Which spectacle lenses are best

Remember Me. Forgot username or password? Not a member? Need further assistance? Please call Member Services at How to Get the Best Eyeglass Lenses. Polycarbonate or high index?

Bifocals or progressives? How to pick what's right for you and save money. By Consumer Reports. Last updated: December 29, Sharing is Nice Yes, send me a copy of this email. Send We respect your privacy. Oops, we messed up. Try again later. When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions.

Learn more. Looking at Lenses The two best-selling eyeglass lenses are the most basic ones: CR and the polycarbonate, both plastic. Another advantage of plastic: While natural glasses can only be tinted in a few colours and at a relatively high cost, plastic glasses are easy to treat with virtually all tints.

Plastic is the first choice for those who want spectacles with coloured lenses as a fashion accessory. Understanding Vision Sep Tags: At the Optometrist Prevention. Understanding Vision Oct Tags: At the Optometrist. Learn more. Vision Care. Find Optician. Glass spectacle lenses. They are very light and therefore comfortable to wear.

They are also highly break resistant. In that respect they outperform glass up to times, depending on the type of plastic used. Our research shows that shoppers sometimes struggle to understand whether different glasses choices — such as lens coatings — are right for them, when buying a new pair of glasses. We also reveal the best- and worst-rated opticians brands. Single-vision lenses have one prescription throughout the lens. Reading glasses tailor single-vision glasses to your reading distance.

Enhanced reading glasses work at two reading distances — eg your book close up and computer further away. There's no visible line in the lens, as there is in bifocal lenses. If you're looking for slim lenses, you're likely to encounter the term 'high index'.

High index just means that the lens is thinner. For a prescription of over Smaller, round and oval frames give naturally thinner lenses, and can therefore help you avoid paying more for higher-index lenses. If you're choosing rimless or half-frames. Most lenses include scratch-resistance as a standard coating, and — in the case of some high-index 1.

Choose an anti-smudge oleophobic coating if your anti-reflection coating accentuates annoying smears. A UV coating protects to UV sunglasses level without changing the lens colour.

Many lens materials inherently filter UV such as Trivex, higher index and polycarbonate.