Long story short, I love wearing contacts - I can wear cheap sunglasses again! - and have let my glasses prescription fall about two prescriptions weaker... I ordered a pair of glasses from Zenni to see what they were like, spending the princely sum of $27.90 on glasses, clip-on sunshades, and shipping for a new pair. I figured that for under $30 I could try them out, and at the very worst have an emergency back-up pair. If they were okay, then I'd order an inexpensive back-up pair for The Boy as well.
Here I am with The Boy, with both of us sportin' our specs:
Guys in Glasses
The good: I've only had the glasses for two nights, but the lenses are excellent. Clear and sharp, with no distortion around the edges, the vision correction is spot on. The frames are comfortable, but with the caveat that I only wear them for a few hours at night, so long-term testing will wait until the weekend. The price is the major factor in the good: had I spent $50 on these glasses, I'd still be impressed; at $100 it starts getting significantly less impressive.
The bad: Really, the only "bad" is the clip-on sunshades - and for $4, you really do get what you pay for. They're thin plastic with the most rudimentary of clips - that attach JUST inside your line of sight so that you go cross-eyed if you wear them for any length of time. A very minor quibble, and one that I totally expected.
The verdict: For their intended purpose, these glasses are positively perfect - light duty, little use, back-up glasses. For glasses that I'd wear everyday I'm not so sure these would be my first choice; however as night/weekend glasses they're fine.
I'm going to order up a back-up pair for The Boy as well as a second pair for me to keep in my truck "just in case". I might even spring for a pair of prescription sunglasses - I found a pair of $10 frames I like, and for $5 more you can get an 80% tint in a variety of colors (can't decide between blue and gray...).
Bottom line: An unabashed two thumbs' up for glasses from Zenni Optical.
That is all.
6 comments:
Good to know about. I used to wear contacts (for the better part of ten years) but staring at computer monitors for 10-15 hours a day began to make that impractical. (Office A/C etc...)
Switched back to glasses about six or seven years ago and haven't really looked back - I about choked on the last price tag, but I am happy with the glasses. Some cheap 'scrip sunglasses to keep in the truck would be nice though.
Good googly moogly-- I can't remember the last time I spent less than $500 on my mild scrip glasses. Most of that is for the label-whore frames, and the cost then was already greatly defrayed by some whizz-bang insurance.
Yeah, I'll say it again: Label Whore. Then again, God has denied me children, so I have to make up for the expense somewhere, right? It's only fair.
The Chanel quilted frames are diaper money... The Prada flower nerd/bitch/goddess frames are summer camp...
If my fertile self is ever in the same room with active um, er, uh, essence again, payback could be hell on my lifestyle.
Oh, and most handsome, indeed, the two of you. Your son is going to make a dashing gentleman!
Zercool,
Like I said, I don't know how they'll hold up over an entire day yet. So far they've been pretty comfortable for the 4-6 hours I've worn them.
I'll cop to a bit of vanity on the contacts, to be certain - it's worth the extra cash to be able to see in all directions, not just straight ahead...
phlegmfatale,
Whoa! That's a hefty chunka on glasses - obviously looking that fabulous don't come cheap... :)
He is shaping up to be a dashing young man. We obviously have a good looking mailman...
;)
Zenni's stuff does hold up long-term. Got two years on the $55 (I get whacked with the funny prescription charge.) glasses I'm using right now. Still in great shape. And given the price, keeping a spare set or two around is not unreasonable. But I'm not as rough on glasses as I used to be. At your son's age I had the super-expensive Titanium alloy frames you could tie in knots. Nothing else would survive more than three or four months.
On the flip side, Better Half put in an order for two frames and sets of lenses four weeks ago. Both the frames and lenses were standard types, and phone conversations since have indicated that both were in stock at the "laboratory". However, neither set of glasses has even left that laboratory in Hong Kong yet.
They may be the best glasses in the world, but a 6+ week turnaround (by the time they cross the Pacific and get to our door) is getting pretty darned ludicrous.
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