Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Progressive Lenses

Just got my first pair of glasses with progressive lenses and I am NOT digging these things at all. For those of you that have, or had them in the past, what has been your experience with them? How long did it take you to get used to them?

LOL, I got a pair about 2 years ago. I work at a desk in front of a computer screen for 8 hours a day. The progressive glasses gave me "mid" range to see the screen and rock back in my chair. You have to "follow your nose". You cannot roll your eyes left or right or down without getting into fuzzy areas when looking at a distance. It makes for a bit of difficulty when walking and trying to see where your feet hit the ground.

One thing I did was get a pair of single lense sunglasses. It sure is nice to be able to walk and see the ground by rolling your eyes.

I had never had bi-focal glasses until I got the progressive glasses. Good Luck!

I do have to say, I can now read without taking my glasses off.

After falling down the stairs a couple of times, by the time the cast was off, it was fine.

Seriously give them a few weeks. Late one day you'll realize you have had them on all day. Took me a few days.

I much prefer the lined lenses, myself. I've tried progressive lenses twice over the 25 years or so since I first started needing bifocals and now trifocals but could never stand wearing them long enough to get used to them. With the lines I always know exactly where I'm at and which grind I need to go to for whatever distance range I'm working with.

Took me almost a month to get used to my progressive lenses. Hated em at first !
Love em now.

Took me a week or so, watch those steps! Now scanning for game took me a couple years, learning to scan with my head, not just my eyes. Single vision contacts were great for hunting until one day I forgot my reading glasses. Ever field dress a deer mostly by feel?

Had a pair of single vision made up for computer and reading, much more comfortable. Either I had to move my head all the time or my eyes strained to keep focus outside the sweet spot.

For some reason I never had any problems adjusting to progressive lenses. I loved them from the minute I put them on. Have had cataract surgery and now I only need "readers". I am plagued with floaters and macular degeneration that are other "issues".

I've worn them for almost twenty years,work great.Only trouble is my last pair are smaller in size and shooting a handgun can be a pain.Hard to focus on the front sight with the narrower vision allowed.
I have also noticed at malls,they make women's butts look bigger...

If you have a scope on your rifle, you'll have to refocus the scope for your new glasses.

This is me to a T, including the cataracts. I still wear the progressives, even after the cataract surgery. I have a very slight need for a correction at distance that they fix. I don't wear them at all in the field, but they're very handy at work & at home.

I have been wearing progressive lenses since they came out years back. Yes, it takes a few days to get used to them, but past that, they are great.
I would never go back to the old fashioned bi or tri focals.

It takes a few weeks to get used to using them. Be careful at first when using stairs or a urinal.

If you can't see your front sight, have the eye doc craft a prescription that emphasizes the mid-range so your front sight is in crisp focus.

Had my first pair for 4 days and can get myself sea sick by moving my eyes around too fast. Nice to be able to read with glasses on again though..

30 years in the the optical business here guys. All the above comments are very accurate. They are tough to get used to, especially if you're one that doesn't react well to change. You need to learn to point with your nose, so that your eyes stay in the "sweet spot" of the lenses. One difference between progressives and lined bifocals is that progressives give you mid range focus, which is your viewing area out at arm's length or dashboard distance, or out at your computer screen. An option for folks who aren't liking them for the computer would be occupational lenses, which are a no line design with a wider reading area, but are designed only for mid-range and reading. They won't work for distance, so are best suited as a second pair for folks who do a lot of computer work, probably at a desk or cubicle. Once again, these won't work for distance, so are basically a second pair option for most folks. For hunting, I either wear contacts, or single vision glasses made for distance only, and keep a pair of readers with me just in case I ever get a chance to fill out a deer tag. (That's another story!) I don't like trying to see clearly through the scope with the no lines on. Try to find a good optician who hunts or shoots. They will best understand what you're gong through and how to help address it.

I had a pair for over a month and couldn't get used to 'em.. Took them back and exchanged for standard bifocals and couldn't be happier.

I know some people really like the progressive lenses, but I'm not one of 'em.. YMMV

One thing about progressives - if you need a real strong prescription for distance, you'll likely have problems shooting. They'll get weak in the upper corners - right where you have to look for sighting a gun or bow. The stronger the prescription, the worse it gets. I had to switch to bifocals to be able to shoot until my cataract surgery fixed it.

"You cannot roll your eyes left or right"

If you have this problem you need different glasses.I don't have any blurred areas on my progressive lens. My lenses are Nikon.

Tried them twice,hated them both times.

Maybe 2 weeks to a month. I was sorry I switched at first. But now you couldn't pay me enough to go back to bifocals. Just stick with it. There is a downside and you have to be aware. Once in awhile the get the prescription out of alignment with your eye. In that case you'll never see properly. Stick with them and give them a chance. But if after 30 days you're still not liking them. Go back to the eye doctor and have him/her check alignment.

I am one of the haters, tried them six years ago and said I preferred lined bifocals. Six years later and after months of headaches I went to get new lenses.

Doc said I needed mid-range correction, and since I prefer thin lenses, top to bottom I simply did not have enough room for tri-focals.

He took the time to explain the sweet spot using a similar diagram.



Took a few weeks to get used to it and I will never go back to lined lenses, plus, with no lines all the women's think I am 20 and not 50 now.