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Glass lens reading glasses..

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March 05, 2026, 10:36 PM
David Lee
Glass lens reading glasses..
Seems like forever I've been wearing 3M Nuvo readers with the polycarbonate lenses for reading blue prints and, any small text including my smart phones. What a bitch when the plastic lenses begin to fog as they must be cleaned with the softest of tissue papers. Nothing else will clean them without finite scratches fogging my view. So, I am finally going to buy glass lens readers from VS Vision. The quality of vision should be much better and there should be no more issues with my view so long as I properly care for them. The glasses are a lot more money than my 3Ms but worth every dollar. Now to see if they come with a carry case. Anyone here wear glass lenses any more ? Not for corrective vision but, just as readers. What brand do you like ?
March 05, 2026, 10:47 PM
cparktd
Nope... Glass is quite a bit heavier, not a big deal in lesser prescriptions... But in my heavy nearsighted prescription, it's a dealbreaker. And correct me if I'm wrong... glass is not allowed in prescription safety glasses, which I had to wear for work.



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March 05, 2026, 10:59 PM
David Lee
My 3Ms are pleanty heavy with their thick lenses and thick plastic frame. Another thing about the Nuvo Readers is, they are indeed safety glasses with side shields. The nose supports are of a gel type rubber which, over time from cleaning and, facial oils slip from their mount poles so much, I just toss them. After that I get dug into at my nose bridge by two plastic poles. The new VS glasses have the nose supports molded into the frame. Now I just need to see how they are sized to fit as it's a internet purchase. As far as weight goes, their frame is quite slender and, they offer a much thinner lens of very high quality. Whereas I can get the 3Ms around $ 13.00 per pair, the VS reading glasses I want are $ 80.00.
March 06, 2026, 06:46 AM
bettysnephew
Having lived through five decades, maybe six with my very heavy glasses slipping down my nose and the repeated one finger push to get them back in position, I welcomed poly lenses and even more cataract surgery which gave me perfect distance vision and the minor inconvenience of readers or mild progressives. I will gladly suffer the relatively minor expense of replacing lightweight optical devices when they become unusable. Get thee to your local big box and purchase Zeiss lens cleaner pads, no issues with scratching from those so far for me.



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Not Kiss It

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March 06, 2026, 07:31 AM
V-Tail
For cleaning polycarbonate lenses, I flush them with a LOT of water, spray with a dilute solution of Dawn, rub gently with my finger tips, flush again with a LOT of water, and dry gently with a clean cloth cut from an old cotton t-shirt. My glasses, both prescription and OTC readers, last for years with no scratches.



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March 06, 2026, 07:39 AM
Pipe Smoker
^^^
My technique:
Wash hands with Dawn.
Rinse lenses under running water.
A couple drops of Dawn on each lens surface.
Gently rub each lens surface with thumb & fingers.

I’ve been doing that for years.

Expecting that I won’t need glasses after my upcoming cataract surgery. Getting bifocal IOLs.



Serious about crackers.
March 06, 2026, 07:59 AM
egregore
Glass lenses? Not unless you like the Falling Down look.



But if you've already made up your mind and are just hell-bent on them, I suggest a reader-only prescription, only to be used inside your home. The risk of driving a shard into your eyeball would be much lower - but never zero.
March 06, 2026, 08:17 AM
egregore
quote:
My technique:
Wash hands with Dawn.
Rinse lenses under running water.
A couple drops of Dawn on each lens surface.
Gently rub each lens surface with thumb & fingers.



March 06, 2026, 08:28 AM
229DAK
quote:
Nothing else will clean them without finite scratches fogging my view.
Do you not get the anti-scratch lens coating?


_________________________________________________________________________
“A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.”
-- Mark Twain, 1902
March 06, 2026, 08:31 AM
architect
I take a different approach, buy the cheapest readers on Amazon (5 for $12), and, if a pair gets scratched up, just toss it.

There is another life benefit of super cheap glasses. You can leave a pair wherever you use them, one by the computer, another at bedside, yet another at the workbench, etc. Doing this, you'll never have to search for your readers.

Yes, they are not stylish, and the finish wears off quickly, but I no longer care about such trivialities.

WRT to glass lenses, not being able to wear them at the range makes them a non-starter.
March 06, 2026, 09:15 AM
GJG
Actually polycarbonate lenses are only available with the coating, but the effectiveness of the coating varies among manufacturers. The real problem with poly lenses is the color fringing due to a low Abbe value of 37. Glass and CR39 have a 58 Abbe number . Higher numbers equal less fringing (think Newtons' experiment with a prism creating rainbows) and therefore greater sharpness.)

Safety lenses (must meet Z87 standard) are available in glass but must have a minimum thickness of 2,2 mm and pass a drop ball test. The thickness makes them heavy. Getting a lab to make them is another story - most don't want the liability.
quote:
Originally posted by 229DAK:
quote:
Nothing else will clean them without finite scratches fogging my view.
Do you not get the anti-scratch lens coating?



Light bender eye mender
___________________________________________________________
Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may. Sam Houston
March 06, 2026, 02:01 PM
armored
quote:
Originally posted by architect:
I take a different approach, buy the cheapest readers on Amazon (5 for $12), and, if a pair gets scratched up, just toss it.

There is another life benefit of super cheap glasses. You can leave a pair wherever you use them, one by the computer, another at bedside, yet another at the workbench, etc. Doing this, you'll never have to search for your readers.

Yes, they are not stylish, and the finish wears off quickly, but I no longer care about such trivialities.

WRT to glass lenses, not being able to wear them at the range makes them a non-starter.


I have used this approach for many years, because it works. I have never found plastic lenses that don't scratch. The cheap readers work fine and I can order them in different magnifications for different uses.
March 06, 2026, 05:07 PM
egregore


I also use the cheap dollar store readers approach. Unaided, in some lighting conditions and with fine print or my phone, I outright strain to read them. Recently I discovered they aren't useful only for very close distances, they make my blurry handgun sights at more or less arm's length sharp and clear, but then of course the target blurs.





"The Almighty, He put some livin' things on this earth so a man can eat." - Festus Haggen, Gunsmoke
March 06, 2026, 10:44 PM
Rey HRH
If you have prescription lenses, use a spray and microfiber cleaning cloths. I also use dawn soap sometimes when it's too greasy. You also have to wash the cleaning cloths.



"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
March 07, 2026, 03:21 PM
David Lee
quote:
Originally posted by GJG:
Actually polycarbonate lenses are only available with the coating, but the effectiveness of the coating varies among manufacturers. The real problem with poly lenses is the color fringing due to a low Abbe value of 37. Glass and CR39 have a 58 Abbe number . Higher numbers equal less fringing (think Newtons' experiment with a prism creating rainbows) and therefore greater sharpness.)

Safety lenses (must meet Z87 standard) are available in glass but must have a minimum thickness of 2,2 mm and pass a drop ball test. The thickness makes them heavy. Getting a lab to make them is another story - most don't want the liability.
quote:
Originally posted by 229DAK:
quote:
Nothing else will clean them without finite scratches fogging my view.
Do you not get the anti-scratch lens coating?
Yes, I had been reading about bending light, not that I gleaned anything from it but, the higher quality glass is said to do it better. Way more clear vision too. My 3Ms are thick poly and a tad heavy. VS Vision offers thick or thin glass. I am going back to see another pair as the ones I like have pink lenses for UV protection. I just want clear lenses.