Optimization Question?

[golfnut]

With all the talk of POW measurements, how do maui jim, oakley , etc make such great lenses without any POW? Are they just using the wrap angle to compensate? I feel that the wrap angle is one of the most important measurements so if they are using it then that makes sense. Just curious if anyone here knew what if any POW's they use to make their lenses.On the flip side does this say something about the need for the extra measurements? I understand the concept for POW but seems like they are doing well without them...

[DanLiv]

I don't think Maui, Oakley, or any of them actually do have uniquely great lenses. Any good lab can make equally great polarized, mirrored, and backside AR lenses that will be as good or better than those companies'. Most of them are using freeform lenses now so they should be compensating somewhat for wrap, if not in the Rx than at least in the traditional way with prism like KBCO and Image wrap lenses do. Their lenses have particularly special reputation only because of marketing and highly restrictive Rx limits which weed out problem scenarios.

I believe custom optics in sunglasses isn't as critical as it is in clear glasses. With 20% or less light transmission the vision attenuation is pretty significant and the fine tuned "last mile" benefits of freeform Rx comopensation are pretty much erased (save for strong Rxs of course, but those ought to have been manually compensated in traditional lenses even before freeform was available). You are right prism compensation for high wrap is much more important to ensure comfort, but that is very easily done without detailed wrap measurements. All you need is to know if Rx is high or low and wrap is high or low and you can manually compensate from there. I would hope Maui et al do this routinely, but I don't know.

[Craig]

Maui uses the angles from their frames in the compensation; but they have dialed it way back and it works great.