I need some light reactive glasses. The ones I've tried so far - Tifosi and Endura - don't go anywhere near dark enough for me.
And I'm special. I've got an eye problem. My right eye is more open than my left due to facial nerve problems that mean the right side of my face droops, so the eye lets lots of light in.
I have a pair of Tifosi Pave multi-lens glasses and the dark lenses are just about right for this country in summer for me. Ideally the light reactive lenses would go from clear to Pave dark.
Anyone got any ideas on whether light reactive lenses are rated to how dark they go? Or which glasses have the widest spread of light to dark?
They don't work at all in many cars as the windscreen filters out whatever is needed to make them tint!
I'm not sure about different brands but the specialized roady ones go darker than the mtb ones so might be worth a look..
I've got some of the Oakley Clear Black Iridium ones and they go pretty dark, darker than either of the Specialized tints of yore (not tried the Endura or Tifosi). According to Oakley they go to 10% transmission - which puts them on par with their darkest 'normal' lenses. I wear mine at night too the other way.
They're not cheap though, you're welcome to borrow mine (in Jawbones) if you want to try a pair for a bit!
If you are having transition type lenses you can specify how dark you want them to start which influences how dark they end up.
My personal choice for the past 8 years or so have been Opti labs glasses and lenses, they are the fastest changing 'transition type' lenses I have experienced and are fast both ways as some can be very slow to lighten up. they are very durable and a reasonable price for single prescription lenses too. Style wise, yeah they aint got the design or name of Oakley etc but they are just as good (I have got Oakleys too)but they do some models with straight arms too (which again I personally prefer as I find them more comfortable).
http://www.optilabs.com/site/prods.php?pfid=0,8,11
The Rudy project photochromic clear don't go dark enough for me... their dark or mirror lenses are much better but I do have a sensitivity to bright light - (vampire?)
I have Persimmon to Black Iridium Oakley lenses. The "dark" setting is about 10%, as per njee's post above, and is more than dark enough for pretty much anything I've encountered so far! (Including use in the Caribbean, and on high Alpine snowfields on bluebird days)
On the flipside, the Persimmon is ace on a wet October afternoon in Swinley. 😉
I've just ordered a pair of Oakleys with my prescription on a brown transitions lense. I don't want to have to wear contacts for biking, which is what I had done in the past and wanted a do it all lense to avoid the cost of different prescription lenses for different light levels etc (how much!).
I found this document useful in terms of understanding the darkness of the lenses and reaction times...as said above it takes a lot longer for them to lighten up!
[url= http://trade.transitions.com/AboutTransitions/Documents/Transitions_VI_technotes%5B1%5D.pdf ]Tranistions Tech Notes[/url]
They do have a pretty good range of tint, from almost clear to pretty dark though. I live in Scotland and sometimes riding in the day you need some pretty clear lenses - let alone riding in the evening or even at night.
I've got Optilabs lenses/glasses and they go dark enough for skiing in bright sunlight, so that's pretty dark.
Thanks for all the responses. Lots to think about.
Are there more than one type of Reactive lens for Oakleys? Transitions, Clear to Black, Clear to Persimmon. Confused...
njee20 ygm.
Oakley do seven different light reactive lenses! Have a peek at the photochromatic section over here:
[url= http://uk.oakley.com/innovation/optical-superiority/lens-tints ]http://uk.oakley.com/innovation/optical-superiority/lens-tints[/url]
I've got some VR50 Transitions which work very well, if you want them to go really dark though I don't think you'll find some which start off completely clear (yet)...
THE BEST transition lens for darkness you can get at the moment is a Transition extra active, it is ONLY available in grey atm and is also the ONLY lens that works partially (about 50% of ouside)in a car.
One of the online labs or an independant opticians will be able to give you more details/ prices.
If you want any more info PM me.
The specialized arc 2 glasses come in two different flavours, MTB and road.
The road version are much darker with a huge sweep in shade. They look stupid on, but function fare better than any other cycling glasses ive used.