For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
By ROG
#1834874
GA FLYER---good advice-noted--thanks
T6------my varifocals are great--it does take some people a few days to get used to them. --so you may have to do that to give your eyes/brain time to adjust.
I can see all distances with mine. I don"t know if it helps to be short sighted as I now find I don"t really need them for reading . --up to around 10 inches.
Let us know how things go.
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By MikeE
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1834891
avtur3 wrote:I've had a similar experience with one of (what I had thought was) the most reputable high street chains. I've been wearing varifocals for 20 years, they are an excellent invention. I wear them every waking hour and value them for they negate the need to change glasses for different tasks. For that reason I never skimp on them.

Last time around I was advised that lenses by 'Leica' were the best available and followed advice to choose them. Compared with what I was already wearing they turned out to be dreadful, the transitions in correction were very noticeable, more like wearing bi-focals. They were totally unwearable, I went back a couple of times and was very condescendingly told 'I was not using them correctly', well I seem to have managed the past 20 years without a problem.

The dispute is still ongoing, basically they can have the glasses back in return for me getting my money back, but they don't want to engage in that conversation. They have hidden behind Covid restrictions to limit my ability to return to them, it is total BS, very angry about it.


If you are thinking of going down the legal route it's best to write first (recorded delivery) setting out clearly what the problem is, asking for a refund or replacement, and for a response within 14 days. If they do not respond, or if their response is unsatisfactory, then you need to send a further letter stating that if they do not provide a satisfactory response then you will take legal action. That letter should be headed 'Letter before action' and sent recorded delivery, giving them 14 days to respond.

If they still fail to respond with a satisfactory offer, if you can you should try to go to another optician to obtain a report on the suitability of the glasses to use in evidence.

If they do respond with an offer, then that is likely to be headed 'without prejudice' which means you cannot use it in proceedings to show they admit liability.

Do you have house or car insurance that includes legal cover? Most do and you may find that you can obtain legal advice through that as well as them taking the case on your behalf. Having said that, the small claims process is quite painless and in cases like this the optician may well settle before a hearing (usually on the papers).

I do hope you can resolve the matter without too much hassle.

Best wishes

Mike
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By Flyingfemme
#1834913
Is there such a thing as a varifocal with decent peripheral focus? I am sure that I will start to need some distance correction in the future and, so far, haven’t seen anything that gives me the “warm fuzzies” for driving or flying.
By ROG
#1834914
Flying Femme--my peripheral vision is fine with or without the specs. --basically the same.
I can check by wiggling the fingers. Recent medical the AME did finger wiggling.
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By Flyingfemme
#1834916
As is mine. But when I tried “proper” varifocals (at the recommendation of an optician) I found the distance peripheral scary, with the most minimal correction. Tried driving in them and was unable to manage the “lifesaver” and see anything useful. Wouldn’t dare to use them on a bike - don’t currently wear specs for riding coz who needs to see the clocks anyway? Just looking into the future......
By ROG
#1834965
FF--as said above be specific in your requirements --If the prescription is correct you should have no problems.
By GAFlyer4Fun
#1835045
Flyingfemme wrote:Is there such a thing as a varifocal with decent peripheral focus?


I have limited experience of this. One was really good, and the next were truly awful - both from the same optician. Unfortunately cant tell what it will look like before they have been made.
I had used the really good ones for motorcycling too. The next ones would have been downright dangerous on a motorcycle.
By GAFlyer4Fun
#1835049
Flyingfemme wrote:... don’t currently wear specs for riding coz who needs to see the clocks anyway? ......


Yeah some people have those riding skills. :D

It is amazing how many people drivers do need a road sign and a look at a speedo to tell themselves they can get around a corner.... one of the reasons the nanny state has ruined the progress that can safely be made on many of the more interesting roads for the subset of drivers/riders that have much better than average skills.

My bike is old and likes to blow one bulb behind the clocks so I cant use it in the dark anyway. Doesnt stop me riding smoothly and safely.

A far bigger problem is the number of people that only look at the back bumper of the car in front so have very poor awareness/anticipation of what is going on... opticians dont seem to be able to help them! lol
... on second thoughts maybe they have been given varifocals with very very narrow fields of view for distance vision and think it is normal :doh:
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By Genghis the Engineer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1835066
Flyingfemme wrote:Is there such a thing as a varifocal with decent peripheral focus? I am sure that I will start to need some distance correction in the future and, so far, haven’t seen anything that gives me the “warm fuzzies” for driving or flying.


I wear Specsavers super-digital varifocals. A bit pricey, but I find them excellent for overall peripheral vision, and also for reading my kneeboard. That said, they're not perfect for screens off to one side, so I might for any future pair try their SuperDrive model, or look around for other specialist models.

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/glasses/le ... -lifestyle

G
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By Charles Hunt
#1835074
I have never tried varifocals. I have used bifocals with the old fashioned half-moon inset. This leaves a strip of far vision lens at the edges which allows peripheral vision outside of the helmet/cockpit/whatever.

Worked for me.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1835077
Before varifocals were available with lightweight plastic lenses I used bifocals with a ‘D’ but found out to my cost if ‘D’ was too small I had to tilt my head back to a stupid angle to be able to read the top of my broadsheet newspaper .

Never really got used to the sudden ‘step’ either.

For my meagre 30 flight hours per year I couldn’t justify a separate two pairs just for flying .

Varifocals with plastic lenses solved this problem ( I don’t have a very large correction) and don’t need the ‘reading’ element any more .

Next pair however I’ll omit the photochromic element- makes me look a bit of a poseur apparently wearing sunnies in the school playground at school run time on a bright but cloudy sunless day in midwinter...... :roll:

edit typo
Last edited by PeteSpencer on Mon Mar 22, 2021 9:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By PatT
#1835079
Oddly enough I have varifocal issue at this moment having worn varifocals for 14 years.
Went to collect new glasses from well known high street opticians soon, as I put them on they weren’t “quite right” but I could focus ok. They they said take you’ll get used to them. I said no, but then relented and took them under protest. Tried them further at home and eventually noticed chromatic aberration around the outer portion on the lenses (a orangey blur around the edge of high contrast objects)
Took them back accusing them of supplying inferior quality lenses. There reply is they were in fact the most expensive lenses , thinner using a higher refractive index plastic. They had to do this as I had chosen rimless and semi rimless frames (I had 2 pairs for the price of one offer both with the same fault)
They have agreed to retest eyes then make a pair with thicker cheaper lenses.
I await the new test. I will not have glasses that are worst than my existing ones
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By ROG
#1835087
PAT T--exactly my experience.--the near distance element was useless.
My discussion with them was like something out of monty python.
My "new" ones were not as good as current ones i"ve had for 5 years--in fact due to my eyes changing they"re (existing specs ) probably better than when new.
Plenty of legal type advice above--don"t accept them if they don"t work properly.
Pete--i need as much light coming into my eyes as poss--- as i"ve mentioned before--I use flip
ups when looking into bright sun or thick hazy conditions. Your eyesight appears to be similar to mine--can read now without specs. specs improve vision above9/10 inches.
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By Rob P
#1835096
I read this with an insufferably smug look on my face. Now the possessor of flawless distance vision for the first time since the 1950s.

As ever, my flying will be with the usual sunnies, unmodified main lenses and small magnifying sections at the bottom for the SD tablet on my leg. But now without the contact lenses (they are in the bin)

I am confident of Frank not wielding his rubber stamp for my next medical and dumping the "spare pairs" from the flight bag.

The NHS is a wonderful thing.

:D Rob P
By Bill McCarthy
#1835102
Not that I am about to try but is laser correction a fading treatment nowadays - and does it affect flying medicals ?