There’s a lot in an eyeglass lens, and you might not be aware that the frames that sit on your face do a lot more than just correct your vision or provide shade from the sun. There are numerous lens options, just like frame options.
From shapes and materials to specialized coatings, there are lenses that are fully customizable for your every activity and need. At Stoggles, we’re really into eyewear. We’re also really into protecting your vision. We’ll explain what’s available in terms of eyewear lenses and also tell you how to figure out which lenses are right for you.
Lens Material: What To Know
Eyewear has long relied on glass for lenses, but glass isn’t the top choice for most lens-crafters today. Other options are safer, more durable, and lightweight, making it easier to give you a quality pair of specs that won’t shatter the second you drop them or feel like they’re weighing you down.
Glass
Not the most popular option, but it’s still optically awesome. Glass offers superior optics and scratch resistance, but unless it has been treated to withstand shattering, it’s very easy to break. Not to mention, glass always weighs more than other types of lens materials.
Plastic
CR-39 plastic is a very common material used for making corrective lenses and sunglasses. This material is more shatter resistant than glass and weighs much less. The problem with this type of plastic is that it isn’t as optically strong as glass. After some time, it may begin to wear down faster than glass, and it’s quite brittle so it can shatter similar to glass.
Trivex
Trivex is a type of polymer that is a popular choice for lenses. Like polycarbonate, it’s less shatter-prone than glass and also weighs a lot less than glass. Trivex provides much more impact resistance than CR-39 and is often used in the manufacture of children’s eyewear. The tri acetate cellulose (TAC) lens is another option, too, and is particularly popular in the world of performance eyewear due to their extreme light weight, lower price, and equal shatter-resistance to polycarbonate.
High Index (Hi)
This ultra-lightweight material is known for creating featherlight eyewear with natural UV protection. There are different levels of Hi material, which can hold higher prescription vision correction. That means if you need progressive lenses, these will be much thinner than a standard bifocal or trifocal.
Polycarbonate
Incredibly durable and shatter-resistant, polycarbonate provides crystal-clear optics and offers natural UV protection. A favorite for safety eyewear, polycarbonate can also be outfitted with specialized coatings that keep the wearer safe from fog, blue light, and glare. You can also add a prescription for polycarbonate to correct vision.
All Stoggles eyewear is crafted from polycarbonate, which is about ten times more durable than glass or plastic and so lightweight you’ll forget you’re wearing them.
Special Lens Additions
You didn’t know your eyewear could do tricks, but if you get any of these specialized coatings, they can. Keep in mind that the more special coatings you add to your eyewear, the more you might have to pay your optician.
Photochromatic
This type of lens is also known as a transition lens. These lenses are UV responsive, darkening to provide shade to your eyes when you’re in sunlight and returning to their clear home base when you step back inside.
These lenses make it possible for you to refrain from switching back and forth from indoor eyewear to sunglasses, but there’s a caveat. You won’t be able to wear them in the car. Your car’s windshield naturally blocks some UV light, which means your eyewear won’t get a direct UV hit and know to darken. This might mean switching out your car to get a convertible, or still needing to stow a pair of sunnies in your ride.
Stoggles Dimmers™ offers the same UV reactive lenses that transition eyewear does, making it possible for you to wear your favorite hybrid eyewear both indoors and outdoors.
Polarized
Your fishing buddies all swear by them, and there’s a good reason why. Polarized lenses reduce glare from surfaces like snow, sand, and, yes, water. If you spend a lot of time on these surfaces, polarized lenses can protect you from developing photokeratitis.
Photokeratitis is similar to a sunburn but on your cornea (Can you say yikes?). This happens when you’re exposed to UV rays for too long. It can cause extreme eye discomfort and may last for up to a week before you get relief.
You’ll most often find polarized lenses on sunglasses, along with a healthy dose of UV protection. It isn’t recommended that you wear polarized lenses indoors, though, as this can make it difficult to see.
UV Protection
Speaking of UV protection, you need it. Ultraviolet radiation is damaging to your eyes, even in small amounts. UV rays can penetrate the cornea and reach the retina, where your retinal cells are located.
Retinal cells are responsible for vision; unlike other cells in your body, they don’t regenerate. When they’re lost or damaged, a portion of your vision is lost. UV light can cause issues like pinguecula, a visible fatty deposit on the surface of your eyes, and Surfer’s Eye, a condition that can cause the whites of your eyes to extend onto your pupil.
Sunlight can cause more damage, like early onset macular degeneration and cataracts. Lenses that offer UV protection are essential for keeping your eyes safe from the sun. Fun fact: the darkness of your sunglasses does not correlate to the level of UV protection you’re getting. Make sure your eyewear specifically says it is UV protective to ensure you are safe.
Fog Resistance
Is there anything more annoying than fogging eyewear? Okay, maybe people who don’t merge properly onto the freeway, but fogging lenses are a close second. Fogging glasses aren’t just annoying; they also present an issue of safety.
When you remove your eyewear to wipe down the fog, your eyes aren’t protected from the sun, or from whatever activity you’re engaged in. You’re also taken off task, which can leave room for mistakes or simply losing your focus.
We hate fog on your lenses. That’s why we coat each pair of Stoggles with a fog-resistant dip coating (it’s our secret and proprietaryformula found only in Stoggles), ensuring your eyewear resists fog in the steamiest situations for a really long time.
Tinted Lenses
If you have trouble seeing certain colors, your optometrist may recommend you purchase specialized glasses with tinted lenses. Tinted lenses of certain colors may make it easier for you to see clearly, sharpening and adjusting contrast and helping you regain the ability to see clearly.
Blue Light Blocking
You already know that UV rays can damage your vision, but the sun is the main source of another type of intrusive light known as blue light. This high-energy, short-wave light has the ability (like UV rays) to penetrate the cornea and reach the retina.
The real problem with blue light is the amount of exposure we have to it. Blue light comes from the sun, but it also comes from devices like LED televisions, computers, tablets, and smartphones. That means blue light is an almost continual invader in our eyes.
Blue light filtering lenses effectively bounce the light away from your eyes, keeping your eyes safe and also helping reduce the amount of eye strain and fatigue you might experience when you’re staring at a screen for a long time. We make every pair of Stoggles with blue-light filtering lenses so your eyes are safe against this sneaky eye enemy.
Lens Shapes
In addition to materials and coatings, eyeglass lenses are also available in different shapes. Normally, the shape of your lens will depend on your corrective vision prescription, so if you are purchasing eyewear that doesn’t have a prescription, the lens may simply be curved for ergonomic and comfort purposes.
Concave
If you suffer from nearsightedness (the ability to see objects close up but difficulty seeing objects in the distance), you’ll need a concave lens. These lenses curve inward slightly, making it easier for your eyes to regain their distance vision.
Convex
Presbyopia is a condition that makes it difficult to see close up. Almost everyone develops this condition after age 40, but some people are born with genetic abnormalities that require corrective lenses for farsightedness earlier in life. To correct this refractive error, you’ll need convex lenses, which curve outward.
Cylindrical
Astigmatism is a condition that affects the shape of your cornea and makes it hard to see clearly, especially at night. People with astigmatism may find it difficult to see objects when they’re driving at night. They may say halos or star shapes around objects in the distance.
To correct this issue, your lens shape may be cylindrical in appearance.
Multifocal Lenses
It’s rare that someone with corrective lenses only needs one type of vision correction. You may need one type of vision correction earlier in your life and develop the need for secondary vision correction as you age.
For multiple refractive errors, we have multifocal lenses. Commonly referred to as bifocal or trifocal lenses, these lenses have multiple vision correction prescriptions in different parts of the lens. For instance, a prescription that helps you read may be placed in the lower half of the lens, while a prescription that helps you see objects in the distance may be placed in the upper half.
Long ago, these lenses had obvious lines in them that showed where one prescription ended and the other began. Thankfully, we now have progressive lenses, which are line-free and contain all the vision correction you need without giving anyone the ability to know your business.
Safety Eyewear
Eyewear that protects your eyes under different circumstances is important, but you need safety eyewear for more than just doing home improvement projects or working in a lab. Protecting your vision is crucial for numerous circumstances, like being in the sun or around blue light.
The problem is, no one really loves wearing the safety glasses we associate with middle school science class. That’s why Stoggles was created.
We’re a hybrid style of eyewear that combines all the aesthetic and comfort elements you love about your regular glasses and sunglasses with the safety features you need to stay safe. The result? Glasses that keep your eyes safe and your style on point.
In addition to fog resistance, UV protection, and blue light filtering lenses, we load up our eyewear with even more protective features.
Impact and Shatter Resistance
Polycarbonate material is naturally shatter-resistant, but we test our Stoggles to the ANSI Z87.1-2020 standard. This certification gives every pair of Stoggles the assurance that they won’t shatter when impacted with high-velocity strikes.
Rogue stick from your lawnmower while gardening? No problem. Your Stoggles have you covered.
Side and Top Shields
Regular eyewear can leave your eyes vulnerable to infiltration of dust and debris near the temples and near your eyebrows. That’s a recipe for disaster. To keep your eyes safe, Stoggles protect them with top and side shields. These low-profile additions protect these areas without creating a scene.
Another solution for protecting these areas is a wraparound style of eyewear. While these offer protection, they may also cause prescriptions to warp if applied to the lens. This makes side and top shields a better — best — solution.
Prescription-Ready
Need hybrid eyewear with vision correction? That’s no problem. Simply upload your prescription to our website, pick out your favorite frame style (like cat-eye or aviator), and select the color that suits you best. We’ll take care of the rest, crafting you a pair of hybrid glasses that keep your eyes safe, correct your vision, and enhance your personal style.
Lenses That Work
Your eyewear lenses are important, and learning which types are available can help you determine which lenses will be the best option for you. If you’re looking for all-around vision protection, available vision correction, and the best stylistic selection, you need Stoggles.
Stoggles make it easy to keep your eyes safe no matter what you’re doing or where you’re going.
Sources:
Lens Materials | Eyeglass Lenses | Products and Services | Mayo Clinic Optical
Sunglasses With Transition Lenses: Pros and Cons | American Academy of Ophthalmology
Photokeratitis (Ultraviolet [UV] burn, Arc eye, Snow Blindness) | College of Optometrists
Protecting your eyes from the sun’s UV light | NIH
Pterygium (Surfer's Eye): Diagnosis, Symptoms & Treatment | Cleveland Clinic