Sunglasses with ultra thin varifocal lenses - where?

[PlatinumBrunette]

After a two week long palaver with Specsavers, resulting in a full refund (yay!) I need to find some sunglasses.

I need varifocal, ultra-thinned lenses (preferably 1.74 index) with a dark tint.
Apparently, this is impossible, according to Specsavers, but I don’t believe them.

I have to pick one option, possibly two, but not the whole lot.

Am I asking for the moon on a stick? Or can you recommend somewhere that can definitely do this?

I've tried posting this about 6 times now, so fingers crossed it works this time!

You need to try a good independent optician. What you’re asking for is perfectly possible. An independent will have more access to different brands and manufacturers- for example some manufacturers only do certain tints in certain lens thicknesses etc. Somewhere that deals with several different lens companies will be able to find what you need!

Thank you so much @Alocasia - I'll look for someone now you've confirmed it's possible.

And love your name! My favourite plant species, yet also my nemesis as I simply can't keep them healthy 😄

Haha me too! I picked my name after yet another of my plants died. I’ve given up now! 😄
You’re welcome for the advice, I hope you can find a good opticians with lots of choices for you!
Just another point, obviously I don’t know your prescription but in many cases, a 1.67 lens will also be fine in sunglasses, as the thickness/weight of the lenses will not be too different from the 1.74, and as the lens will be tinted the thickness won’t be as apparent as it would with a clear lens.

@Alocasia I’m just about managing to keep one alocasia alive - it has the grand total of 3 leaves! I daren’t count the ones that died.

The lens thinning is due to the weight, rather than aesthetics. SS made a pair with the 1.67 index (but barely any tint) and I don’t think I’d have been comfortable wearing them for long. Chronic sinus issues, a scarred nose and over-sensitivity means I am damn fussy 😄 While searching, I may try to find some sexy clip ons - haha.

I have a complex prescription. My independent optician told me that providing I chose sunglasses that weren't too big the lenses could be a lower spec to my usual glasses. He saved me about 400 I think and they are absolutely fine for driving and reading in the sunshine. Not sure I'd use them.for the close spreadsheet type work I do every day.

That’s good to know @RosesAndHellebores (hurrah, another plant-related name! Loving this 😂)
I’ve had a few reasons to believe Specsavers have lied to me about some things over the past year, so I will keep searching for an independent that’s not too far away. And yes, I think I need to choose a different shaped/style of frame. I was trying to reclaim my youth with some rayban lookalikes. Vanity, huh.

My experience is the same as yours with Specsavers, hopeless!

Dh just got varifocals from boots and I was so impressed with how the fitting was compared to SS. I'm going to try there next.

Dh got reactalites,is there any reason you don't want them rather than sunglasses? In fact he got Raybans,they look fab.

@PlatinumBrunette perhaps you need to pop over to the gardening threads.

My DC and DH are very happy with Specsavers. The DC are no more than 2 diopter shortsighted if that and DH has age related long sight. Specsavers bogof deals are perfect for them particularly as dh loses about three pairs of specs a year. I think they are very good for that end of the market but did try to sell dd "thinning" which was absurd and I'm glad I was with her. They are generally helpful and pretty user friendly here.

I wouldn’t go to them for my 7.5 diopter short-sight, now with long sight thrown in and astigmatism. I honestly don't believe the high street opticians are good or cheaper for complex prescriptions. I am very happy with the varifocals my optician provides. They are not the most sophisticated out there (had my first ones about 9 years ago and they were perfect from day one) but they work for me and I have stuck to the same provider when I have had new glasses. The first pair 9 years ago were £800; the last pair 2.5 years ago were £667. I think it's a bit like tech (phones, tv's) - the earlier generation reduces in price but still does the job well.

My understanding s that the high Street opticians will hard sell the latest iteration but may not have opticians and technicians who are as experienced or skilled in assessing the prescription and taking the measurements so whilst the product is state of the art it is not always tweaked to perfection.

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor My daughter had a dreadful experience at Boots, so they’re off ‘my list’.
im not sure about the reactions - I had them years ago and found they didn’t work in the car. And it’s an expensive game to just try.
SS have been fabulous for me for years: but last year and now this year, I’ve spotted straight up lies. Having done a search, there are no decent independent opticians around here, just many chains or laser places (now there’s a thought!).

Specsavers use cheap lenses. An independent optician will be able to get the lenses you want. But you'll have to pay - £200+ ish for the lenses (excluding frames)

@RosesAndHellebores I’ve had great service from SS until last year, and now. I do have a complex prescription but my normal varifocals are perfect, and my work specs are also excellent. Now I know how they lie, I can be on the ball - there’s precious few alternative choices around here, sadly.

My DH is also as careless with his specs! He even left a pair on the rood once. Oh to be sighted enough to be able to remove them and not notice for a while!

I’ll pop over to the gardening threads for some tips on keeping plants alive 🪴

Boots now do 2 types of reactors. Bog standard sort and also ones that are more sensitive for driving, dh's ones go very dark in the car.

I think Boots are franchised like SS so it's hit and miss how good your local branch it. Saying that,I've had appalling service from our local independent optician.

I've heard Asda being mentioned on here multiple times, they are cheap enough to just try out. A friend uses an online service as does my mum and she says they're the best glasses she's had and for £25 it's well worth a try.

I have very complex prescriptions, inc varifocal, prisms, astigmatism and a decently short sighted, and Asda did do me some cracking sunglasses at an amazing price. I'm happy to pay ££££ for my all day everyday glasses, but sunglasses have a higher damage rate ime, so 2 pairs for £150 inc everything including high index made me very happy

Bog standard sort and also ones that are more sensitive for driving, dh's ones go very dark in the car.

I have ones that go dark in the car. The downside is that they take an age to lose their tint when you go inside a building.

I have ultra thin lenses with a very low prescription so they really are thin. I got existing frames glazed online from Lensology who used to be called something else. They weren’t in their catalogue when I wanted them but they were very helpful in getting me exactly what I wanted. If you need varifocals, it isn’t a cheap combination though.

I have ones that go dark in the car. The downside is that they take an age to lose their tint when you go inside a building

Dh's don't,where are yours from, perhaps they differ from where they're sold?

Have you seen the Eco specs with the clip on sunglasses? They're really cool. I haven't tried them but my very stylish friend wears them.

Dh's don't,where are yours from, perhaps they differ from where they're sold?

They are Transitions Xtractive. I got them because they still go dark at 40 degrees.

I have never been impressed with specsavers. I have a very strong prescription and they've always been rubbish from there. I've been to asda for the past few years and they are really good and great value for money too.

You might want to look at these brands (one of which mentioned above), they do magnetic 'fix on' sunglasses, on to their frames. I have ultrathin smart variofocal lenses and have three variations of sunglasses for one frame, so can choose the colour and two for another (one is current presecription and one is past). I'd never have single pairs again! Game changer for me. eco-eyewear.com/collections/clip-ons www.minteyewear.co.uk/product-category/magnetic-clip-on-sunglasses/

I meant to add. I had varifocals from Asda at Christmas time. As I have a strong prescription and the optician recommended varifocals, they included high index anti glare varifocals as standard. I think I paid £80 all in. Bargain, and good quality too. I think they have a deal 2 for £150, I've had sunglasses from them before and again they were high index, tinted and anti reflective lenses too. Think I might have had to pay an extra tenner for the tint. But they were really good glasses too.

Our Specsavers are really good. I've only ha one problem with them which was a covid, we're not doing fittings , pair. My varifocal isn't properly aligned. They were free by the time my discounts were calculated.

My new varifocals are from Cubitts. I don't need the ultra thin with my prescription but they do them.

I think they do all their frames as sunnies 😎 . I have the lenses that change into sunglasses when I need them too. Transitional lenses. Some of their frames come with clip ons too.

They are a welcome change from spec savers

cubitts.com/

I need varifocal, ultra-thinned lenses (preferably 1.74 index) with a dark tint.
Apparently, this is impossible, according to Specsavers, but I don’t believe them.

DH has varifocals, he always goes for ultra thinned /high index because his prescription would be really thick otherwise. He got both normal and some in the darkest tint legal for driving (which looks pretty dark to me) ... from Specsavers.

I have been using Asda for the past two years and honestly I will never go back to Specsavers or any other opticians again. I have varifocal sunglasses with a black tint, that have been thinned down and they are amazing, they were in the £80 range but I have glhad others from the £45 range and the quality is brilliant.