. When this happens it narrows your field of view through the progressives. It's like a keyhole, if you stand back from it the field of view is really small but if you put your eye right up next too it you can see a much larger field of view. Also, some progressive addition lenses (PALs) are just better than others. Some have a much more smooth transition from distance to near with WAY less distortion. Varilux is probably one of the best manufacturers of PALs that have the least amount of distortion. To get the best out of your lenses put a GOOD QUALITY anti reflective coating on them. NOT generic stuff from Wally World or Lenscrafters. Get Crizal if you can. It is the hardest coating on the market, you will pay more for it but you won't be back with little hairline scratches every 6 months from cleaning them with your t-shirt. Zeiss can be a good anti reflective coating too but they makes cheap crappy versions too so you must be careful what you get. That's how places like Wally World lure people in by throwing the name Zeiss around and acting like they offer quality goods. They don't. Realize too that some lens materials will not come with certain options available to it. Certain materials don't have the right qualities to apply non reflective coatings and most reputable companies like Crizal know that, this is why they won't even offer their product on some materials. Best thing to do is spend a bit extra for your PALs and get the good stuff. This is one place you don't want to be cheap. You really do get what you pay for.

Oh and as for PALs making your eyes get worse, absolutely not. Unfortunately at a certain age we ALL lose our ability to read up close. Some of us who are myopic (nearsighted) can extend the time till bifocals are required by taking our distance correction off to read but then of course you can't see anything far away. The decline of reading ability has nothing to do with wearing PALs it has everything to do with the normal aging process. So by all means be comfortable and don't strain your eyes trying to see without your glasses because it won't stop your eyes from getting worse what it will do is give you a splitting headache after a while.

Just my two cents