Sunglasses - Single Vision or Progressive?

[Outpost]

I'd like to get my first real pair of prescription sunglasses!
Is it better to order them single vision or progressive? A vendor I
asked suggested that progressives would be better because I might have
difficulty reading a map or seeing the speedometer, for example.
I am pretty nearsighted... (-5.50 -1.50x163 and -6.75 -.75x177 with
an Add of 2.25) but I think I'd be able to see the speedometer with
the distance portion of my current specs, and as with reading or
trying to see anything tiny, I would most likely pull off or look over
the top of my glasses to read a map. On the other hand, I think I use
the progressives I have regularly throughout the day without really
thinking about it... so I'm not sure how much I rely on them in an
everyday sort of way.
Would I miss that in a pair of sunglasses? I think I would use them
mostly for driving. I think. On the other hand, a high index
progressive lens (I have the frames already) is a spendy
proposition... even online.
I appreciate any advice! Thanks...
Deborah

[Chuck Knight]

While only you can make the decision, it appears that you've given
this a lot of thought already.

Which direction are *you* leaning?

It's fairly common for this list, to purchase "distance only"
sunglasses...but you're right about your correction being fairly
strong, so it may serve you well to have the progressives.

Think about it this way...if you go for a single vision pair, you can
get them for *literally* only a few dollars. You've lost very little
in the attempt, and may find that they work very well for you...or
not. And, your distance prescription is not super-strong, so you
could even use the standard 1.56 index material from most of the
vendors, and hide the edges in a bold plastic frame! Those tend to
look great, when made into sunglasses.

-- Chuck Knight

[nacho113]

I to wear progressives all the time (with a fairly mild prescription)
and I also have several pairs of single vision sunglasses. The
sunglasses are great for at the beach and driving, but I have an issue
if I try to use my cellphone (can't see the numbers on my Blackberry
with my single vision sunglasses). Also I can't read the call display
on the phone with the single vision sunglasses on and forget about if
someone sends a text message (gotta flip my progressives back on). My
situation is a little different than yours as I am far-sighted (+2.75
sphere and +2.00 add), but I definately miss the extra plus power of
the progressives for situation like I mentioned above.
Earlier this week, I ordered a pair of Progressives with a 75%
gradient tint from Eyewearmagic.com. It came to $72 ($24frames +
$32progressive lenses + $8 gradient tinting + $8 shipping). I'll see
how those turn out and report back, they should be here in another 10
days or so.

[rdclark]

As noted, your prescription and circumstances will determine what's
best. I'll note a couple of things I experienced with both choices.

The darker the tint, the harder it will be to see things like digital
displays on phones and automobile dashboards. So for me, the darker
the tint, the less useful progressives become. And for driving, I want
a dark tint, so the progressives aren't very useful.

I do have a pair of progressive sunglasses I keep at work (my office
is in downtown Philadelphia). I wear them when walking around, going
out to lunch, shopping, etc.

But going forward, I don't think I'll be buying any more progressive
sunglasses, because the extra expense isn't really worth it for me.
Mostly because I can see what I need to see while driving or walking
with my distance prescription, and I can read a cell phone display or
product label by getting it close enough to my eyes. If I need to work
at a computer or read extended text, that's when I'll put on my
regular glasses.

[Outpost]

Thanks to all who replied to my question about distance-only vs.
progressive sunglasses. The discussion prodded me over a little
further to the distance-only side, and I fell off the fence that
direction when I spent more time looking for frames and lenses. In the
high index lenses I was most interested in (1.67, which are what my
current progressives and computer glasses are, I think... they might
even be 1.7?) more often than not I could not even get a sunglass tint
in my prescription. Or if I could, the price was so high that I might
as well have been shopping at my local optician's. Seriously.
I ended up with a $50 Ltede frame (I'm a diva, what can I say?) - on
sale this week at CoastalContacts.
On this site my prescription could only be filled with a tint in 1.61
lenses, so I'm a little apprehensive about the thickness of the
lenses, particularly as I selected a rectangular shape as opposed to
my hard-lesson-learned-small-and-round-frame-works-best formula.
However, they are sunglasses, and with any luck the wide temples will
cover most of the lens at the edges.
Fingers crossed.
I also found a promo code for $14.00 off and free shipping -
So... frames +$49.95, 1.61 lenses +$29.95, tinting +$24.95, handling +
$7.29 promo coupon -$14.00 = a grand total of $98.14.
If they fit the diva profile, I'm golden!

Deborah