Is anyone selling Transition Extra Active lenses?

[AngeHamm]

This is why I want an actual sample of the lens. I think a lot of people wouldn't mind the slight tint if they could hold it up and look through it and see that it isn't that dark and doesn't look bad. But I need a real sample for that. I think Transition is missing the boat in not offering that.

Yes, it's crazy that they don't have samples for these doled out like candy. I have Transitions and Crizal demos all over my store and I sell them like crazy (our office is about 45% photochromic and 80% A/R). For some reason, the Essilor brain trust thinks a paper rotator demo for XtraActive is sufficient.

[WFruit]

I can GET the lenses, no problem. I just can't get a pair for FREE to try out and show my patients.

And sorry; my voucher is now expired.

I was just wondering why you don't get a voucher from your X-Cel/Younger reps for them? I think the same two reps that I have up here cover down to VA as well.

I'm honestly surprised that labs aren't willing to give out a demo lens or two. We do it if requested for our accounts, although obviously we can't give more than 2 or so per office. And we, as a lab, will also do comp pairs for accounts. There's a limit of course, but generally speaking it's not a problem.

[AngeHamm]

I was just wondering why you don't get a voucher from your X-Cel/Younger reps for them? I think the same two reps that I have up here cover down to VA as well.

I'm honestly surprised that labs aren't willing to give out a demo lens or two. We do it if requested for our accounts, although obviously we can't give more than 2 or so per office. And we, as a lab, will also do comp pairs for accounts. There's a limit of course, but generally speaking it's not a problem.

I've never worked with them. Ours is a long-established practice with a deep Essilor history (though we're reaching out to the local Zeiss lab for VSP orders on a trial basis).

I am beyond surprised that they don't have an XtraActive demo lens like the Transitions demo lenses we use. Whoever convinced the higher-ups at Essilor that a card would suffice to sell XA lenses?

[AngeHamm]

By the way, your "Dune" quote fills me with joy.

--Andrew

[dwbport]

We've been selling them since they came out. Male species love them! One of our Docs (male) loves his PAL of course! Have also sold a few SV, my son being one & he loves them also. The men that drive alot are the ones that really appreciate them. Haven't had any complaints yet!

[Optixx]

We have sold a few. The patients that have them seem to like them, my Dad being one of them. He likes tint all the time and was wearing his Drivewear lenses almost fulltime. It bugged me that he was driving at night with Drivewear so I made him some Xtra actives.

As far as showing the patients you can get this cardboard wheel type display that compares the two types but I agree a sample is always better. To bad a large company like Transitions can't see fit to send out some samples or atleast some vendor coupons for a trial pair.

I had the same issue with Drivewear lenses and the lorgnettes they provided. It was okay but not great. I did get a vendor coupon for those and put some planos in a frame that patients could actually see and try on and now I sell a few pair. I will probably do the same with Xtraactive but I'd prefer not to cover the cost to display their product better.

This thought just came to me while typing. These lens companies should produce glasses somewhat like the 3D theaters use with there products in them for patients to try. Make them big enough to fit over exsisting glasses and ugly enough that we wouldn't see someone walking down the street wearing a sample product. The theaters have buckets of those stupid glasses. It couldn't be that big of an investment, probably cheaper and more environmentally freindly than all the print material they create. I know most of us throw all that crap away after we look at it for 2 minutes anyway.

Transitions, Younger, Xcel, Essilor... Are you reading this? No charge for good advise. Your Welcome!

I have a pair of the Transitions Extra Active, and Love them~! Gonna switch other lenses over to Extra Active as finances allow....Works great for in the office too....easier on my big blue eyes under these fluorescent lights! Every one of my patients that has tried it has been joyously happy! No returns!

BTW, "I WEAR MY DRIVEWEAR AT NIGHT" (yep, all you '80's Cats!) Sometimes when my eyes are really tired it's just more soothing and provides me better clarity. I've even worn them at night driving through a snowstorm, felt like I could see better. Maybe it's that way for your Dad too...

[Geirskogul]

BTW, "I WEAR MY DRIVEWEAR AT NIGHT" (yep, all you '80's Cats!) Sometimes when my eyes are really tired it's just more soothing and provides me better clarity. I've even worn them at night driving through a snowstorm, felt like I could see better. Maybe it's that way for your Dad too...

What roads do you drive on at night with your tinted lenses? I need to know so I can avoid them once the sun goes down.

“Yellow ‘Night Driving’ lenses have been shown to provide no benefit in seeing ability at night. They are even hazardous, because they give the driver a feeling of seeing better, which no one has yet been able to explain. Studies have shown that they actually impair visual performance and retard glare recovery. Many promoters have made unfounded claims for the ability of amber to improve night vision. They have employed mass solicitation, usually by mail. The Federal Trade Commission has correctly ruled that such practices are illegal since the lenses do not perform as claimed.” – Forensic Aspects of Vision and Highway Safety”, Merrill J. Allen, O.D., Ph.D., Et al.


It is an all too common misconception that yellow tinted or yellow polarized night driving glasses are beneficial for night time driving. The thought is that the yellow or amber color reduces glare and improves contrast. However, in reality, when driving at night or dusk in already limited lighting conditions, ANY tint further reduces the amount of light transmitted to the eye, and consequently, further impairs vision. The problem is compounded as the yellow tint gives the wearer the impression they are seeing better, when in fact the reverse is actually true.






“So-called night driving glasses are generally amber tinted eyewear meant to reduce the glare of oncoming headlights. While they may make the driver feel more comfortable, they also reduce the wearers visibility of the darker portions of the roadway.” – Sunglass Association of America


While yellow lenses can be effective for foggy or hazy daylight conditions, they are not effective against headlight glare and should not be worn at dusk or night. If glare from headlights is a problem, the first step should be a thorough eye examination, as this could be an early indication of cataracts or other medical conditions.



The best option for night time driving is a pair of spectacles with clear lenses and an AR coating. The AR coating is beneficial in two ways. First, it minimizes internal reflections within the lenses, reducing halo problems, and second, it increases the transmittance of light through the lens to the eye. However, it is important to note, if a patient does not normally wear spectacles, AR coated lenses, or any other type of night driving glasses will not improve night vision, as AR coatings only minimize aberrations that are inherent in ophthalmic lenses and night driving glasses will simply serve to introduce those abberations to the wearer’s vision.
Tips for optimal night time driving vision:
- Make sure eyes are examined regularly
- Always wear an up-to-date prescription
- Lenses worn should be clear with an AR coating
- Ensure lenses are clean
- Ensure windshield is clean
- Ensure headlights are clean and properly aligned
Responsible dispensers of ophthalmic lenses should discourage the use of tinted, polarized, or shooter lenses in night time or dusk driving conditions and not participate in solicitation or marketing of so-called night driving glasses by irresponsible manufacturers.

[Optixx]

What roads do you drive on at night with your tinted lenses? I need to know so I can avoid them once the sun goes down.

As stated by Dr. Allen in your post, no one can "as yet, explain" the pros or cons of yellow lenses. Plese understand, I'm not promoting this professionally, I was merely giving thought to the times when I have used those lenses at night (which did not, in any way, impair or endanger my driving abilities which you've clearly maligned out of an over-exaggerated concern for your own personal safety) and experienced a further reduction in glare and sharper contrast over my regular poly a/r lenses. If you Google on a little further, there are as many articles stating the "jury's still out" on whether or not this helps, hinders, or if the lenses need to be at least polarized rather than tinted to help as there are articles like yours condemning the lenses at all costs. We've been conducting an informal in-house review of patients that like/dislike their Drivewear....many of our hyperopes really dislike and sometimes return their Drivewear, while most of our myopes that have tried them would prefer to always have them. Maybe you can find an article explaining that.

[jmchapman]

I sell them, it's not a big hit, but Transitions supplied me with this wheel to show patients the difference in color from indoors to mid light to outdoors. And that seems to work.

[WFruit]

I've never worked with them. Ours is a long-established practice with a deep Essilor history (though we're reaching out to the local Zeiss lab for VSP orders on a trial basis).

That's a shame. I've got a comp pair of 1.67's coming in, 0.50 base curve.....

[Craig]

I put a few employees in the lens and got myself a pair- why do you need someone else to buy your samples?- I invest in frames, edgers, people and have no issue buying lenses to see if they fit a niche for us.
We do quite well with the product and no one has been unhappy with them.
We offer them the light or dark one; most men pick the dark one and some ladies as well, but the men seem to really not care about the slight tint.
FYI, I just bought my staff a new wardrobe so a set of lenses is no big deal.

What other profession will only try something if it is free? We also have a complete display of progressive lenses in Lindberg or TAg Heuer frames as demos and they have been huge money makers for us.

You cannot sell what you do not have!

[vince]

I have a pair, they do work well as a multi purpose pair of glasses, especially if you are out doors most of the time. I feel they do take longer or too long to go from dark to clear, more noticeable in cooler or colder weather, they get very dark in cold weather. I am not sure I would sell them as a primary pair mainly due to the amount of time it takes to change clear.

[BMH]

I put a few employees in the lens and got myself a pair- why do you need someone else to buy your samples?- I invest in frames, edgers, people and have no issue buying lenses to see if they fit a niche for us.

You cannot sell what you do not have!

I do agree that you have to spend money to make money but I would be willing to bet you don't buy your frames and edgers based and a cardboard display. Frame reps bring in the actual products for us to see before we buy them (most of the time). And I am sure you wouldn't invest in a piece of equipment like an edger without some sort of hands on demo, either at a trade show or another office running the equipment.

I have invested in making my own displays/samples. I just think its a shame that we as Opticians know how to market these new products better than the companies that make them.

Now for a question Craig. I have thought many times about making a progressive lens type of demo. How do your displays deal with PD measurements and How many add powers do you display? You can PM me if you want.

Thanks, BMH

[AngeHamm]

What other profession will only try something if it is free? We also have a complete display of progressive lenses in Lindberg or TAg Heuer frames as demos and they have been huge money makers for us.

Your argument is sound on its face, and I certainly have invested hundreds of dollars of my own money into frames and lenses in order to serve my practice. But here are a few points:

1) I am an extremely high myope, and my lenses are very expensive, even at reduced cost from my very friendly labs. Buying new lenses for every new product that comes along is not financially reasonable to expect. I am an employee, not the owner of the business, so it is not reasonable for anyone to expect me to invest a large amount of my personal income into what is, in effect, product advertisement which primarily benefits my employer. That said, I have bought myself over a dozen pairs of lenses over the past two years, and I recognize how much that helps increase my sales.

2) Lens companies have gladly supplied me with comp lenses in the past. My first Transitions, Anti-fatigue, Seiko 1.74 Transitions, Xperio, Viso XC+, SV 360, and Zeiss SV Individual lenses were all supplied by the manufacturer. Why suddenly the tight fist for XtraActive? What is so all-fired holy about this product that the rules are suddenly different? I'm not dropping a hundred-plus bucks of my own money for a niche product with the same name as a huge product failure from 12 years ago.

You cannot sell what you do not have!

3) I would counter that Essilor cannot sell what we don't have, a point amply demonstrated by the fact that I and several posters on this thread are expressing similar difficulties in selling this product from a cardboard wheel.

[WFruit]

So, on the good news front, I've heard that we'll be seeing CR-39 XTRActives, as well as ST's in most materials by the end of the year.....