(Since this is very much personal opinion and very unscientific, I didn't think I could put this in the product review forum.)
I'm the only relatively high myope in the clinic, so I get the pleasure of trying out the various high index lenses as they come out. And since my seasonal allergies have forced me to take a contact lens holiday, I'm wearing glasses way more than usual. So, I thought I'd share my thoughts and impressions on a few lenses I've tried recently.
My usual lens of choice is the Nikon 4; I've been wearing that in various frames for the past 5 years. I've never had any issues with the optics of the lens, and while I'm not sure if my one pair that has ICE still has that coating, I've never had any problems with HCC.
In January I started wearing a pair of Nikon Seemax lenses with ICE. The most noticeable difference for me was looking down at stairs. Since I'm usually a full-time CL wearer, when I use the Nikon 4 lenses, I find I misjudge the first step in a flight of stairs. That doesn't happen with the Seemax lenses. I seem to get a much more "real" image, and I do notice a lot less peripheral distortion in the lenses.
Three weeks ago, I got a pair of the Essilor Fusio - the new 1.74 lens. While I love how thin these lenses turned out (it was the only way our optician could convince me to try a minimal arts frame), I don't like the optics as much as the Seemax. The Fusio seems to me to be like the Nikon 4: good optics, but not so great once I realise what I can really see. I do like the cleanability of the Alize coating.
Do I think Seemax is worth it? If I were a consumer, it would be very hard to convince me to spend the extra bucks without literally seeing the benefits. But as a high myope who is very picky about my vision, yes I think it is worth it.
As for the Fusio, I would recommend it to patients with higher scripts than mine, simply for the thiness factor. It probably is on par with Nikon 5, but since I haven't tried that one, I can't be entirely sure.
Well, that's my take on things. I'll be very happy though when I can back into my contacts. ;)
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