Here is a transcript of a chat we had with a customer today that may help you better understand all the lens material and technology we offer on our site:
shannen: Hi, How can I help you today?
Visitor: Hi - I have a few questions. I am confused about the presciption lens options. I wonder if you could help me understand the order form and my options
shannen: sure. What are you confused about?
Visitor: I know that I want to order my sons sports goggles - Morpheus III in a transitions brown or amber polycarbonate leans. I would like to do some upgrades but it is hard to determine what combinations there are and how to order them
Visitor: First- I see options for colors Anber #1, Amber #2, AMber #3, etc. Does this apply to any polycarb lens including trivex or NXT or free form?
shannen: Don't want to add tints. These are already included in the transitions lenses. They apply to all lens materials but no need if you are doing transitions. You'd want to pick Transitions Brown (amber not available in Transitions).
Visitor: Are photochromic lenses also already tinted - do tey act like sunglasses that get darker?
shannen: They will be clear indoors and at night and tinted outdoors in the sun
Visitor: I am interested in either transitions or photochromic then, don't really know the difference. I want to get the goggles with a clear accuity all around the lens, like a free form technology or hoya - what am I looking at in terms of transistions versus photochromic then, and with these options which will allow for antiglare best
shannen: Transitions is the name brand for the photochromic lens we use so they are one in the same.
shannen: So the least distortion in the lens would be Trivex material.
shannen: So you'd want Trivex Transitions Brown
Visitor: How does free form come into play then?
shannen: As far as free form, that is just the manufacturing process of how the lenses are made.
shannen: Traditional lenses just come premade with the power in them and then they are cut to shape.
Visitor: the trivex leses?
Visitor: What is then the difference between NXt and free from and trixex?
shannen: Free form lenses start with no prescription and a computer generates a map of the prescription on to the lens. This results in better overall viewing area. With traditional lenses, the prescription is only accurate dead center of the lens and then the power changes throughout the lens. with free form lenses, you get a wider area that has the dead on prescription.
shannen: The Trivex is the lens material. NXT is a brand name for a specific Trivex lens.
shannen: I know it is a little confusing.
shannen: If you want the Free Form technology, I would go with the NXT Photochromic Brown.
shannen: If you don't want the Free Form technology, go with the Trivex Transitions Brown.
Visitor: Ok- its becoming clearer- can I get this with antiglare?
shannen: yes
shannen: Any of those options you can get the AR coating.
Visitor: Is this likely to scratch? the last ar coating he had got scratched up a lot
Visitor: Is there an antiglare technology where they set it into the lens, or is that going to cause me more problems
shannen: If you get a higher end coating, they hold up better but do scratch if not taken care of well. We sell a medium end coating and we do offer the high end ones. .They are $100 but don't think we have them on the site. Only in store but no reason why we can't add it. The problem with AR in a sports environment is that they have to be kept clean which is hard to do with dust, etc. Otherwise, they make glare worse.
Visitor: Yes- thats whats happening. What is polarization?
shannen: glare filter for horizontal glare, mostly effective on water or other high glare surfaces. Only available as a sunglass only so won't go clear.
shannen: I have to step out for a second. Be right back.
Visitor: ok
shannen: ok I'm back
Visitor: I see on your site that it the prescriptions read "tints included in polarized and photo lenses" and then several tints are listed including the ambers and different browns for $25 extra Does this apply to me if I were to order teh NXT photochromic lenses?
Visitor: Also, I see an option NXT polarized photochromic brown (50%-90%) - so these will look like sunglasses all the time?
shannen: No, the tint is already included on the photochromic lenses so you don't want to add a tint to it or it won't change to clear for indoor/night use.
Visitor: Oh Ok
shannen: The photo polarized lenses means that the lightest they get is 50% of the light coming through so they will always be like a sunglass
Visitor: HEre's another one...What is the difference between the free form trivex transitions and the nxt photochromic?
shannen: Nothing really. The NXT is just a brand name of a trivex material.
shannen: Transitions is another brand for a photochromic lens.
Visitor: So they do use the free form technology?
shannen: Yes, NXT only uses the Free form technology.
Visitor: ok - you have helped so much so quickly- I think I understand now that I want the NXT photochromic brown goggles and that they do not come in an amber (right?) and that if I were to get and antiglare I would need to get the coating and cant do the a polarized and photochromic/transitions lens thta starts clear ?
shannen: No amber in photochromic. There is two things on the glare. An anti-glare coating like you have on the regular glasses is designed for clear lenses to let more light in. Basically, on an uncoated lens, about 9% of the light is reflected off the lens in the form of glare. The Anti-reflective coating allows 99% of the light through that lens minimizing that reflective glare.
shannen: Polarized is completely different. Polarization is not a coating. It is a filter that is sandwiched between the lenses. It only works on a dark lens so it will not be clear. It specifically targets horizontal glare off reflective surfaces, not off the lens like the AR coating does. So it is used by fisherman often as it lets you see straight through the water.
Visitor: I am looking to block the glare form the sun and artifical lights on the field - this has been a big problem with glasses he wears
shannen: Ok glare from the sun would be a polarized lens but it wouldn't be clear at night or indoors. You'd need a separate pair if he plays at night or indoors. Glare from artificial lights would be helped by the Anti-reflective coating as that is light that is bouncing of the glasses. It can also be helped with a slight yellow or brown tint but only a level 1 tint as it helps to filter the blue light emitted from the stadium lighting.
