Perscription glasses/sunglasses transition options

[Odin21]

I have searched through several threads on eyewear and have not found this discussed but if I missed it somewhere please let me know.

I wear glasses because the "E" on the eye chart looks like a dark blob. I have deployed once to Iraq and am getting ready to go to Afghanistan. Does anyone else have issues transitioning from glasses to sunglasses and what have your solutions been? I never even thought about the issue until we were doing urban training and I stacked on the door, entered the room, and then could not see squat because it was much darker in the room than outside and I still had on my Rx sunglasses. It took me several seconds of standing there looking like an idiot trying to get my ballistics off (with the nerd strap on under my ACH) and change into normal glasses so I could see inside. The other issue that I still have not quite resolved is sunglasses and glasses in a PT uniform. I don't think that you are supposed to leave your glasses on your head and wear your sunglasses, you can't just hang your glasses on your T-shirt like in civilian clothes, I was told that I cannot mount a glasses case to my combat glow belt, etc. The other solution is simply to carry them in your hand everywhere you go, but that limits your options of being able to carry anything else and still be able to salute, open a door, etc. I would have never thought there was this much going into having two pair of glasses, but I was mistaken evidently. The good news is that I am sure that I am not the first guy to run into this issue. Any ideas or personal past experience is greatly appreciated.

The reason that I posted this in the "Professional Gear" forum is that I saw some removable UV lens covers a long time ago and was wondering if anyone knew what they were. It was a pair of clear lens ballistics that could have the Rx inserts but had different color "films" for lack of a better phrase that stuck on the outside of the ballistics. You could have the "smoke" sticker on and when you went to go inside or it got dark it just peeled off and was supposedly very reusable. This seems like a beautiful solution, but I don't know who made them, if they were any good, etc.

The other option that I have seen and considered is simply replacing the "smoke" issued lens with a yellow one Sawfly or ICE have. It is my understanding that yellow is not really authorized even though they conform to the same safety rating, but some of the guys in my unit have them and no one has said anything because yellow allows you UV protection outside but still allows you to see inside. Is that correct?

Thank you all for your time and advice.

[Razor]

Have you considered flip-ups?

http://www.fishusa.com/Cocoons-Flip-...glasses_p.html

[Papa Zero Three]

Take a look at Liquid Eyewear's Hellfire model. Not only do they do Rx, they do transitions that are also ANSI rated. Call and ask them about them as they are a military specific model and don't show up on the website. Something to keep in mind is that there isn't a ANSI rated transition lens out there thats gonna go from dark to light the moment you walk into a dark room, they all take varying amounts of time to lighten despite what some marketing may lead you to believe. Also keep in mind that any transition lens that also includes an in frame Rx is gonna cost more than your average sunglasses. With that said, I think you will be hard pressed to find a better and more durable pair of Rx sunglasses that are 100% made in the USA and come with a unconditional warranty.

[TF Kilo]

I too concur with the fact that Transition lenses won't swap quickly between dark and light.

If you want to keep eyepro on, then you'll need to just "deal" with swapping at the LCC between your sunglasses and your clear lenses.

If you wear the strap for your dark lenses under your bucket you can just yank them down and let them hang out since they won't be going anywhere. Or, have a "various BS pouch" and wear your dark lenses with earpieces.

I used one of these:

http://www.tacticaltailor.com/pouche...-purpose-pouch

and it was easy enough to unsnap, put my dark lenses earpieces down, close the flap and re-secure. My clear lenses would sit in the same spot.

[Guymullins]

I had a ongoing problem out in the field, in that I like to look through binoculars and telescopic sights without any sunglass or prescription lens in between. However, I need to use PX lenses now to see at long range. My shooting experience became a juggling joke . Between using the binoculars to find the prey, then dropping the binos and putting on the PX glasses to follow it, then taking them off to shoot, it was often noisy and clumsy. A pair of clip on PX tinted glasses, with no glass in the spectacle itself enables me to instantly convert to bare-eye for magnification from PX tinted. If you like to shoot with PX, then your spectacle has clear PX and the flip-up is simply tinted. A great improvement would be a spring-mounted flip-up that you could actuate with a press of a button on the side of the spectacle, but I cant find an oculist who can do this for me.

[The Reaper]

I would recommend taking off the sunglasses and putting on your clear eye pro prior to CQBing.

Do you really need the sunglasses for a medical condition?

What is your MOS?

Is your unit going to be doing a lot of clearing?

Have you considered corrective eye surgery by the Army?

Just a few thoughts.

TR

[Ambush Master]

Originally Posted by Papa Zero Three

Take a look at Liquid Eyewear's Hellfire model. Not only do they do Rx, they do transitions that are also ANSI rated. Call and ask them about them as they are a military specific model and don't show up on the website. Something to keep in mind is that there isn't a ANSI rated transition lens out there thats gonna go from dark to light the moment you walk into a dark room, they all take varying amounts of time to lighten despite what some marketing may lead you to believe. Also keep in mind that any transition lens that also includes an in frame Rx is gonna cost more than your average sunglasses. With that said, I think you will be hard pressed to find a better and more durable pair of Rx sunglasses that are 100% made in the USA and come with a unconditional warranty.

I wear Liquid "Gaskets/w RX Inserts" for jumping (Sport Type) and they are GREAT. I did have a problem on a sunrise load a few months ago. As we climbed to altitude, it got brighter and brighter. The Transition Lenses kept up with the ascent rate, but when we left the aircraft the rate of descent was way faster than the lenses could adjust to. Basically I went from glaring sunlight rapidly into darkness!! After opening, everything was OK until it came down to landing. I had ZERO depth of field because the lenses were still so dark and I flaired really high and just sank in!! A friend that I jumped with videoed my landing and you can hear crickets in the audio, it was that dark still!!

Transitions are OK for a natural sunrise or set, but they are really too slow for anything else!!

Later
Martin

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Ambush Master

.........Transitions are OK for a natural sunrise or set, but they are really too slow for anything else!!

Later
Martin

I thought Transitions sounded pretty cool and got a pair years ago. They're fine for casual in and outs of buildings but I like the others here found them too slow to transition when you're working. I replaced them after a year.

Oddly enough, I'm starting to like my balistic yellow shooting glasses more and more as "all rounders". They work well in all light levels - except bright noon time levels and can really crisp up contrast in the mornings, evenings and fog/rain.