So I go to get my glasses replaced. Stick with my old Oakley Tincup frames as they are incredibly comfy.
I opt up for the “Transitions” lenses at Costco. The lady in the optical dept gets a sample pair and introduces them to UV light, and they darken. I’m quite surprised and decide to get them. I go for the brown, as I Ofer the contrasting color.

I’m excited! Oorah! No more swapping sunglasses for glasses.

I get the glasses, and wear them outside. It’s Arizona. No holdbacks on the sunshine. It’s blazing. They darken to about 80%. Meaning 80% of the light is allowed through. They aren’t even a sunglasses lens. It’s a gimmick.
The lightest pair of sunglasses I have is so much more darker, it’s not even a comparison.

What are your experiences with these? Good, bad, indifferent?

That said, damn, the new prescription is great. I can see again.

Mine darken fairly quick but don't lighten back up as quick once inside. I like them and would do it again. I wear contacts most of the time.

OK, it depends on which version you get. I use Wiley-X glasses for driving, shooting and other outdoor sports. These are prescription glasses and I got them with the Wiley-X most aggressive UV sensitive lenses (they have their own version-not Transitions). Mine will almost black out in high UV situations. Note that the lenses are UV sensitive not light sensitive so just because it is a bright sunny day does not mean that there is more UV intensity. In fact, my glasses usually get darkest on cloudy days when the UV exposure is highest.

traditional 'Transition' lenses will NOT darken in cars that have IV dampened windows either.

I've had pairs that started darker 'from neutral' and those which didn't get 'as dark as quick'.

I've worn variations for years. I prefer the characteristics to 'regular sun glasses' most of the time.

However just last month my new Geezer Goggles, with a couple of extra needs built in, transition from neutral to moderate/darker grey, and are supplemented with a second special 'dark earth green' of some fancy name, polarized, that are wonderful for ultrabright. Very comfortable for long drives into the sunlit desert, for instance. I can change from one to the other pair depending on conditions. Rather than PIA, it works like a charm.

In trade, the dark ones do poorly in visualizing the cell phone screen or car radio control screen. And often are 'too dark' to easily read normal text.

Best set of co-specs I've had in over 30 years of eye glasses. Also the best solution to my particular needs. Costco prices and super satisfied with the tools they introduced to fit my needs.

i Have and like. But I did not think they were sunglasses?

I thought indoors they were clear.
I thought outside (not in a car) they were darkened sunglasses.
I feel bamboozled.
That said, it was a minimal cost difference between single vision and single vision transitions.
I just thought by the in store demo, they would be significantly darker.

I use Transitions most of the time. But as it was pointed out earlier they do not react inside a car. I keep a pair of Drivewear Transitions in the car and also use them as my primary sunglasses. There are times I wished I kept standard clear lens for outdoor use but the combination works pretty fine for me.

They work well enough for me that I don't even own a pair of sun glasses. One less thing to buy and keep up with.

Funny, a salesman once advised against them, main reason was they would not work in the car. I told him I had a convertible...

I was in Phonix Tuesday and Wednesday this week. My transitions get dark, really dark. The only complaint I have is, like mentioned above, I would like them to lighten up quicker once I go inside. Not sure if you got something different than I have but mine will get "limo tint" dark in bright sunlight.

I like mine. Its not sunglasses but its better than nothing by far. I will likely spring for prescription sunglasses when i'm not working nights.

I like mine. They will darken under a helmet visor. I’ve never liked a real dark lens anyway.

Not dark enough in the South, doesn't get dark in cars, doesn't lighten fast enough inside, and not polarized. I wore them for years before I got contacts, I would never go back to them.

I wear contacts 90% of the time, but my glasses are transition lenses.

I find the demo in the store is a bit misleading as the light they use to show the effect is a stronger UV emitter than natural sunlight. So your expectations are skewed from the start. Also, the lenses ate not polarized, so they will never be as good as true sun glasses.

All that aside, they are generally good enough for me. I find that when wearing my glasses, if I step outside in the morning sun I'm completely sun blind for about 25 seconds... then once the lenses stay to darken, I can function again. (I should mention that my eyes are particularly sensitive to sunlight).

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
They work well enough for me that I don't even own a pair of sun glasses. One less thing to buy and keep up with.

Same here.

Not nearly dark enough for my liking and not working while driving was a deal breaker for me. I took mine back and got traditional lenses and went with sunglasses.

Takes some gettin used to. I couldn't do it, and fell back to multiple glasses.

I've had them in my daily wear glasses since I was 14. I still keep polarized sunglasses in the car and boat where Transitions aren't enough.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the color change is slower and less extreme when they are new. It gets faster and better after more exposure to UV

I have to in my work walk up to a customer's house and knock on their door... One of the cardinal rules in the service business is you never show up with sun glasses on.... in fact you don't even drive up with them on. So, transitions are totally out.

It can take several cycles to reach maximum darkening. Also, the nature of the chemical reaction is that all factors being equal, they will get darker when it is cold than when hit in the same light conditions.

I tell people, “don’t think of them as sunglasses; think of them as “comfort” lenses”. I say flat out, “you’ll be disappointed if you plan on these being your sunglasses.”

quote:

Originally posted by Gibb:

the lenses ate not polarized

That is actually A Good Thing, for my use. LCD screens are polarized, so when wearing polarized sunglasses, the screen will go black at certain angles.

The last time I had transition type lenses was maybe thirty years ago. They were really feeble. Did not get very dark outside, did not clear up completely inside, just varying shades of partial sunglass. They might have (probably have) improved quite a bit in the past 30 years.