Five Things You Should Know: High Index Eyeglasses

For many people, the weekends aren't just for sleeping late and spending time relaxing around the house. They are weekend warriors who engage in a sport or other vigorous activity in their spare time, usually their weekends. If you are such a person and would rather not get contact lenses for weekend use, you might be considering high index eyeglasses. Here are five things you should know:

Impact Resistance

If you will be playing baseball, paintball, or other activities that require eye protection from projectiles, balls, bats, or rackets, high index lens materials lack the impact resistance of polycarbonate. Eye protection in these activities also requires a large lens that protects the eyes from impacts coming from any direction. In addition,
It depends on the activities and on your willingness to wear protective goggles over your glasses. If you're disinclined to wear protective goggles, then you can't safely engage in any activities involving projectiles, or activities that risk an impact of your glasses with objects. A shattered lens can cause serious eye damage.

High index eyeglasses are fine for day hikes on easy terrain that doesn't require climbing or scrambling, for example. On the other hand, rock climbing exposes eyeglasses to gouging and possibly impact. In such a sport, eye contacts are likely your best bet. The participants in winter sports such as skiing generally wear goggles as a matter of course.

If you are willing to wear protective goggles over your high index eyeglasses, especially where such protection is the norm anyway, then you can engage in most weekend activities. It's only a matter of finding goggles that provide a good and comfortable fit over your glasses. Because high index lenses are lighter and thinner than the old bulky "coke bottle" lenses, they will fit better inside goggles. Because so many people wear glasses, it's no surprise that many manufactures provide goggles built specifically to accommodate