I am seeking advice on the best scratch resistant prescription glasses you have used - not cycling specific but for every day and exercise. I have specific cycling but need some an all a rounder.
Currently I have ROKA Rory 2.0. I have purchased them twice now and both times they have scratched from wiping to the point I cannot wear them any longer from the haze. My most recent pair I have had for 10 months and really was mindful of how I cleaned them. This morning I was in a trail race and wiped them with a portion of my jersey that I thought was clean. Well, I basically scratched them so badly I cannot wear them any longer. I try very hard to use water to clean and the microfiber to wipe but this morning was a mountain bike ride in a lot of humidity and I wasn’t paying attention.
Anyone have good recommendations for high scratch resistance glasses that look good daily but stay on riding and running?
Anyone have bad luck with ROKA like me (a couple of times now)?
Are Trivex better than the polycarbonate for this situation?
Does anyone carry a microfiber in a ziplock?
Prescription progressive lenses are too expensive to buy multiple times a year.
I just get whatever my optometrist offers, and it works well. I had a pair of sunglasses made by Oakley, and they have been incredible, no scratches at all, and it’s been three years. I need a slight change, and will probably keep that pair because they have been so great.
What works best for cleaning my glasses, so far, is an age old t-shirt. It’s soft, and fogging the lens makes it usually nearly perfect. I took to lightly wiping gunk off glasses if I’m outside. That, or blowing on them. The only lens I’ve scratched was when I yanked on a stuck extension cord, not my proudest moment by any measure, and they were really almost gouged.
Their only option is the standard polycarbonate or Trivex. They claim the polycarbonate are coated. I am questioning the quality of the coating. I used Oakley as my dedicated cycling glasses and haven’t had a problem. They just don’t make an everyday pair that is as appealing for office to outdoors. Maybe I need to look again.
I was very badly let down by Roka rx glasses. I bought a pair of their eye glasses and at the time, they had a buy one get one half deal, so I picked up some rx sunglasses as well. The eye glasses are totally fine, the sunglasses quite frankly suck at sunglasses. They look dark with someone looking at me, but they barely feel like they block any light when wearing them, and theyre supposedly 12% VLT, so they should be pretty dark.
You mentioned the holbrooks, I also have a pair of those and dont care for them either. Possibly its my face shape, but they let in so much light from the sides.
Best Ive used so far are Costa Del Mar. The downside is they seem to have gone up in price substantially (over $300 now), the upside is they have lifetime warranty. Im on my 3rd set in maybe 8 years, just pay shipping. Another one I really like is Randolph. Theyre an Aviator style, as theyre made for pilots, so if that shape/design fits you well, I cant recommend them enough. They have a gripper kinda like oakley where they just hug the side of your head instead of going behind your ear. Its designed to stay flay under a headset, but works equally great for keeing them in place for running or sports. Similar to costa, they aint cheap
Oakley Flak Jacket 2.0 with clear prescription lenses. I’ve had them 2 years, and they have endured MTB and Trail Running in AZ. I wouldn’t use anything else, personally, for any type of training if I am opting to wear glasses over contacts.
Bolle Trivex Phantom lenses in the Vermillion Gun Photochromics, had 3 pairs, they are very scratch resistant lenses, have them in Shifters, imbedded lenses RX, normal non rx and also in the Score frame as RX. The score frame is a casual everyday frame, they just released a Victus and Victus Pro also which is a multisport looking wrap frame.
I also tried the clear green Phantom lenses but they did scratch quite badly.
Are your current lenses polycarb? Polycarb is much softer than glass so will scratch much easier. The other option is to just trade down in price and replace monthly. I think scratches are just part of owning polycarb lenses.
When buying prescription lenses I was always asked whether I wanted coatings to e. g. make the lenses more scratch resistant and to cut UV light. It’s a clear upsell, but you definitely want the scratch resistant coating. In my experience, lenses have always been more expensive than the frame.
The company making the frame is wholly independent from the company making the lenses, and the shop where you are buying your glasses typically offers lenses from 1–2 makers. It depends on where you buy your glasses, but I have had good luck with Zeiss lenses and Nikon lenses. Hoya lenses were a step down. I don’t remember the maker of the lenses in my cycling glasses, but they are pretty great, too. I’d totally change shop if I am not happy with the lenses.
As far as glass vs. polycarbonate is concerned, glass is only an option if you have a weak prescription and a frame that supports them. Glass lenses are a lot heavier, and I haven’t seen people with glass lenses in years.
Lastly, cleaning. What works best is water and soap. Then wipe off the lenses with clean paper towels. You should be careful wiping with your T-shirt or so, you can either smear a film of sweat on it or scratch your lenses if a grain of sand has found its way in between the shirt and the lenses.
Just to make it clear, NEVER wear glasses with glass lenses for any sport that could involve being hit in the face, which includes any form of cycling especially mtb.
Any decent glasses store will glaze any brand of frame you want with any brand of lens you want. Them staying on is a combination of fit, which a good shop (don’t buy on-line) will be able to advise on, and materials. My last pair were Boss branded and whatever they were made of was like Teflon, even in everyday wear they would fall off and when I was running or cycling the sweat just made it worse.
Looks like they’re online only, whereas a decent shop will have staff that can adjust the arms to the shape of your ears and head for a rock solid fit.
No, I carry a bottle of water and rinse my glasses, when lenses are cleaned with anti-fog before gping out for a ride the water just beads off. Carrying a microfiber is pointless unless you have a way to clean your hands as well because of cross contamination with grit and dirt.
I wear -10 rx single vision lenses with high index lenses which come as standard with anti-glare and scratch resistant, coating, I’ve never had a problem with scratches. Do you really need progressive lenses for running and cycling could you get a second pair with single vision lenses?
But for what it’s worth, I have Oakley OX8076 Crosslink Zero which I use on and off the bike. Not nearly as firm for sport as the Oakley Half Jacket, but good enough for sport and only mildly dramatic for the office.
I use them everyday; running, riding, work and play. Unless it’s sunny then I use half jackets. They will slip more than the half jackets, but not falling off like non-sport glasses.
I use whatever one-up-from-not-coated coating the glasses providers sell.
Have you ever seen the 60 Minutes on Luxotica? Totally worth a watch if you want your mind blown on how f’d up the glasses industry is. The TLDR version is this… damn near every frame and lense you buy comes from one company, that also owns the stores you’re likely to buy them at and have your eye exam done at, as well as the eye insurance you probably have.
I’m on my second pair of ROKA glasses in about 4 years and I haven’t had a scratch on them. I have trivex lenses. I’ll echo what others have said - the lenses have nothing to do with the frames mfg wise. I’ve noticed that different sellers may offer different lens options but I think trivex is pretty common. Generally speaking, I don’t wear them riding. Perhaps just a bit for small errands, etc, but definitely not serious road or mtb riding.
Perhaps you should seek out people that wear trivex AND wear them riding.
That is interesting. As an aside, I asked ROKA about the Trivex lenses and if I should be specifying those instead of their standard lenses (I have 4 pair of ROKA). Their response is that they are shipping me a brand new pair at no charge. AMAZING service!
But they all have survived my best attempts to ruin them. Good luck…