They're not all made the same. My wife and I go to a smaller local eyeglass place and the guy's great. He works with us and puts the sweet spot in the best place for each of us. Hers is in a bit different place from mine, he set hers up with deskwork in mind because she lives at a desk and computer at work. Mine are pretty much what would be a standard location but maybe a bit skewed for pistol sights.

quote:

Originally posted by bettysnephew:
It took me about ten days to acclimate. Would be disappointed with anything else now, really like that focus has no "steps" between distances.

I agree 100% with this statement. My prescription changed to needing a bifocal in 2019. I refused the prescription.

When I went again in 2020 the prescription was for a bifocal again but this time I was talked in progressive lenses. I was very hesitant to try them but I finally did and I'm very glad.

goose5,

It took me about 7 - 10 days to fully acclimate; now I wouldn't have my glasses any other way. Try and just use them for short periods and see if that helps you acclimate.

There are different qualities available in progressive lens. I learned that when after years of wearing one, a new replacement was bad. I drove away from the store and my head kept bobbing up and down to focus.

In front of the computer, same thing.

I returned to the optometrist. The person compared the new one and my old glasses and said my old one was a premium quality brand. They redid the glasses.

My main problem is the sweet spot aspect. When reading I find I have to move my head from side to side to keep the print in focus. If I'm driving I find the mid-trifocal is perfect for reading the speedometer and such. If I have to look over my shoulder for blind spot traffic that's a problem. Fuzzy as hell. Same when I'm riding and I have to check traffic coming up from behind. For some reason I'm having an easier time with the sunglasses over the regular glasses.

I tried progressive lenses .Couldn't get used to them . Went back and got regular bifocals and got used to them in no time .

It can take at least 2 weeks to adjust. Your brain needs to learn the new rules, and you cannot switch back and forth with your old specs.
That being said, measurements can be subjective, and if you weren’t sitting comfortably as you normally do, or set the frames differently on your nose than where they were sitting when measured, that changes everything.
Also keep in mind, there are different grades of quality in progressives. If you cheaped out, you may want to consider a higher quality that provides a wider field of view and better progression of vision.

Follow your nose, don’t try to glance off to the side while keeping your head straight. Hold all the handrails while your brain makes it’s adjustment. It’ll happen, but you have to help it along, and for many, it’s not an immediate adjustment.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Progressives need to be centered on your pupil correctly, and unfortunately there is no "standard" way to do this. Some places measure your pupil location with a ruler, some dot the "dummy" lens during fitting with a marker, then measure afterwards. And you need to get the frames adjusted right before they measure. Any adjustments afterwards will make things worse.

Lenscrafters uses a fancy iPad photo along with a jig they put the eyeglasses frames in that looks impressive but is consistently wrong every time because the morons in the store don't understand parallax. They stick the iPad in your face and center it, and tell you to look at them, but the lens is way off center and taking the photo at a compound angle.

My wife and I had several sets of glasses with progressive lenses over the years before we got Lasik surgery. The first progressives I ever got were from Lenscrafters, and I thought I'd never get used to them. Someone had mentioned how important the pupil measurements were, and I was reminded that the guy at Lenscrafters seemed a bit clueless. I took the glasses back for a full refund under the Lenscrafters 30-day guarantee and ordered another set of progressives from a local independent optometry shop. They costed a bit more and took a bit longer, but when the new glasses arrived, I got used to them in about a day.

Progressives were fine for me for the most part, but I'd often find myself talking them off for reading at normal distances. I could shoot with them just fine.

I'm in my early 60's and have been wearing glasses since my late 20's. Needed them for reading and computer work, not distance, until I got into my 50's, when I went to bifocal lenses when I needed a little correction in my right eye for distance. I put them on in the morning and take them off when I go to bed at night.

Been wearing progressive lenses since going to bifocals, but they do take a little getting used to. My current pair are about 4 years old now. I was due for an exam early this year, and since my prescription hasn't changed for the past several years, I decided to get a duplicate frame and lens arrangement for back-up and to have on-hand as I transition into retirement in a year or so. The doctor said they could duplicate everything from the old pair to the new ones, but the tech in their office decided to tweak the transition point a little, evidently felt it would be an improvement. But the new glasses just didn't work for me, and after repeated attempts to use them at work on the computer, and a little adjustment by the doctor, still no good. The doctor ordered new lenses, this time an exact duplicate to my old ones, and this fixed the issue. Point is, it doesn't take much to throw the transition point off and make them less than usable.

For my work-place safety glasses, since I only wear them for occasional trips to our shop and to customers' plants, and since I would have to pay more $$ for progressive vs. lined bifocals, I went with the lines. Get along okay with these but finding that sweet spot for some distances when reading is challenging, such as when looking at the operator control screens on our machines.

As far as glasses for shooting with iron sights, I had my eye doctor tweak the lens on the dominant (right) eye, so the lower (reading) portion was at 27", the distance to the front sight. The left lens is unchanged. These are used for range sessions, and it takes a minute or two to adjust when I first put them on but work fine after that. Have worn them all day for several days when doing 2- or 3-day training sessions, and they work fine. I can still see the front sight with my normal glasses, and while a little fuzzy, they still work okay if I have to shoot in them.

That's been my experience with progressive.

Tried progressives once, aggressively disliked them.

It wasn't the 'getting used to it' part - that came and went quickly. The problem for me was the end game.

I really want a large field in focus at any one time, and with progressives, the area that is in focus at a particular distance is comparatively small. Having to move my head instead of just moving my eyes was annoying enough that I went back to ordinary bifocals and never looked back.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
Tried progressives once, aggressively disliked them.

It wasn't the 'getting used to it' part - that came and went quickly. The problem for me was the end game.

I really want a large field in focus at any one time, and with progressives, the area that is in focus at a particular distance is comparatively small. Having to move my head instead of just moving my eyes was annoying enough that I went back to ordinary bifocals and never looked back.

Precisely why I abandoned bifocals and went to monovision.

The first progressive lenses I tried, many years ago, drove me nuts. Pretty much what joel9507 described. Plus the "no-go" zone at on the outside edges.

Then Pearle Vision came out with their "HD" lenses. And, IIRC, they have an "ultra HD" or "super HD" version or some such. These lenses reduce the "no go" zone to a much smaller area and make the transitions both cleaner and less obtrusive.

I've been wearing progressive tri-focals (readers, neutral, driving) now for years. I only very, very rarely have to "search."