Bun,
I feel your pain mate, I really do. Having said that, you gave it away in the 80's when the options for a prescription wearer was VERY limited. The explosion of quality products has really been in this decade.
There are a LOT of frustrated prescription glass wearers out there who were buying the UV Fitovers from me at OPSM in the 1990's though, after making it a pet project to find something sharper and better suited to fishing, I was making my own Rx lenses out of 'blanks' sold to me by Direct Optical Supplies.
These lenses were then turned into the Stalker range of glasses which were great.
Many who trusted my judgement were put into Stalkers and never looked back..........ever!
It was a huge relief for these clients to find a brand that specialised in polarised glasses.
Spotters are another step up again and at least they offer a range of tints to suit the various needs of darkness of tint, depending on whether it is a bright day, early/late afternoon or dull/overcast.
Lets not forget too, that it is also a much larger problem for people who need bifocals or multifocals.
There are companies, such as Hidefspecs, that do a terrific lens in a multifocal that are no less in performance than the original lenses...........we don't miss out on the excellent coatings that are applied to the lenses like we did 5-10 years ago.
Trust me Bun! There are far better ways to get the vision YOU want these days..........though at a higher price than a pair of Fitovers.
Doug,
You are 100% correct. The Transitions lenses that I was selling fed off UV light to get the tint to activate.
Therefore, many who were hoping to use there Transitions lenses in the car were very disappointed with the performance. The car's roof acts as a big hat/sunshade and the windscreens do filter out UV as well, so the lenses would stay clear, which is very uncomfortable in high glare!
I don't believe there has been a change to this. My understanding is the cycle life is higher and the lenses have a better ability to stay clear indoors and darker outside.........with a caveat on any UV removing or adding light source having its say on performance.
Spotters are a good starting point, particularly if you are looking for bang-for-buck, as these are around $500 a pair for single vision GLASS lenses...........the Maui's are $750-850..........not cheap but as I said, the best I have found.
I mentioned glass in capitals as I still believe in the harsh,crusty environment we wear glasses in, nothing stands up to scratching better than glass. I replaced more lenses due to scratches than all of the lenses broken from being dropped by a long mile. Yes, resin lenses are more safe from impact, though again, I feel that glass is a better option in the long term. It's a personal choice.
As I said earlier, there is no ONE pair that will do it all, though if I were to buy one for GT popping and be happy 85-90% of the time when doing other lure casting in rivers, bays and offshore, the rose/vermilion colour lenses provide the best definition, contrast and also make greens, browns and yellows more vivid/prominent.
Cheers
Aaron.
PS.
Tom-Tom........the blue marlin have to wait until the weather is better than crap! I think the freshwater will push them closer to New Cal after this rain
