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Ask HN: Prescription glasses which optimize function over fashion

2 points by 01001010 9y ago

Traditional glasses appear to prioritize looks over function. I am not a professional optician, but I imagine a pair of glasses which optimize function over form to meet at least some of the following criteria: - Large lens to maximize field-of-view - Cup-shaped lens to optimize distance from eye at all angles - Thin shafts to enable lying in bed and using headphones - Minimal sized frame (although should be mostly outside of field-of-view anyway) - Light Price and design are irrelevant. Contacts is, unfortunately, not an option. Are there are any such glasses available? Is my assessment wrong?

PaulHoule 9y ago
You have to balance one thing against another. I like a large lens in that I get a wide field of view. I have a very strong prescription, thus large lenses curve through a lot of solid angle, thus no matter what angle you look at me from there is a strong reflection that obscures my eyes. It makes me feel like I am one of those anime characters whose eyes are hidden behind spiral lines. I think it is more than cosmetic, because it impairs people reading my emotional expressions. When I go hiking with thin glasses, however, I end up craning my neck down so I can see what is going on in front of my feet. That makes my neck hurt.
- 01001010 9y ago
  In my head, I can easily imagine a model combining all of the above (except, perhaps, weight and a very large lens). Which criteria do think are incompatible?
01001010 9y ago
Large lenses ("pilot" glasses) are usually not especially curved, I believe that is suboptimal and mostly done for looks for historical reasons. (At some point, an optician told me that was the case and that the optimal shape would be spherical to optimize distance from the eye.)
steanne 9y ago
drill-mount frames.
- 01001010 9y ago
  Is there a difference between 'drill-mount' and 'rimless'? These fulfill some of the criteria, but I fail to find such with a nice, large, preferably cup-shaped, lens.
  - steanne 9y ago
    it's the same thing, but lens shape is not dictated by the frame. you're likely to find pictures of rimless glasses with small lenses because small lenses are popular now, but you can choose any shape you want.
    - 01001010 9y ago
      I'll see what I can dig up, thank you.
twobyfour 9y ago
Your biggest challenge might be not the frames but the lens curvature. Lenses these days are ordered from a catalog of standard prescriptions. Unusually strong prescriptions sometimes have to be special-ordered because they aren't kept in stock, but AFAIK they're still not custom-ground. Or at least they're still machine-ground from standard blanks. If you want a lens with unusual curvature, you'd need to start with a blank that supports that curvature - which may not exist. And the grinding machines may also be unable to work with that curvature (hand-grinding, besides being immensely more expensive, will be less consistent in its result). And then you'll have the problem of fitting the lens securely into a frame that's designed for one with lesser curvature. Heck, even my (moderate prescription) sunglasses suffer from poor lens fit. I'm not saying it can't be done; just that there are a lot of obstacles to what you're looking for.

2 points by 01001010 9y ago

PaulHoule 9y ago

You have to balance one thing against another. I like a large lens in that I get a wide field of view. I have a very strong prescription, thus large lenses curve through a lot of solid angle, thus no matter what angle you look at me from there is a strong reflection that obscures my eyes. It makes me feel like I am one of those anime characters whose eyes are hidden behind spiral lines. I think it is more than cosmetic, because it impairs people reading my emotional expressions. When I go hiking with thin glasses, however, I end up craning my neck down so I can see what is going on in front of my feet. That makes my neck hurt.

01001010 9y ago
In my head, I can easily imagine a model combining all of the above (except, perhaps, weight and a very large lens). Which criteria do think are incompatible?

01001010 9y ago

Large lenses ("pilot" glasses) are usually not especially curved, I believe that is suboptimal and mostly done for looks for historical reasons. (At some point, an optician told me that was the case and that the optimal shape would be spherical to optimize distance from the eye.)

steanne 9y ago

drill-mount frames.

01001010 9y ago
Is there a difference between 'drill-mount' and 'rimless'? These fulfill some of the criteria, but I fail to find such with a nice, large, preferably cup-shaped, lens.
- steanne 9y ago
  it's the same thing, but lens shape is not dictated by the frame. you're likely to find pictures of rimless glasses with small lenses because small lenses are popular now, but you can choose any shape you want.
  - 01001010 9y ago
    I'll see what I can dig up, thank you.

twobyfour 9y ago

Your biggest challenge might be not the frames but the lens curvature. Lenses these days are ordered from a catalog of standard prescriptions. Unusually strong prescriptions sometimes have to be special-ordered because they aren't kept in stock, but AFAIK they're still not custom-ground. Or at least they're still machine-ground from standard blanks. If you want a lens with unusual curvature, you'd need to start with a blank that supports that curvature - which may not exist. And the grinding machines may also be unable to work with that curvature (hand-grinding, besides being immensely more expensive, will be less consistent in its result). And then you'll have the problem of fitting the lens securely into a frame that's designed for one with lesser curvature. Heck, even my (moderate prescription) sunglasses suffer from poor lens fit. I'm not saying it can't be done; just that there are a lot of obstacles to what you're looking for.