Replacing poly

[AngeHamm]

I'm finally on board with the poly-haters. I've had it with cracks, crazing, and groove defects, which seem to be epidemic the past year. My office is looking at steering away from poly and instead recommending 1.60 and Trivex for mid-high prescriptions.

So I ask you, dear OptiBoarders: what are you using and how are you approaching it? Poly has the obvious advantage of being more inexpensive than 1.60 or Trivex, and is certainly available in more lens styles and color options.

I chafe at asking my patients to pay more unless it's absolutely beneficial to them, but I'm finally convinced that polycarbonate lenses are an awful lot of potential trouble for a savings of (retail) $10-20 over my poly price. We still plan to continue to offer poly SV for kids at the same price as CR39 for safety and cost reasons.

[Jacqui]

We still plan to continue to offer poly SV for kids at the same price as CR39 for safety and cost reasons.

Trivex is safer

[Fezz]

Trivex is chemically resistant!

[Fezz]

Trivex does not suffer from hole elongation in drill mounts.

[AngeHamm]

Trivex does not suffer from hole elongation in drill mounts.

I get that Trivex is better at being poly than poly is. My problem is that many lens products (lots of progressives, photochromics, polarized) just aren't available in Trivex. That's more my question: what products are you guys using in those cases?

[melthemadhatter]

I love, love, love Trivex. I wear it myself! But it is limited as well.

[AngeHamm]

I wear 1.67 and 1.74 and am extremely happy with both. We sell a lot of 1.67 to patients with high powers. I'm thinking that we will simply have to move to 1.60 for patients with moderate prescriptions for the most part.

[Fezz]

Trivex is available in many progressive designs, polarized, photo sensitive, Polarized photochromic, vari photochromic, etc!

[DragonLensmanWV]

High powers = 1.70.

[oxmoon]

Ok Trivex lovers. At what power would you say the extra thickness of trivex outweighs its other advantages?

[Fezz]

Ok Trivex lovers. At what power would you say the extra thickness of trivex outweighs its other advantages?

Nothing is set in stone for me! It depends on so many different factors.

[AngeHamm]

It is, but I'm not willing to abandon the progressives we're having excellent results with (Varilux Comfort 2, DRx, and Enhanced) because they're not in Trivex. (One of our core progressives, the TruClear HD+, is.) We'll likely just move up to 1.60. We had been selling Trivex and 1.60 at the same rate anyway.

[AngeHamm]

High powers = 1.70.

1.70 makes my eyes feel funny.

[Fezz]

You can get the New Comfort 2 DRX in Trivex!

It also comes Trivex trans brown and gray!

[DragonLensmanWV]

Ok Trivex lovers. At what power would you say the extra thickness of trivex outweighs its other advantages?

It takes about a minus 12.
http://www.youngeroptics.com/pdf/tri..._Monograph.pdf

[DragonLensmanWV]

1.70 makes my eyes feel funny.

Can't handle the lack of chromatic aberration? When I was -15, I could not wear anything else.

[anthonyf1509]

It is, but I'm not willing to abandon the progressives we're having excellent results with (Varilux Comfort 2, DRx, and Enhanced) because they're not in Trivex. (One of our core progressives, the TruClear HD+, is.) We'll likely just move up to 1.60. We had been selling Trivex and 1.60 at the same rate anyway.

At our lab(s) those Varilux products are same cost in Poly and 1.60....Trivex is only some more. Seiko has Trivex in alot of options and is more than comparable to those 3 Comfort products.

[chip anderson]

Since anything is optically better, what's the problem?

[Dave E]

We still use poly but we are tring to use more trivex and are lab has come out with there own progressive lens and there is no cost difrence for poly or trivex so we are using them when we can . I am wairing one of them my self and I think they are great. When do you think that all lens will be avaible in trivex it is such a great matrial?

[Chris Ryser]

I'm finally on board with the poly-haters. I've had it with cracks, crazing, and groove defects, which seem to be epidemic the past year. My office is looking at steering away from poly and instead recommending 1.60 and Trivex for mid-high prescriptions.

All the problems mentioned above are due to bad workmanship, not being good enough to be able to do a good job. I would have liked to see you guys working this profession in the age of glass. It is not the material you should blame, it is yours or somebody elses fingers that need more expierience.

[Nikolay Angelov]

If you are an excellent engineer you can design a steel plane.

However aluminum still has more suitable properties.

Knowing and choosing the best material for the job is what separates the pro from the amateur.

[AngeHamm]

All the problems mentioned above are due to bad workmanship, not being good enough to be able to do a good job. I would have liked to see you guys working this profession in the age of glass. It is not the material you should blame, it is yours or somebody elses fingers that need more expierience.

Chris, I have been doing this since the age of glass. In complete humility, I am an excellent finishing lab tech. Poly gives me problems no other material does. Many people here, and many I have worked with, share that observation.

[AngeHamm]

And seriously, even if it's user error causing polycarbonate to be the most persnickety and error-prone of all my materials, isn't that reason enough to ditch it? If my normal care results in perfect lenses for every material other than poly, a material that is coincidentally the least clear that I work with, isn't that also reason enough to change?

[optilady1]

All the problems mentioned above are due to bad workmanship, not being good enough to be able to do a good job. I would have liked to see you guys working this profession in the age of glass. It is not the material you should blame, it is yours or somebody elses fingers that need more expierience.

Why work with something that you have to tip-toe around when you can work with ease with another product that has added benefits?

It's like childbirth: why do it without pain meds when you can do it (relatively) pain free?

[EyeCare Rich]

And seriously, even if it's user error causing polycarbonate to be the most persnickety and error-prone of all my materials, isn't that reason enough to ditch it? If my normal care results in perfect lenses for every material other than poly, a material that is coincidentally the least clear that I work with, isn't that also reason enough to change?

Absolutely a great answer!!! Right on!! Many opinions stated here as usual. Trivex is a great material, but not perfect. I have started using in place of poly slowly converting both myself, and the patients. I do happen to like it better on + lenses than in - for some reason though.