Ask HN: Older hackers, what glasses do you use? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Older hackers, what glasses do you use?

5 pointsSoftTalker7 comments

Since I turned 50, I have needed reading glasses to comfortably focus on the screen when I'm working. I'm tired of cheap drugstore glasses that break every few months. Anyone have a brand that they really like, good lenses, blue-blocking, etc.

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I pony up for good lenses at LensCrafters as I need the correction as well as up close: progressives, anti-glare and the lightest lens material that they sell. I also try for a light frame and have found that round glasses “progress” well and cover my central field of vision. Also, computer glasses (inverse bifocals as it were) were quite disorienting for me but coworkers like them. A buddy could not deal with progressives so he did old style trifocals. We’re computer people so style is not the main concern…

Working on a laptop actually helps as it makes me look down while maintaining proper posture which is where the up close magnification lives. The big desktop monitor finds me learning my head back at times or working at the top. And I need the room brighter for the added depth of field from a constricted pupil.

Even cheaper cheap glasses are my solution. 5 pairs for £10. Been over a year with the last set.

The real problem you are going to bump into is when you have to read something off your phone or paper while doing something on screen. You need bifocals that are half mid/laptop- or further/monitor-reading and half close-reading. Try to find them! Anyone?

Turns out in the UK, they are illegal to buy without a specific prescription. Reading glasses + reading glasses = illegal! Because you might not go to an optometrist as often and might have glaucoma. Couldn't find them in the US but couldn't find whether that's because they are also illegal. Couldn't find any on Ali Express.

I can still read off a screen without glasses, but occasionally need to turn to reading glasses when reading print material if the print size is small enough, or if the light in the room isn't just right. In those cases, I use 1.25x magnification glasses of the brand they sell at Barnes & Noble. I forget the actual brand name, and I don't have my glasses handy to look right this second.

They're not super expensive, or super-cheap, but seem to work well enough. And I haven't had any issues with breaking them or anything.

EDIT: The brand is "Foster Grant".

I use 3 pairs, a distance pair for being outside, reading glasses for my phone, and progressives for when I need both. I purchase them from online retailers and generally just get an anti-reflective coating. With the progressives I pony up for the wider viewing angles as it makes a huge difference when changing between the fields of view a lot, which I do.

-edit: I have a prescription, it makes the viewing better if you get exactly what you need, go back and get it redone if you are unhappy. The online retailers have generous exchange policies. (eg 39dollarglasses)

Zeiss office lens. Those are progressive lenses that combine close focus (the traditional reading lenses) with an intermediate range (for computer monitor usage).

Hm. This may be something I look at. Unfortunately the closest Zeiss Vision Provider is over 20 miles away according to their site.

I have 2 pairs of glasses. Work/Computer glasses that have the prescription optimized for 18" (my preferred distance to the monitor). General lenses (bi-focals) for reading and driving/TV.

I'll ALWAYS have my dedicated computer glasses, the difference is incredible.

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