Photochromic lenses: The ultimate solution?
Take stock of your sports practice
When you want to equip your pair of sports glasses with your visual correction , it is better to think carefully about the tint of the lenses that you are going to order.
To do this, you need to ask yourself a few practical questions that will help you make the right choice:
- What is my main use for this pair of glasses?
- What time of year do I use them?
From these 2 questions naturally follows the choice of your glasses. Indeed, defining the main choice is THE major QUESTION .
We all have multiple sports activities during which we want to use our sports glasses but of course, there are compromises to be made: whatever your choice, your lenses will not perform well in all situations , so it is important to know the main use. You will find a selection guide according to your practice on this page .
Let’s add to the equation the time of year when we practice our main activity: Is it rather summer when the days are very long and the weather rather sunny or all year round in all seasons, including winter when evening falls at 4:30 p.m.?
To meet all the needs of athletes, one type of lens has become established in the sports eyewear landscape in recent years: PHOTOCHROMIC 0-3 lenses!
What are 0-3 photochromic lenses?
As their name suggests, these are glasses that darken with light , or more precisely with the amount of UV received.
These lenses are covered with pigments containing photosensitive molecules which are activated by UV and whose physicochemical reaction is reversible.
The greater the amount of UV, the more the chemical reaction occurs. As the amount of UV decreases, the number of colored molecules decreases, thus lightening the glass until it becomes perfectly transparent at nightfall.
The term 0-3 indicates the categories of lenses in the deactivated state ( Category 0, i.e. transparent without tint ) to the activated state ( Category 3, the standard category for sunglasses ).
As you will have understood, photochromic lenses are the most versatile lenses that can be found, including for indoor or night-time sports (long-distance cycling, for example).
So does the perfect glass exist?
Not quite!
Photochromic lenses will cover 90% of your needs but there will be times when these lenses will reach their limits:
- Temperature-sensitive lenses : And yes, the photochemical reaction is slowed down and limited by rising temperatures; in other words, the hotter it is, the less well they work. In the middle of a heatwave at 40°C in the sun, your lenses will barely reach category 2, while in the mountains at 0°C, the lenses will happily reach category 3, or even flirt with category 4!
- Lenses that don’t darken in the car : It’s quite simple, the windshield of our cars filters almost all UV rays, so the glasses cannot darken due to a lack of UV rays… A good reason to switch to a convertible!
At METAOPTICS, we have opted for the best. This is the latest generation TRANSITIONS 8 technology .
The glasses activate and deactivate quickly and the operating dynamics are very durable (4 to 5 years with the same performance). They reach 80% of their maximum tint in 30 seconds .
You can even opt for adding a mirror effect which will slightly darken your lenses by 2 to 3% but which will allow you to match your glasses to your sports outfit!
We are available
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!
