Comments on rimless glasses
Glasshunter
I have decided to buy a rimless glass. However I think that I need to
pay more attention in choosing a rimless glasses than other designs.
So here I need some help please.
1) Based on your experience, which seller provides the strongest
rimless glasses?
2) What kind of glasses material should I choose for rimless? I want
to have a strong pair.
3) Should I get a titanium based one, or other material is just fine?
I have problems just in one eye (-0.5) so I want to use the money
wisely in a rimless glass.
Thanks in advance.
powrwrap
> Hello there,
>
> I have decided to buy a rimless glass. However I think that I need to
> pay more attention in choosing a rimless glasses than other designs.
> So here I need some help please.
>
> 1) Based on your experience, which seller provides the strongest
> rimless glasses?
I've only bought from Zenni, but I've been quite satisfied.
> 2) What kind of glasses material should I choose for rimless? I want
> to have a strong pair.
Polycarbonate is recommended; I believe they will also do rimless with
Tyvex, otherwise you have no other options as they won't make rimless
glasses with weaker materials.
> 3) Should I get a titanium based one, or other material is just fine?
I think any material is fine. Pay attention to how the screws mount
into the lenses. Also be advised that you will have to handle rimless
frames a bit more cautiously than half-rims or full rims. For example
when I clean the lenses I always handle the frames by the bridge using
my index finger and thumb. I feel this puts less stress on the frame
when wiping the lenses with a microcloth.
> I have problems just in one eye (-0.5) so I want to use the money
> wisely in a rimless glass.
I'd give Zenni a shot. If you are looking at single vision lenses you
can get a set of rimless glasses very inexpensively.
J. Evan
Most high index materials like 1.67 and 1.74 lenses do just fine in a
drill mount - I have five pairs in fact that haven't cracked or become
loose.
Standard hard resin CR-39 plastic lenses are not good candidates for
drill mounting as the material is too brittle and can/will crack.
My wife's polycarbonate frames she bought from LensCrafters two years
ago have actually developed hairline fractures in the lenses near the
drill hole and had to be replaced in the first month. Although Poly is
fine for most people.
Trivex is a well reviewed rimless lens material due to it's superior
clarity (abbe index) and strength.
Look carefully at the design of the rimless frames. Frames that have
at least two drill mount points per lens are better design. I've
ordered rimless from Zenni, Coastal Contacts, LBW Eyewear and
EyeBuyDirect - in my specific experience, Coastal's brand name frames
were far superior in quality and have lasted the longest.
J. Evan
N8N
I have only one pair, which are hingeless titanium Silhouettes with
polycarbonate lenses. I have been nothing but completely satisfied
with them. I had to have the lenses replaced after a little less than
a year as they cracked around the mount points for the temples and
bridge, but that must have been an anomaly as the new lenses are still
going strong. One downside: expen$ive. however, they are quite
possibly the perfect eyeglasses IMHO.
if any of the knockoffs are as good, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend
them, but I have no experience with them.
nate
lili
last fall, after another shop butchered my previous pair of rimless
Silhouette's when I attempted to have them re-lensed.
I love the mypoticalshop glasses. They are at least as good as my $600
Silhouette frame was, plus the lenses are amazing. The AR coating is
the best I've ever seen. I know that MOS does not get a lot of lip
service here, but they had the frames I wanted and I could not be
happier that I ordered from them. Best, most fashionable, and most
durable glasses I have ever owned.
Hope that helps!
On Dec 26, 6:40 am, Glasshunter <alb...@gmail.com> wrote:
Chalo
>
> I have decided to buy a rimless glass. However I think that I need to
> pay more attention in choosing a rimless glasses than other designs.
But why? Would you drive a chassis-less car that uses the windows
instead of sheetmetal for the body? Live in a wall-less house that
uses window glass to hold up the roof?
Lenses are _optics_ and they should be picked for their ideal
_optical_ qualities. Glasses frames are structures and should be
chosen for their structural qualities. Rimless designs use the lenses
as the main structural element, and amount to putting the cart before
the horse from a design standpoint.
Chalo
N8N
It would seem to me that the lenses are also the strongest elements of
just about any eyeglasses, so it doesn't bother me any. Pretty much
any time I've had a failure of my eyeglasses, it's been the frame
that's broken not the lenses. I also love the light weight of the
rimless, when I put my old sunglasses on (about the same weight as my
old glasses) I am amazed that I "didn't notice" them for so long.
Just didn't know any better, I guess.
nate
powrwrap
Yes, and some people choose eyeglasses for fashion reasons. Cars too.
Hard to believe, I know...
Chuck Knight
design, more delicate than traditional designs. And, by introducing
stresses on the lenses (like the stress cracks at the drill mount
points) you can also introduce other problems, including structural
ones.
Having said that...rimless are a viable option, especially because of
advances in material science. "Choosing lenses for their optical
qualities" results in a rather short list with CR39 (low index and
thick) or Trivex (high index and thin) becoming the ideal candidates.
Trivex has the additional quality of strength and resiliency, which
makes it nearly ideal for rimless. Hallelujah, rimless are practical!
-- Chuck Knight
P.S. I have a pair of antique rimless glasses, made of GLASS. The
lenses are still intact, as are the gold frames. Lovely things,
though I'm not sure I would wear them.
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N8N
not only that, the windshield is a structural element of pretty much
any new car.
nate
Glasshunter
Thank you guys for your comments. The only reason that I am tempted by
rimless glasses is that I can find them online under 50$ which I think
is a good investment if the rimless can last at least two years.
I wanted to add a sportive and a rimless glass in my glass
collection.Right now i am looking for the lightest option of frames.
If rimless are not a good solution, do you suggest me to buy a full-
rim titanium frame instead?
Cheers...
Chalo
>
> "Choosing lenses for their optical
> qualities" results in a rather short list with CR39 (low index and
> thick) or Trivex (high index and thin) becoming the ideal candidates.
Trivex is a pretty low index material as well (1.53 vs 1.50 for
CR39). The Abbe number for Trivex isn't nearly as good as that of
CR39 (44 vs. 59 respectively). But Trivex is tough enough that it can
be safely made with a thinner center thickness than some other lens
materials, which makes for a thinner lens overall.
High index lens materials tend to have worse Abbe values than low
index lens materials, but there's a lot of variation in this regard
among materials with similar refractive indices. So from where I
stand, it's not absolute Abbe number but a combination of relatively
good Abbe number and relatively high refractive index that determines
the overall desirability of an optical material. The ability to
support a frame from holes drilled in the lens is not an optical
characteristic, but it can limit one's choices to materials whose
optical characteristics are not a good compromise, e.g.
polycarbonate.
Chalo
Chalo
>
> powrwrap wrote:
> >
> > Chalo wrote:
> > >
> > > Glasshunter wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I have decided to buy a rimless glass. However I think that I need to
> > > > pay more attention in choosing a rimless glasses than other designs.
> > >
> > > But why? Would you drive a chassis-less car that uses the windows
> > > instead of sheetmetal for the body? Live in a wall-less house that
> > > uses window glass to hold up the roof?
> > >
> > > Lenses are _optics_ and they should be picked for their ideal
> > > _optical_ qualities. Glasses frames are structures and should be
> > > chosen for their structural qualities. Rimless designs use the lenses
> > > as the main structural element, and amount to putting the cart before
> > > the horse from a design standpoint.
> >
> > Yes, and some people choose eyeglasses for fashion reasons. Cars too.
> > Hard to believe, I know...
>
> not only that, the windshield is a structural element of pretty much
> any new car.
Is that why it's bedded in rubber?
I can imagine the craptastic engineering minds at GM or the like
wanting to cheese out and have the windows function structurally so
they could save another nickel's worth of steel, but I doubt that the
windows themselves would get behind that program. I've noticed a few
windshields that cracked from the latent stresses of poor
installation, without even being used as a structural member.
Chalo
Chalo
Glasshunter wrote:
>
> Right now i am looking for the lightest option of frames.
> If rimless are not a good solution, do you suggest me to buy a full-
> rim titanium frame instead?
For the lightest possible weight, rimless can be a decent choice-- if
the limited selection of appropriate materials works for you and your
prescription. Trivex has the edge here, because it's optically
superior to polycarbonate but tougher than CR39, while being
significantly lighter in weight than either one. If you need higher
index than these materials because your prescription is strong, then
rimless might not be a good idea for you.
Full-rim titanium frames are stronger and lighter than conventional
metal frames. Some of the new full-rim stainless steel frames are
very lightweight, especially the hingeless ones. Either kind would
allow you the whole range of lens material options.
Half-rim frames don't make structural demands of their lenses, but all
else equal they are much flimsier than full-rim frames.
Chalol
TujuMaster
with rimless specs. As Chalo has previously mentioned, I have more
problems with Semi-Rimless than with Rimless. I did notice that the
manufacturer plays a big role. I have a pair from EyeBuyDirect which
are loose around the drill mounts and they are still going strong
despite me constantly sitting on them. These are CR-39 basic lenses
from EyeBuyDirect. The Goggles4u pair held up pretty well until I sat
on them as well. They were much tighter around the drill mounts but
they snapped after a year of good use at the bridge. I suspect that
the loose mounts have made the EyeBuyDirect glasses last longer but
I'm just speculating. Either way, they take some pretty good abuse
and still keep on working as always so I highly recommend rimless.
Glasshunter
prescription is very low (-0.5) I think I better buy a full-rim
titanium frame with trivex.
I have bought from several online shops ( i will try zenny soon),
however it seems to me that Coastal has the best glass quality based
on my personal experience. Unfortunately I chose a frame that doesn't
look good on me.
Which of the shops has the best glass quality?
N8N
Newest car I've owned with a conventional rubber-gasket windshield was
my '84 Scirocco. By the time my '89 GTI was built the windshields
were all glued in. I ASSume that that means that they were using
glued-in by 1985 (when that body style was introduced) unless that was
a running change. Every vehicle that I've owned/driven newer than
that Scirocco has had a glued-in windshield, that includes VW,
Porsche, Ford, and Chevy. I'm not aware of any current production
vehicles that don't use glued-in windshields, although I have not
seriously researched the subject. The downside is that you can't just
pick up a used piece of glass from the junkyard and replace it
yourself anymore, at least not economically.
nate
Chalo
>
> Which of the online shops offers Trivex material? Even though my
> prescription is very low (-0.5) I think I better buy a full-rim
> titanium frame with trivex.
> I have bought from several online shops ( i will try zenny soon),
> however it seems to me that Coastal has the best glass quality based
> on my personal experience. Unfortunately I chose a frame that doesn't
> look good on me.
>
> Which of the shops has the best glass quality?
I can only speak for Zenni versus the local opticians I used before.
I had tried enough different lens materials to rule out CR39 and crown
glass due to disfiguringly thick lenses (about -6 sph, -4 cyl in my
weak eye) and to rule out polycarbonate because of the bothersomely
compromised vision it gave me. I had settled on 1.7 index glass and
plastic whose optics were only acceptable but which made nice thin
lenses.
My first order from Zenni was a memory Ti frame with 1.67 plastic
lenses, but as an afterthought I added a pair of plastic frame
sunglasses with Zenni's base "mid index" plastic. I had half assumed
this would be some flavor of polycarbonate, but I discovered to my
pleasant surprise that whatever material it is makes decently thin
lenses with hands down the best optical clarity I've had in many
years. My high-index glasses from Zenni are at least as good as what
I had been buying from my eye doctor, but the regular no-extra-charge
lenses are much better, without being too terribly thick.
I'm still unaware of any common or proprietary lens material with the
claimed 1.57 refractive index of Zenni's base offering, so I can't
even speculate as to what exact material it is... but I give it a
wholehearted thumbs up.
Chalo
sonshine
I have always admired their delicate, minimalist appearance. But the
more I look, the more I can't decide on a particular frame.
I think I finally found what I'm looking for in regards to size, frame
color, etc with Zenni, but they are 'hingeless'. I have never seen a
pair of hingeless frames so I have no idea if that's a good option or
not. Could anyone here tell me a little bit more about the pros and/
or cons of 'hingeless' frames?
Thank you
rdclark
> I am also very interested in getting a pair of rimless glasses because
> I have always admired their delicate, minimalist appearance. But the
> more I look, the more I can't decide on a particular frame.
> I think I finally found what I'm looking for in regards to size, frame
> color, etc with Zenni, but they are 'hingeless'. I have never seen a
> pair of hingeless frames so I have no idea if that's a good option or
> not. Could anyone here tell me a little bit more about the pros and/
> or cons of 'hingeless' frames?
> Thank you
I have a pair of Zenni hingless, rimless progressives with a
transparent "memory plastic" frame; they are nearly invisible. I also
have a pair of exactly the same lenses in a rimless, hinged ti frame.
The biggest issue with the hingeless pair is that they can't be put on
with one hand; it takes two hands to spread the stems apart because
they retain their "closed" shape from being in the case. Maybe if I
wore them all the time it would be different.
They also don't clamp themselves to your head the way spring-hinged
glasses do. They're so light that they stay put reasonably well, but I
would have to add an elastic strap if I was going to wear them during
any kind of physical activity.But I only use these on special
occasions.
Other hingeless designs may be different.
J. Evan
hingeless part applies only to the temple. The hingeless temple was
made popular by brands such as Silhouette in the late 1990's and has
been very popular for it's lightweight and strength in it's lack of
moving parts.
Since hingeless temples are a single, curved, solid piece of bendable
metal, they will act as a bit of a spring. That is to say they can
spring off onto the floor if you set them down without the due care.
The other issue with hingeless temples are they are wider then
traditional frames, which work well for people with a wide head, but
not so well for people with a narrow head. The final issue with
hingeless temples are they have less contact with your face then
traditional frames - mostly just a smaller contact zone over the ear.
This lack of a larger contact area usually makes heavier lenses, such
as those of us with a high plus correction, rely more on the nose pads
than one might like.
My overall opinion of hingeless temples are positive. If your
correction is under a -5.00 (+3.00), then a hingeless temple frame in
a trivex lens will likely make you quite happy. I have a Zenni full
rim hingeless frame in a 1.67 index lens that's just too front heavy
in my +4.75 correction - even with larger silicone nose pads... I've
also had an original Silhouette titanium hingeless rimless in a 1.67
and a small 44mm wide lens that I was very pleased with (until they
were stolen).
J. Evan
N8N
On Jan 4, 12:15 pm, "J. Evan" <jszlac...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hingeless frames are offered in either full rim or rimless styles. The
> hingeless part applies only to the temple. The hingeless temple was
> made popular by brands such as Silhouette in the late 1990's and has
> been very popular for it's lightweight and strength in it's lack of
> moving parts.
>
> Since hingeless temples are a single, curved, solid piece of bendable
> metal, they will act as a bit of a spring. That is to say they can
> spring off onto the floor if you set them down without the due care.
> The other issue with hingeless temples are they are wider then
> traditional frames, which work well for people with a wide head, but
> not so well for people with a narrow head. The final issue with
> hingeless temples are they have less contact with your face then
> traditional frames - mostly just a smaller contact zone over the ear.
> This lack of a larger contact area usually makes heavier lenses, such
> as those of us with a high plus correction, rely more on the nose pads
> than one might like.
I find that my hingeless Silhouettes stay on my face better than any
other pair of glasses that I've ever had, precisely because they do
grip the side of my head better. Most glasses that I've had seem
designed for someone with a wider head, so the temples don't really do
much other than hook over my ears. And even if they fit well when
new, after a couple years, they spread out, which hasn't happened with
the hingeless.
they really are my favorite glasses ever - by far. Wish I'd bought
them years sooner.
nate
sonshine
still a bit leery about this hingless feature especally upon hearing
they tend to be wider, and I am having a difficult enough time finding
frames narrow enough to suit me. i absolutely hate frames that 'stick
out' or protrude beyond the outside of my face and today's trends make
my choices limited it seems. perhaps i will try to find a pair in a
brick and mortar that i can feel for myself before i take the plunge.
in any case, thanks again for the insight!
> nate- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
N8N
lenses work for you. The width of the overall assembly is dependent
on how wide the lenses you choose are.
nate
> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -