No Polarization Sunglasses

david.h said:
Serengeti sunglasses. Driver gradient non polarized
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I took my non prescription Serengeti's to my optometrist and said I want prescription bi focal just like these gradient lenses with non polarized lenses installed. A week later I got them. They are very nice.
 
I used to get prescription Serengeti driver lenses made up. I did that until Corning sort of divested themselves of that division and they got impossible to find. At the time, it took a few weeks to get them made because the lenses had to be retempered after they were cut for the frames.
 
plongson said:
Thanks all! I'll check out all the options...We fly an old plane too but use an Android tablet with Garmin Pilot that goes black with standard polarization eyewear.
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Rotate it 90 degrees.
 
guest user said:
Ed:


Also Ed:



So, "There's no issue, it's a myth" but also "Here's how you fix the visibility issue"
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The zero issues has to do with the windscreen and the supposed coloration.

The turning the android tablet has nothing to do with the plane you're in. Guess what, it also blacks out when you're.....shocked face....NOT IN A ******** PLANE.

Learn to read and comprehend. **** people are stupid.
 
EdFred said:
The zero issues has to do with the windscreen and the supposed coloration.

The turning the android tablet has nothing to do with the plane you're in. Guess what, it also blacks out when you're.....shocked face....NOT IN A ******** PLANE.

Learn to read and comprehend. **** people are stupid.
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Sooo, what I'm hearing is that you agree there ARE times where polarized lenses might be less than desireable.

The fact that the issue is also external to the airplane does NOT invalidate the issue. Perhaps turning the screen 90* now causes an unacceptable blocking of flight instruments. Of course, then we can just move the screen to another location, right?

ORRR, we could just use non-polarized glasses and can put the screen wherever works best for us.

Work around the issue, or address the issue, choice is yours. Or should be.

By the way, I completely agree that
... people are stupid.
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I've been able to buy non-polarized at Sam's Club, but not Costco. Costco (at least here) only sells polarized.
 
I found non polarized clip on sunglasses at Walmart, not the vision center, but where they sell sunglasses in the store.
 
I don't need RX glasses (yet) but for sunglasses I love my flying eyes, and they do have RX available.
 
I need corrective lenses, but just wear contacts. If I got prescription sunglasses, then I wouldn't be able to see if I took them off or pulled them down to look at something in shadow really quick
 
Stewartb said:
What’s the objection to polarized? All my scrip Maui Jims are polarized. Heck, my standard glasses use Transitions and those are polarized, too. Never any problem except with old iPads that weren’t center mounted.
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Many LCD displays (phones, tablets, in-panel GPS navigators, etc.) are polarized. If your polarized sunglasses are oriented to allow the light to pass, then you won't notice any issue, but if your sunglasses are 90deg off, then you won't be able to read the screen. I've also seen devices whose screens were somehow polarized at 45deg, so that if you cocked your head 45deg the display was bright, but upright was dimmer, and if you tried rotating the device 90 deg there was no difference in behavior.

If you don't have a prob with polarized sunglasses and your devices, then that's good. But don't extrapolate that one data point to think that nobody has problems with polarized lenses and their devices.
 
If you get tinted plastic lenses from your local eyeglass supplier, they probably will be limited in how dark they can go with the tint compared to what you’d expect. I don’t mind but some folks might.
 
Jim_R said:
Many LCD displays (phones, tablets, in-panel GPS navigators, etc.) are polarized.
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I believe all LCDs are polarized. It's part of how they work. Only some create problems with polarized glasses.
 
I know this is a necro post but I'm looking for guidance.

I have progressive lenses. Got the Rx from a real Dr (ophthalmologist for glaucoma) 18 months ago but then bought the progressives through Eye Buy direct. Probably fine for single vision but a mistake on my part for progressive lenses. Never quite right.

I want to be able to see without headaches!

What do I need to tell the optometrist (I'll go somewhere else) about distances and then for the fitting? I read legal docs and computer screens for my job. Looking at the IR in the next 24 months.

I saw one vote for Walmart earlier. Anyone have luck at Costco with progressives? LensCrafters? My MIL paid $1,400 for regular and sunglass progressives at her local longtime optometrist. That seems extreme - but maybe that's what I need for a good fitting?

Regular and sunglasses for flying. My BIL suggested "computer glasses" for work which is essentially the reading side of the Rx in the whole frame.
 
I visit a long time family owned optometrist once a year for eye checkups. They tell me if my eyes are changing and I buy my glasses from them also. They do it all from frame fitting to repairs when I walk in. They know my wife and I and take good care of us.
I would not feel comfortable buying my glasses from someone who didn't take care of my eyes. Yes all my prescription sunglasses are non polarized and they know I am a pilot.
I have never paid anywhere close to 1400 bucks for glasses.
I'd go talk with optometrist...
 
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Have a pair of glass lenses dyed by your local optician - use a mom & pop - the chains generally are "challenged" technically and skill wise. Probably less than $20, or even no charge if you're a regular customer.
 
I just got a pair from zenni... thx for that! What is nice is that I can just upload my handsome face and then it overlies the glasses over my handsome face. It even told me that my handsome face could wear multiple types of glasses.
 
Had a pair of polarized Ray-Bans. Couldn’t see anything in the Bus. Had to have Ray-Ban remake the prescription lenses. They can do non polarized.
 
OK, I'm weird. I use polarized clip-on, flip-up shades, $22 for a pack of four from Amazon.

The only LCDs on my tiny panel are the iPhone and the Garmin 175, both of which are fine with polarized lenses - maybe even better contrast. As for polarization making traffic harder to spot because the "glint" of reflected sunlight is reduced -- I'll submit that a lot more traffic is hidden by the reflections off the glareshield on the inside of the windscreen.
 
Prescription non-polarized progressive sunglasses for me. FYI, not only do polarized lenses potentially create funny chromatic artifacts when looking at various stressed plastic materials, they can also create color artifacts or obscure or obliterate contrast in LCD displays, including some types of color computer/phone/tablet displays and some avionics. The worst offenders are the grayscale nematic LCD displays. The degree of obscuration depends on the relative angle of the polarization vectors in your sunglasses (usually vertical) and the displays (often around 45 degrees). I found that I could make these displays visible or disappear when wearing polarized lenses by tilting my head 45 degrees one way or the other.
 
Kitch said:
I don't need RX glasses (yet) but for sunglasses I love my flying eyes, and they do have RX available.
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I have Flying Eyes RX glasses, bifocals. They are wonderful. The earpieces are VERY thin, so they fit great under my headset. Additionally, the tinted magnetic clip on is not tinted on the bottom bifocal part.

They were expensive. I can't say a good value, but I'm very happy with them and if lost I would buy another pair.
 
My earlier post was for non polarized progressives for sun glasses was about WalMart.

I'm actually getting my "indoor glasses" high definition progressive lenses from Costco. $125 or so for the set, putting them into my old frames. I'm not using my insurance and that is still half of what my out of pocket would be with insurance at other places. I'm replacing my current lenses (also from Costco) because after 2 years I've scratched them a bit.
 
@WDD can you explain hi def lenses?

Im trying to understand where to spend the cash. I'm blind as a bat, so I usually go polycarbonate or something so I don't have 5lb coke bottles on my nose.

I work on computers all day and read legal docs. Nighttime glare is an issue too.

Analysis by paralysis. I guess I should just pick a place and go.
 
I really want a pair of those RX flying eyes but the frames alone that I like start at $520. I will get a pair someday as a reward to myself for some milestone.
 
How many diopters are you at? What is your prescription?

Hi Def is a marketing term denoting a process they use in grinding the lenses to give you a wider part of the lens that progressively correct. It helps the vision. The nice people at Costco can tell you about it

I found the important thing is getting your pupils measured with your frames on so they know where to shape the lens.

I have no idea how it works where people skip that with on line glasses.
 
WDD said:
I have no idea how it works where people skip that with on line glasses.
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Poorly.

I suspected I'd need glasses to pass my medical, but I can see fine and knew I wouldn't wear them. The cheapest option the optometrist had was $600, so I said "no thanks" and asked for my prescription, which clearly irritated them.

I didn't know enough to know about the pupil distance thing. I attempted to do the self measuring thing when I ordered from zenni. The good news is they were like $40, got me through my medical, and keep me legal. The bad news is they make my head hurt if I wear them more than about 15min. I still see instruments and charts fine unaided, but I can tell my eyes are getting worse and I'm going to need a pair that I can actually wear for my next medical.
 
WDD said:
I found the important thing is getting your pupils measured with your frames on so they know where to shape the lens.
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Precisely this for progressives. Where the glasses ride on your nose dictates where to start the transition from correction only to correction plus magnification. When this is wrong, your vision get swimmy and the headaches follow.

For the Zenni gang, cheap, yes, but i had a streak where 25% of mine have one lens at the wrong or no rx. I just factor that into my ordering. Same deal at goggles4u, my new fav online guys, as they are much cheaper on my rx vs zenni.

How to save at the optometrist - find frames you like anywhere, including sunglasses. Take the frames to the doc and ask for them to cut replacement lenses. And push them for the basic lenses (regular polycarbonate, not high index, unless you’ve got a really strong correction), basic (scratch resistant only) or no coatings. Save even more if you can find one not under the thumb of VSP (Costco?).
 
The problem with polarized in modern cockpits is there can be issues with LED screens. There is typically a polarizing layer in the display.

Transitions lenses are NOT polarized. Otherwise they would not reliably change. I have been wearing Photo Grey/Photo Sun/what ever/Transitions for over 40 years.

Try a smaller non-chain optical shop. My local small shop has no problem doing non-polarized prescription sunglasses. There used to be an online shop that catered to pilots, Hidalgo's, but they are closed.

You might try one of the optical shops that cater to shooters. I use Morgan Optical in Orleans, NY.

There is also the flying glasses company. I saw an article on them on AVWEB and Aviation Consumer.

I just wear my standard glasses, which are Transitions
 
WDD said:
I found the important thing is getting your pupils measured with your frames on so they know where to shape the lens.

I have no idea how it works where people skip that with on line glasses.
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Measuring the PD (pupillary distance) is critical. I have had to take lenses back because the measurement was slightly off.

Years ago, I worked for an optical company and passed the national certification for optician. (All folks in management were required to be ABOC certified, but I never worked as an optician.) Any optical lab should be able to provide non-polarized sunglasses.
 
Gilbert Buettner said:
Measuring the PD (pupillary distance) is critical. I have had to take lenses back because the measurement was slightly off.

Years ago, I worked for an optical company and passed the national certification for optician. (All folks in management were required to be ABOC certified, but I never worked as an optician.) Any optical lab should be able to provide non-polarized sunglasses.
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The big chains have the items that MOVE, and don't have access to other things. That is why I said to go to a smaller local shop.
 
WDD said:
My earlier post was for non polarized progressives for sun glasses was about WalMart.

I'm actually getting my "indoor glasses" high definition progressive lenses from Costco. $125 or so for the set, putting them into my old frames. I'm not using my insurance and that is still half of what my out of pocket would be with insurance at other places. I'm replacing my current lenses (also from Costco) because after 2 years I've scratched them a bit.
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If you have single vision lenses, go for it - the optical centers can be off a lot (and they will be at chain stores!) and the lenses will still work fine. But if you have other corrections, astigmatic, prism, etc., then you want them fitted well by someone who knows how. Heads, faces, and ears are not very symmetrical and you want the frame adjusted to get the centers precise.
 
Pinecone said:
The big chains have the items that MOVE, and don't have access to other things. That is why I said to go to a smaller local shop.
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Depends on the lab, I suppose. Our chain had 50 stores in Michigan and Indiana, but we also had our own lab in Kalamazoo. Nothing was sent anywhere else.
 
I got a pair of prescription Ray Ban aviators - no polarization. Easy to get.
 
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
@Sundancer how does a civilian know which shops know what they're doing?
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Ask if the opticians are ABOC. (American Board of Opticianry Certified) This means they have demonstrated knowledge and proficiency by passing the National Opticianry Competency Examination. Not all states require it, but the better companies do.
 
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
@Sundancer how does a civilian know which shops know what they're doing?
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If you see an ophthalmologist just ask him/her. Or, look for a shop that's been around a long while, and aren't chain stores. Look for online reviews. Discard the bottom and top ten percent.

There is conflict in many states - - with ophthalmologists versus optometrists. Who has the upper hand is usually decided by political contributions. Maryland for example, doesn't have licensing for opticians (the folks who who build your glasses) - the optometrists don't want those folks legitimized, and have the political clout to keep it that way. So ophthalmologists tend to refer patients to optician's shops to fill scripts, while optometrists generally keep the exam and fulfillment in-house. Works either way, though I preferred the MD (ophthalmologist) and optician route.
 
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