Where can one find tribrid

**Paul Smith LDO** · 10-01-2014, 04:07 PM

I have spent several hours trying to find a provider for Tribrid lenses, so far I've managed to find one; I Coat. The problem is that no one person seems to have had any experience with it. Does anyone here have any experience with this particular material. I've tried Pech, FEA, and several other labs in the greater Seattle area. Thanks

**Hayde** · 10-01-2014, 04:44 PM

Very excited about this one (on paper anyway.) Would love to hear if our colleages across the pond think it lives up to expectation.

**Craig** · 10-02-2014, 07:03 AM

It is not in the US yet; I have been waiting over 3 years!
I am not exactly sure why they are not here yet but the blanks are made by Thai Optical and the US distribution is by x-cell, so you need to ask Connie why they are so delayed.
I spoke with her a few months back and still no update.

**Paul Smith LDO** · 10-02-2014, 08:59 AM

Originally Posted by Craig

It is not in the US yet; I have been waiting over 3 years!
I am not exactly sure why they are not here yet but the blanks are made by Thai Optical and the US distribution is by x-cell, so you need to ask Connie why they are so delayed.
I spoke with her a few months back and still no update.

I spoke with an I Coat representative, Larry, who informed me that they could get it. My issue is that he has no experience with it, hence my thread.

**Craig** · 10-02-2014, 10:40 AM

I just got this from the lady in-charge.
I would be interested to know who they can get it from! We don't have it
available yet.

I have had it procrssed with no issues except enough blanks😃

**sharpstick777** · 10-02-2014, 10:54 AM

Paul, the primary issues with any new materials are first demand, and then hard coats. We brought in HiVex a few years ago and have done really well with it but we had to do our own hard coat testing. How do the hard coats handle temperature variation? How do they last over 2 years? Alcohol? Hair spray? Nail polish? Does constant UV exposure yellow the coating? Since most hard coats in the US are reactive (they change as a result of the base material) that base material can have unexpected consequences. There are patent restriction in the US that limit our hard coat choices a bit. So if we have an issue we don't have a lot of ways to solve it.

1.6 has by far the lowest sales of any material, so Tribred is likely to compete in the smallest segment of indexes. Plus Mitsui Resin in 1.60 has a really good 42 Abbe. I love 1.60 personally, it finishes nice and clean. But the overall problem is there is less incentive to pull out millions of dollars in stock and put in a new material, that may not really sell that well. The accountants go hmmmm.

**Hayde** · 10-02-2014, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by sharpstick777

Paul, the primary issues with any new materials are first demand, and then hard coats. We brought in HiVex a few years ago and have done really well with it but we had to do our own hard coat testing. How do the hard coats handle temperature variation? How do they last over 2 years? Alcohol? Hair spray? Nail polish? Does constant UV exposure yellow the coating? Since most hard coats in the US are reactive (they change as a result of the base material) that base material can have unexpected consequences. There are patent restriction in the US that limit our hard coat choices a bit. So if we have an issue we don't have a lot of ways to solve it.

1.6 has by far the lowest sales of any material, so Tribred is likely to compete in the smallest segment of indexes. Plus Mitsui Resin in 1.60 has a really good 42 Abbe. I love 1.60 personally, it finishes nice and clean. But the overall problem is there is less incentive to pull out millions of dollars in stock and put in a new material, that may not really sell that well. The accountants go hmmmm.

Very informative post, sharp!

I do have to say I think there's a formidable market for a better 1.60, tho. Often times the reason it doesn't move is a patient prefering shatter resistance and resiliancy in drillmounts. When trivex is just too thick--we're stuck back with poly.

If the accountants aren't taking into consideration this ought to take a chunk out of the poly pie, they're missing the play.

**Paul Smith LDO** · 10-02-2014, 12:51 PM

Thanks Sharp. We've all been down this road, when a new material comes out, many of the same thoughts were echoed when Trivex first came onto the scene and it quickly became my number 2 lens material behind HI-1.60. As much as I appreciate your information, I am still looking for someone who has had experience with Tribrid and can provide me with some in depth information.

**Barry Santini** · 10-02-2014, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by sharpstick777

Paul, the primary issues with any new materials are first demand, and then hard coats. We brought in HiVex a few years ago and have done really well with it but we had to do our own hard coat testing. How do the hard coats handle temperature variation? How do they last over 2 years? Alcohol? Hair spray? Nail polish? Does constant UV exposure yellow the coating? Since most hard coats in the US are reactive (they change as a result of the base material) that base material can have unexpected consequences. There are patent restriction in the US that limit our hard coat choices a bit. So if we have an issue we don't have a lot of ways to solve it.

1.6 has by far the lowest sales of any material, so Tribred is likely to compete in the smallest segment of indexes. Plus Mitsui Resin in 1.60 has a really good 42 Abbe. I love 1.60 personally, it finishes nice and clean. But the overall problem is there is less incentive to pull out millions of dollars in stock and put in a new material, that may not really sell that well. The accountants go hmmmm.

And no amount of increased CEs or licensure will deter lab people from recommending 1.67 over 1.60.

B

**Craig** · 10-02-2014, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by Paul Smith LDO

Thanks Sharp. We've all been down this road, when a new material comes out, many of the same thoughts were echoed when Trivex first came onto the scene and it quickly became my number 2 lens material behind HI-1.60. As much as I appreciate your information, I am still looking for someone who has had experience with Tribrid and can provide me with some in depth information.

These is no information to be had. I am telling you it is not available in the usa and it is not a coating issue. I had them processsed and coated with not an issue. This was not a complete validation but the 3 year old blanks we had went thru surfacing and dip coating then AR without a hitch. The lady who gave me the information today is the VP for the US distributor and they are not coming in the near future. I actually tried to take on the distribution 2 years ago and is the reason we had the blanks laying around.

The lens is much lighter in weight than 1.67 and amost as this thin since it can be ground a little thinnner while not breaking or fracturing. It would be my number 2 lens behind trivex and could command a decent share for up to +5 to -6D.

**Paul Smith LDO** · 10-02-2014, 07:37 PM

Thanks Craig, you'd think we were trying to get blood out of a turnip. From what little I've been able to hunt down, this material would respond somewhere between a HI-1.60 and a 1.67. Given it's strength, a thinner CT could be possible, as you said. Pair that with a nice ABBE Value and we could offer more choices for some of those difficult patients, myself included. I'm not giving up yet.

**other_bill_fea** · 10-03-2014, 08:58 AM

The specs that I have on it put it at a 1.59 refractive index, 41 abbe, and 1.23 density. Last I heard about it was about a year ago, and it's still not really available. The price was also a good bit more than 160 or 167, so that probably didn't really help.