Progressive Lenses vs Trifocals vs Bifocals for Woodworking

[Andrew Joiner]

I wear polycarbonate bifocals set for arms length/computer focus and distance on top. For 20 years now I see best from 6" to 14" with no glasses so I take them off in the shop a lot. It's a lot of off and on and I have no protection without glasses on. I'm thinking trifocals may be best for me.
I have trouble reading labels over a store countertop lately. Do trifocals give you clear focus from 6' out to 10'?

In another thread people report no straight lines thru progressive lenses.
What type of lenses work best for you ?

[Tony Leonard]

Ahh, a subject fresh on my mind! I am 53'ish and just got my first pair of progressive lenses. What I have found is that the close up part is very small and I have to really aim well to use it. I was tempted to try bifocals since I rarely need the real close up part. I keep a couple of pairs of $10 readers from Target and I bought a pair of clip-ons from Amazon that work well. So, no answer for you, but to share that I have tried several things and still figuring out what works for me. I really don't like the progressives for driving. I use my 'single' vision glasses for that. Its a very subjective thing though. My doc said it would take a while to get used to whatever. I believe that to be true. I admit that it gets very frustrating switching between multiple glasses when working. My wife is an artist. Our doc made her a special pair for painting. They figured out what her normal distance was to the canvas and he made glasses for that. They work pretty well for her, but she's still iffy about them.
I even tried stick on readers that I applied to my safety glasses (small lenses). They were ok, but I think I prefer the clip-ons. What gets me is aligning a knife mark to a blade with one lens, then having to flip or whatever to make the cut! Good luck - let us know if you figure out any good tricks! Funny, I didn't realize how bad it was until I tried the readers! What a difference!

Tony

[Andrew Joiner]

Tony, what brand of progressive lens did you get? Is it a HD high def lens?
thanks

[Tony Leonard]

Hmmm, I don't know!

[Paul F Franklin]

I think a lot depends on your particular eyes and type/amount of correction required. I would think your eye doctor could give you personalized advice.
I've worn glasses since before kindergarten and am fairly nearsighted with astigmatism. I switched to progressive lenses 10 or more years ago and have no trouble focusing from about 8-10 inches to infinity. Only rarely do I find myself consciously altering the the angle of my head to use a different part of the lens; normally it seems completely natural and automatic.
I buy my glasses online from Zenni so it's not like they are some super duper lenses either.

I think one important factor is the size (height) of the lenses. Mine are about 1.25 inches high in the center. If you go with larger lenses, I think the focal range is spread out a little more which might be an advantage if you have a wide spread of correction. On the other hand, with smaller lenses you are only make a slight shift in the angle of your head to shift focus a lot. Something else to discuss with Doc.

I do not consider my glasses eye protection, however, as they are not impact rated even though they are polycarbonate, and don't have side shields of any kind. So I always wear goggles or a face shield when working in the shop.

[Carl Beckett]

Whatever I have in my regular glasses I duplicate for safety glasses, so its a fair question.

Essentially I have bifocals now. Tried the progressive lenses at the advice of my doc and others, and did not like them at all. They require you to move your entire head a certain direction (up and down) to look through the part of the lense to focus on that particular distance. What I realized is that I tend to move my eyes without moving my head. So that means looking through the wrong part of the lense and blurry vision.

And example of this might be going down stairs. I dont look down at the stairs by tilting my head, I simply look down using my eyes. That doesnt work with progressives.

That was just me, after wearing them about 6 weeks I ditched them and went back to my regular lenses.

Other people I know have them and absolutely love them.

So my suggestion is to try them out first.

[Scott Brader]

I've worn progressive lenses for many years (I am currently 57). I love them. It took me a few days to get used to them, but I quickly got to the point where I didn't feel like I had to think about where I was looking through the lens. The only issue with mine is that I take them off while I'm at my computer because I noticed that my head is at an awkward angle when looking at the screen for a long time (I am on the computer pretty much all day). I would recommend them based on my experience.

Scott

[Brett Luna]

I can't comment on trifocals but I do wear progressives. At my day job which requires a lot of computer work, the progressives required me to tilt my head at an uncomfortable angle in order to see the monitors clearly, so I had a pair of single vision specs made with the power set for the distance to my monitors. I did something similar to reduce the cost of my shop glasses. I had The Wife measure my most common working distances and came up with an all-around number for single vision safety glasses. This works out well for the majority of power tool operations but not so much for say, chiseling to a knife line. It's got me thinking about a bifocal arrangement, with the basic 'scrip being like my current single vision specs, with a bifocal power for closer work. I don't need need clear distance vision as much in the shop...just clear enough.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

I wear polycarbonate bifocals set for arms length/computer focus and distance on top. For 20 years now I see best from 6" to 14" with no glasses so I take them off in the shop a lot. It's a lot of off and on and I have no protection without glasses on. I'm thinking trifocals may be best for me.
I have trouble reading labels over a store countertop lately. Do trifocals give you clear focus from 6' out to 10'?

In another thread people report no straight lines thru progressive lenses.
What type of lenses work best for you ?

I only started to need glasses from my 46 and since then I had to adjust to my "new condition". A few years later I defined my policy towards glasses:



For some activities, each time less and less, I do not need glasses, so I don't use them
I have a single fixed focal glasses for reading (I think they are focused at around 30 cm)
I also have a dedicated single focal glasses for computer use as I have a big screen in my home workstation (these one is focused at around 60 cm)
For most activities I use my multi continuous focal (progressive?) glasses. including to use laptop, drive and work at workshop


I am comfortable with these three glasses but I do not believe it is the best solution for all. My mother, as an example, prefers to use a single pair of glasses for all... each one at his/her own.

[Warren Lake]

carpenter went on a number of times about how great they were and I should get them. It stopped when he cut through a finger, they changed his depth perception.

I need something just never sorted out just what is right. One day visiting a car restorer friend with my mom he had five pair of glasses all lined up in different strengths. My mom thought it was funny, at 93 she can read without reading glasses. Wish I could say the same.

[Wade Lippman]

I started wearing glasses when I was 35 and went to progressives when I was 45. I just took to them immediately; some people don't.

For shop glasses I wear computer glasses made out of Trivex. I can't wear polycarbonate; the color fringes are maddening. Doesn't bother most people.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Safety glasses. #1.
I use progressives, I like not having that line that you can't see through, where the stair steps normally appear when I look through them.
Your condition kind of confuses me. I'm not an eye expert. If you can see best 6 to 10 inches, that's reading range and bifocals/trifocals wont help. For me I can't see in that range, and while I can get by seeing "close" things I can't see things reading distance close, so off the shelf safety bifocals work best. No stairs in the shop.......

[Wayne Lomman]

I have been wearing glasses for over 50 years. I always needed them for distance but for the last 10 years I have changed to progressives through necessity. They work very well other than when I am under the car with my head wedged at the wrong distance and nowhere else to put it but that is the kind of job I try to avoid anyway.

For those who have to kink your head at a funny angle to make progressives work, they have been done wrong. Get them fixed. With glasses you get what you pay for. Buy cheap and you get rubbish that doesn't work. You also get low skilled practitioners who aren't the greatest at getting your fit and prescription right. For glasses to work they need to be the correct prescription as well as correct fit, positioning and alignment, especially if you have astigmatism or need multi vision/progressive lenses. Many of the problems described above are from wrong fitting or testing. If they don't work as promised, go back and get them fixed. Its what we would all do if we bought a machine that didn't work. I had one optometrist fit new glasses and I fell over the step on the way out of the building. When I went back to say they are wrong, he said,"You have never had them before, you will get used to it." I said no, this is not my first pair, its just the first time I have seen you. He grudgingly did a re test and they had cut the lenses 10mm off centre. They changed them and the problem vanished.

With glasses for the shop, don't waste money on fancy coatings. They don't help other than make your wallet lighter to carry around.

In general, don't put off getting glasses. The longer you leave it, the harder it is to get used to the big change. Same goes for hearing aids. Cheers

[Gary Radice]

I will agree with Wayne, and add a couple of suggestions. One is to tell your optician what you want your glasses to do. Tell him or her what distances are most important for you to see clearly. "Near" could be 12 inches or 16 inches or 24 inches or something else. Same for "middle." My last pair worked great but my most recent pair requires me to get too close to see near objects clearly and too far away for middle distance. That can be fixed.

Another suggestion for shop glasses is that you can have them made to accommodate for close vision while looking up as well as down. Like if you find yourself working overhead with something close (under a car or other machine, for example, or working on a ceiling). My shop glasses are trifocals with close accommodation above and below. I don't like the lines and prefer progressives for general use but in the shop the close accommodation while looking up is very handy.

[kent wardecke]

Tony, what brand of progressive lens did you get? Is it a HD high def lens?
thanks

I saw that marketing but what exactly are "hi def" or "digital" lenses?

[kent wardecke]

I'm 51 and went from needing glasses just for distance then progressives and now I need glasses all the time. 1 thing I HATE about progressives is climbing on a ladder. I've missed a step more than once.
I'd like to try traditional bifocals close up tho read the tape then the distance to the table

[Tom Blank]

I have been wearing progressive lenses for well over 20 years, prior to that traditional bifocals. Progressives took some getting used to as the "sweet spot" is smaller and you do have to move your head to more closely align with what you are focusing on instead of just shifting your eyes. It will make you nuts for a while, but your brain figures it out and you don't have to think about it. I would not ever go back to bifocals.

I use more hand than power tools and have two sets of these Optivisors, one set for close up detail work and one good when working closer to arms length. http://www.doneganoptical.com/products/optivisor. (http://www.doneganoptical.com/products/optivisor) They make mid range and close up work much easier.

TB
(http://www.doneganoptical.com/products/optivisor)

[Ed Gibbons]

I wear progressives and for eye protection I use a full face shield. Best thing I ever did. I don’t even know it’s on and obviously it protects the full face.

[Andrew Joiner]

I saw that marketing but what exactly are "hi def" or "digital" lenses?
From reviews I've read they are an improved progressive lens from the technology of 20 years ago. I tried progressives back then and they didn't work as good as bifocals for me. The HD lens makers now say you get a bigger viewing area and straight lines appear straight. My optician friend gets to try all the latest expensive HD stuff. He wears the basic varilux comfort because can't see any better thru the more expensive lenses.

[Lee Schierer]

Nearly 15 years ago I switched to progressive lenses when my Optometrist suggested that I needed tri-focals. I purchased Zeiss progressive lenses because they had a much wider middle channel and bifocal area than any other lenses on the market at the time. They were not a cheap date. I took to them immediately. I wouldn't switch back to a bifocal for anything. I know several people that have purchased progressive lenses from the discount eyeglasses places and very few of them have been happy with what they have been given. This is a case of you get what you pay for. If the optometrist doesn't measure your eye spacing and centers accurately the progressives won't work properly. I can work close, or far and anywhere in between just by tilting my head slightly.

[James Pallas]

I’ve been wearing trifocals since the eighties. I tried progressives and couldn’t get along with them. I worked closely with the doctor and figured out where the lenses needed to be. It seems that every time I need new glasses I’m seeing a different doctor and they always want to lower the lense placement. The middle lense is higher than most. I can drive and look ahead just fine and don’t have to move my head to check the gauges. I can work at the bench and look up to reach a tool on the back of the bench and look down and go back to work not having to do head adjustments. It took some work to get it right. Work with the doctor to get it right and don’t accept the “average” cookie cutter placement. I guess the lense people don’t like to change their grinding set up. The progressives had me looking like a bobble head to get focused on anything. They may work just fine for others so I’m not condemning them.
Jim

[Bill Space]

I have been wearing progressive lenses for 20+ years and like them for normal use. My eyesight is very much like Andrew’s.

But for close-up viewing, I much prefer bifocals. I can see close up with my bifocals as well as I can see with my glasses off. Much better than with my progressive lens safety glasses.

One pair of safety glasses I have has a bifocal lens across the top and the bottom. At first I didn’t like them but now they are my go to glasses when I want to do work that requires me to lock both up and down at things that are close.

Thought I would mention this option for consideration. Not sure how common this type of glasses are...

Bill

[roger wiegand]

I tried regular bifocals once and they made me crazy, so it's been progressives for me for 25+ years now.

While I get my everyday glasses from the Costco and have been very happy with them (at 1/3 the cost of the local optometry shop) I've discovered the joys of what are referred to in the trade as "occupational lenses". It started with playing in the band, my street glasses weren't working for me at all. My optometrist made a set of lenses for me that were set for music stand distance in the bottom 75% of the lens and distance (ie the conductor) for the top 25%. Perfect! Then I got a pair of fishing sunglasses that were set for distance high and low, but had a narrow band of closeup in the lower middle-- that way I could see around me, see to tie on a fly, and also see the river bottom and my feet while walking. A good optometrist can do wonders if you have special needs-- don't expect the shop at the mall or the Costco to be able to do that though.

[glenn bradley]

Definitely one of those things that you can only decide for yourself. My personal make up doesn't do well with "soft focal areas". When I turn my head a certain way and look a certain direction I expect a certain result. This trait made bifocals a good choice and later, trifocals. My safety glasses are trifocals also with the largest far and mid focal areas they make. The near portion of the lens is a bit smaller than normal to allow this but, this 'near' area is only used for really close work.

I have tried "progressives" several times but, the narrow field of vision and variable focal result don't work well with my rather rigid personality type. I found myself swiveling my head a lot to get what I was looking at within the narrow column of the lens (and this column is much wider now than earlier versions of these lenses). My much-more-relaxed-in-life wife can't stand hard lines; they drive her nuts; too restrictive.

The good news is that any reputable optometrist will make you a set of progressives to try. If they work for you, great. If they don't the doc will make you a pair of hard-lines at no charge. If your doc balks at this, think about shopping around for a new O.D. Your eye doc's goal should be getting you the best result "for you" that is possible. :)

[Tim Bueler]

I've worn glasses for almost 50 yrs, aaaargh! I've become a multiple glasses person.

Main pair is distance on top, mid-range bifocal.

Most used in the shop is mid-range main lens w/ up-close (around 6" to 18" focus range) bifocal. Yes, I sacrifice distance vision in the shop but it is rarely bothersome. Far more convenient to have larger fields of view for those I use 99.9% of shop time. I also wear these when working on/under vehicles/equipment, and wear them upside down when working overhead. These aren't safety glasses per se, but they are the largest lenses I could find and are made of poly carbonate.

I also have a dedicated "computer" set of glasses. Same prescription as the up close I use in the shop.

I will opine the key to having multiple glasses is having dedicated places for them to rest when removed/changed.

I tried trifocals 30+ yrs ago and didn't like the small fields of view. I tried progressives at some point in time bit didn't care for those either...too much head movement for me.

I got all three of my most recent pairs at Costco for the same price the local optometrist (only one in the area) wanted for just one pair and they were much more pleasant to deal with.

[Andrew Joiner]

Definitely one of those things that you can only decide for yourself. My personal make up doesn't do well with "soft focal areas". When I turn my head a certain way and look a certain direction I expect a certain result. This trait made bifocals a good choice and later, trifocals. My safety glasses are trifocals also with the largest far and mid focal areas they make. The near portion of the lens is a bit smaller than normal to allow this but, this 'near' area is only used for really close work.

I have tried "progressives" several times but, the narrow field of vision and variable focal result don't work well with my rather rigid personality type. I found myself swiveling my head a lot to get what I was looking at within the narrow column of the lens (and this column is much wider now than earlier versions of these lenses). My much-more-relaxed-in-life wife can't stand hard lines; they drive her nuts; too restrictive.

The good news is that any reputable optometrist will make you a set of progressives to try. If they work for you, great. If they don't the doc will make you a pair of hard-lines at no charge. If your doc balks at this, think about shopping around for a new O.D. Your eye doc's goal should be getting you the best result "for you" that is possible. :)
Glenn,
So after your cataract surgery you still wear trifocals in the shop? I can really relate to your post above. Progressives drove me nuts but I might try them again with a more open mind.

Thanks for all your responses. Eyeglasses are my most valuable "tool" these days!

[rudy de haas]

It's going to depend on your eyeballs so I'd suggest discussing this with someone who has the appropriate credentials.

In my case (a report, not advice:) ) I have a weak eye and a strong one, have worn glasses since my 20s, and currently wear safety progressives. Everyone warned me that adjusting to progressives would be difficult but it wasn't. My sunglasses have the same prescription and I have never experienced any difficulty shifting from far to near focus or back again. On the other hand my wife claims she can clearly differentiate distances of 1/64th, I can't, so maybe I'm just fooling myself.

[David Helm]

I've been wearing tri focals for quite a few years. I like them best because the reading area is larger than the progressive.

[Lee Schierer]

Not all progressive lenses are the same with regard to the width of the vision fields for long, intermediate and close vision needs. Zeiss lenses have a much wider close and intermediate vision areas that most other progressive lenses. It makes all the difference in the ease of use.

[Greg R Bradley]

I can't imagine not using progressives but I did go through a bit of difficulty going from bifocals to progressives. It probably took a month to get to the point where I was convinced they were better. I did end up with full range progressives that are usable for distance and reading distance AND progressives that go from reading distance to about 5-6 feet for working in my office, shop, etc.
In reality, either are OK for most uses but the "inside" glasses aren't great for driving at night or trackdays or skiing or mountain biking down a hill at speed. The "outside" glasses require too much head movement when doing a lot of up close work. My "inside" glasses are made as safety glasses.

[roger wiegand]

Not all progressive lenses are the same with regard to the width of the vision fields for long, intermediate and close vision needs. Zeiss lenses have a much wider close and intermediate vision areas that most other progressive lenses. It makes all the difference in the ease of use.

I had the strong impression from my optometrist (and real examples, like my music stand glasses) that he could specify exactly how big each area was as well as where the transitions were and how quickly they transitioned and that the lab would grind them to his specification, without consideration for who made the lens blank. I have to admit that (having worn glasses for 65 years now) I didn't even know lenses were branded. I can't remember ever being offered a choice.

[Jack Frederick]

When I was a student pilot the Optometrist said, "Jack you kinda need to move to a bifocal." I said, "Nah, can't happen. I'll be fine." The following week I had my long cross country solo and by the time I got the sectional far enough to see it, the print was to small to read. Life is a humbling experience. I have now had progressives for the last 25 yrs or so, having worn glasses for 65. I like them and never having had a "bifocal" with the hard line I cannot compare. I am considering going to a pair of "Shop trifocals". I find that I get jammed up vision wise when I am doing position welds and just cannot get my head tipped to see what I need. With a Shop pair I would go with a taller lens than my day to days and perhaps have more room for the three zones. The problem with that is whenever you change glasses, even of the same prescription you kinda fish for the first step. It takes time for me to go from my clear lenses to my sun glasses and making the change regularly would I think become problematic especially around high speed sharp spinning metal. The other issue is with my prescription my glasses are generally in the $500-750 range so there seems to always be something in front of the shop glasses.

[Peter Christensen]

I've been wearing glasses since the mid sixties and hate them but your eyes are what they are. About a decade or so ago I started to need reading glasses so had two pairs for when I wasn't wearing contacts. About 5 years ago I got a pair of progressives that for average stuff is okay but like others I have to tip my head back too far to use the computer. A bad neck doesn't help matters. A few weeks ago when I was in for my annual check up my eye doctor had me try out 3 of the latest multifocal disposable contacts and after wearing them for 4 days each have selected the ones that are most comfortable (most expensive of course). They let me read phone book and see distance well. If I need anything better for very detailed closeup work I can put on cheap readers. In the shop everything is in focus no matter whether in is on the bench, ceiling or on a wall beside me. No having to tilt my head and no distortions. I can wear the full face respirator, safety glasses or shield as needed and I can buy normal sunglasses to do away with the prescription ones. I can even wear them snorkelling when I am on vacation. :D If you can wear contacts and can afford them the multifocal contact lenses are definitely worth considering.

[Jim Dwight]

I could never see well at a distance so I've been wearing glasses my whole life. Except for when I used contacts but those attempts were brief. Too much of a hassle. I'm 63 so I started not seeing as well close up around 10 years ago. I read best really close up without any glasses, I always have. But to see a computer on a desk, I need my glasses. I went straight to progressives, I never have used bifocals or trifocals. It took me a few days to adjust to progressive lens but they don't bother me now. Occasionally I cannot get my head at the right angle but otherwise I don't notice them much.

I used to go to Sears optical but they are gone. My next set will come from Walmart or the really cheap places. I haven't tried them yet. I've had good luck with Walmart glasses so I will probably just go there. The higher priced big name stores are all controlled by one company and they do not compete on price. Walmart is independent of them but that means they cannot sell many frames - because they are controlled by the one company.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Interesting read, I picked up a pair of tri-focal progressive safety glasses yesterday. It's my first time wearing any prescription glasses.

At 62 years old, I've managed to get by with cheap 1.5 readers for the past 10-15 years.

I have to say I'm struggling, regardless of the distance I am viewing. I seem to only have a very tiny portion of lens that will give me clear focus.

I'm typing this with my laptop on my lap about 15" away, If I look at the picture on the wall, 10' away, I'm still using the same portion of the lens, but naturally have to move my head. Go further and the upper portion which was for distance, is more blurry than what I see without the glasses on.

I've got 30 days to get them adjusted, so I'll give them a week or two just to see if I can get used to them.

[roger wiegand]

Time works wonders, the brain is astonishingly adaptive, In one well-known experiment done by George Stratton starting in the 1890's, volunteers (Stratton himself did it first) wore glasses that inverted their vision-- everything was upside down. After a few days people's visual cortex adapted and their perceived view flipped back to right side up. When they took the glasses off again it took a few days to revert to normal. (It turns out that the explanation may not be so simple and it may be a change in how the volunteers perceived their body in space rather than any change in vision) Anyway, it takes several days (8 in Stratton's case) to adapt to even profound distortions of vision, likewise for different kinds of bifocals. In my case I gave up way before enough time had passed to adapt to lined bifocals because the adaptation to progressives was, for me, nearly instant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Stratton

[Rich Engelhardt]

Progressives.
Had bifocals, switched about 30 years ago.

Shop, computer, job site - off the rack $2.00 reading glasses - 1.75 to 2.25- depending on what I'm doing. Matter of fact, Menards has them on sale for the next day or so. $4.97 with a $4.97 rebate.

P.S. - - best invention in the eyeglass world in the last 100 years is Transition lenses - - I LOVE THEM!!! Too bad they're so expensive. I just got two pairs of new gasses, but, only got Transitions in one set because of the cost.

[Andrew Joiner]

I had the strong impression from my optometrist (and real examples, like my music stand glasses) that he could specify exactly how big each area was as well as where the transitions were and how quickly they transitioned and that the lab would grind them to his specification, without consideration for who made the lens blank. I have to admit that (having worn glasses for 65 years now) I didn't even know lenses were branded. I can't remember ever being offered a choice.

One optician I trust the most has tried several top brands but mostly Varilux and Zeiss. He would love to provide me the best vision available. He says the Varilux Comfort what works the best for most people and recommends them for me. It's also the lowest cost of all the progressives he sells. He sells the more expensive versions of Varilux and Zeiss but tells me "lens makers make a lot of claims". He's not found the claims true and has tried them.

Unfortunately the consumer can't test eyeglass lenses without commiting time and money. I've used Zenni for years now and been happy. This time I'm ready to "pay up" and get better vision, but my local opticians aren't to inspiring. They offer lens price ranges of $300 to $600. But if even the"deluxe lenses" don't work for you there's no refund. They only offer to make you a pair of $100 bifocals and call it good. Zenni is much lower cost and gives you a 50% refund or 100% store credit if your unhappy.

Roger,
Sounds like you have custom lenses. I'd love to know what brand the lenses are.

[roger wiegand]

I'm leaving for a month in Italy tomorrow, so won't be able to call and ask what they were for a while. I don't know if the music glasses have anything engraves on them. I can't see anything on my regular glasses, but then I have to take them off to look and everything is fuzzy :D

[Andrew Joiner]

Thanks Roger, have fun in Italy.

[Chris Fournier]

My last four pair of glasses have been progressives and I believe that the optometrist referred to the lenses that we chose as "Bosch Lenses". We picked the distance that I wanted correction in and built lenses around that. I've found that the more lense area from top to bottom that you have the better the progression works. I can see a sparrow's knee cap from 50 yards but I have a hard time with 64ths on my etched rulers...

[Wayne Cannon]

After switching from contacts to glasses because I needed different focal lengths for various tasks, like reading, and contacts just don't do a great job at that.

After consulting with my ophthalmologist, I decided on bi-focals with a wide reading lens (I'm not worried about the more visible line others might see than with the narrower field of view) for their crisper focus over a wide range, like the width of a notebook page. It takes about a week to get used to bi-focals -- primarily going down stairs. Now, I have to search to find the dividing line. It pays to work with your optomotrist to get the dividing line in the right place -- e.g., top of the dashboard when driving, for me -- otherwise it is a little annoying. I made three adjustments several weeks apart, but haven't modified that measurement in the last 25 years.

I suspect that progressives are a lot like bi-focals, in that your brain gets used to them and you change you head position to whatever is necessary without even thinking about it. However, in talking with folk that STARTED WITH BI-FOCALS and moved to progressives, none were as happy with the visual acuity of progressives compared with bi-focals. They switched either 1) for cosmetic reasons, so people didn't view them as having "granny glasses", or 2) they were finding a need for something between the reading and distance lenses and didn't want to go for tri-focals.

I was getting to where I needed tri-focals, primarily to read the shelf labels at the grocery store 4 feet away. However, after cateract surgery, I barely need glasses for anything, but the readers are still helpful for reading and in the shop, so I've stuck with the bi-focals. Before that, my optomotrist suggested that I consider my head position when I thought I needed tri-focals and we decided that the best would be an additional separate lens AT THE TOP of my regular lens instead of immediately above my reading lens (like a double bi-focal, top and bottom). That surprised me, but it really made the most sense.

Like many here, I use separate full-frame computer glasses for computer use so I don't get aches from tilting my head backwards to read the computer screen.

[Peter Christensen]

Wayne did you try the multifocal contacts? I find them to be great and much better than the multifocal from a few years back. Optometrists here will happily give you a trial pack of 5 days worth of lenses in several brands to try out over a few weeks to see which if any you like. Especially nice to have Daily lenses you can toss each day again.

[Andrew Joiner]

I suspect that progressives are a lot like bi-focals, in that your brain gets used to them and you change you head position to whatever is necessary without even thinking about it. However, in talking with folk that STARTED WITH BI-FOCALS and moved to progressives, none were as happy with the visual acuity of progressives compared with bi-focals. They switched either 1) for cosmetic reasons, so people didn't view them as having "granny glasses", or 2) they were finding a need for something between the reading and distance lenses and didn't want to go for tri-focals.

Thanks Wayne.I can relate.
I just got new progressives and bifocals in identical frames to test out. I can report the new digital free-form progressive lenses don't work for me. Just like the non digital free-form progressives I tried 18 years ago. The new bifocals do work better than my old RX bifocals for the 5' to 10' range, however the reading and distance is not as sharp. My eye DR says the new bifocals and progressives are made properly to my new RX and suggests wearing them for a month.

[Mike King]

Sorry the progressives are not working for you. I must wear contact lenses due to Keraconitius of my corneas. For near vision, I need reading glasses. Using the reading glasses really was a problem for me, as I could only see near or far distances, but not in between. And sometimes I'd get double visions from looking over/under at stuff. When I got progressive reading glasses, it solved all the problems and I can see everything! There's no way I'd go back.

Hope that giving it a go for a month fixes your issues.

Mike