I’m placing this post in the Competition forum, though I think it would fit well in Optics forum.
As those of you who have read my material here know, I am passionate about optical IQ, CA control and mirage. My hypothesis is that a riflescope that doesn’t control CA very well, intensifies the disruptive effect of atmospheric shimmer (mirage) on the Image Quality (IQ) of a riflescope substantially. This causes the users of those riflescopes to have to dial down the magnification to attempt to deal with bad mirage conditions.
Over many years, I have become aware that my glasses caused the IQ of the riflescope to diminish, and sometimes by quite a bit. I have long been a proponent of shooting your high dollar riflescopes without glasses and I know that I am not the only one. I was never enthusiastic about that belief; I really wanted some form of eye protection.
A few weeks ago, while doing research for another article, I became aware that eyeglasses were CA generators. As we know, there are different types of glass do control CA and some are far better than others. Also, optical engineers can also attempt to control CA without the use of the fancier glasses but only do so for a very few selected wavelengths (color). Unfortunately, these materials are not available for eyeglasses, and they are expensive and weigh more.
Eyeglasses and safety glasses are usually made with either glass, or plastic, the most common being polycarbonate, or polycarb. Polycarb is great for protection but is especially lousy for CA, in fact, it’s a friggin CA generator. (I may be exaggerating, but not by much.)
My research revealed there is another material that is used to make eyeglasses and safety glasses, and also has impact resistance. This material is Trivex. I found a site that will make you safety glasses with Trivex. It’s zenni.com. This is an American company, founded in 2003, in Novato, CA. My first order was shipped from Ohio. When they arrived I thought the case was empty, they are so light.
This past weekend at Bayou, I tried out my Trivex safety glasses shooting my Majesta at 1000 yards. I wore them for all 3 matches, and they did very well for me. I could tell the difference in IQ between wearing my regular polycarb glasses and wearing Trivex glasses. I could not tell the difference between naked eye and Trivex glasses. As far as I’m concerned, they did the trick. I ordered another set of Trivex glasses, this time with my prescription.
The ordering process is simple enough but there is something that you must be aware of. After you select your lenses with whatever goodies you want in them, including your prescription, if you need that, you will get to a question regarding Lens Index, and there will be several choices. To get the Trivex glass, and they may refer to it as Premium, you MUST select the 1.53 Impact-resistant option that costs $29.95. That is the Trivex glass. Anything else is either polycarb or non-impact resistant glass. Please be aware that the prescription range is from +2.00 to -3.00 for the Trivex (1.53 index). If you are not presented with that choice, you’re not getting the Trivex. It must be 1.53. I had to redo it a few times to get the 1.53 choice for my prescription pair.
Now for prices, brace yourself. The Trivex safety glasses cost $60, shipped. The prescription pair with various other features cost $120. The description of the lenses for those glasses is “1.53 Blokz Trivex Digital Free Form Progressive.” Notice the 1.53 and the Trivex.
Now for the normal caveats. I am sharing with you my findings freely. I am NOT a doctor or an optician/optometrist. I do not sell anything and make no promises about anything.
I will say that I will not be surprised if many of the ones of decide to try this Trivex, do not detect any benefit. Some people are more sensitive to CA (seem to detect it). When I tried on the Trivex glasses after pulling off my regular glasses, I noticed a greater degree of vibrancy or color popping. It seems they sell these glasses to golfers and bird watchers.
I am pleased that I now have safety glasses to protect my dreamy eyes and rugged good looks, without destroying the IQ provided by my expensive riflescopes. It is my contention that polycarbs contribute to the IQ destruction of shimmer/mirage, but do not expect miracles, this is subtle and incremental, and as I said, most people will be hard put to see any difference.
As those of you who have read my material here know, I am passionate about optical IQ, CA control and mirage. My hypothesis is that a riflescope that doesn’t control CA very well, intensifies the disruptive effect of atmospheric shimmer (mirage) on the Image Quality (IQ) of a riflescope substantially. This causes the users of those riflescopes to have to dial down the magnification to attempt to deal with bad mirage conditions.
Over many years, I have become aware that my glasses caused the IQ of the riflescope to diminish, and sometimes by quite a bit. I have long been a proponent of shooting your high dollar riflescopes without glasses and I know that I am not the only one. I was never enthusiastic about that belief; I really wanted some form of eye protection.
A few weeks ago, while doing research for another article, I became aware that eyeglasses were CA generators. As we know, there are different types of glass do control CA and some are far better than others. Also, optical engineers can also attempt to control CA without the use of the fancier glasses but only do so for a very few selected wavelengths (color). Unfortunately, these materials are not available for eyeglasses, and they are expensive and weigh more.
Eyeglasses and safety glasses are usually made with either glass, or plastic, the most common being polycarbonate, or polycarb. Polycarb is great for protection but is especially lousy for CA, in fact, it’s a friggin CA generator. (I may be exaggerating, but not by much.)
My research revealed there is another material that is used to make eyeglasses and safety glasses, and also has impact resistance. This material is Trivex. I found a site that will make you safety glasses with Trivex. It’s zenni.com. This is an American company, founded in 2003, in Novato, CA. My first order was shipped from Ohio. When they arrived I thought the case was empty, they are so light.
This past weekend at Bayou, I tried out my Trivex safety glasses shooting my Majesta at 1000 yards. I wore them for all 3 matches, and they did very well for me. I could tell the difference in IQ between wearing my regular polycarb glasses and wearing Trivex glasses. I could not tell the difference between naked eye and Trivex glasses. As far as I’m concerned, they did the trick. I ordered another set of Trivex glasses, this time with my prescription.
The ordering process is simple enough but there is something that you must be aware of. After you select your lenses with whatever goodies you want in them, including your prescription, if you need that, you will get to a question regarding Lens Index, and there will be several choices. To get the Trivex glass, and they may refer to it as Premium, you MUST select the 1.53 Impact-resistant option that costs $29.95. That is the Trivex glass. Anything else is either polycarb or non-impact resistant glass. Please be aware that the prescription range is from +2.00 to -3.00 for the Trivex (1.53 index). If you are not presented with that choice, you’re not getting the Trivex. It must be 1.53. I had to redo it a few times to get the 1.53 choice for my prescription pair.
Now for prices, brace yourself. The Trivex safety glasses cost $60, shipped. The prescription pair with various other features cost $120. The description of the lenses for those glasses is “1.53 Blokz Trivex Digital Free Form Progressive.” Notice the 1.53 and the Trivex.
Now for the normal caveats. I am sharing with you my findings freely. I am NOT a doctor or an optician/optometrist. I do not sell anything and make no promises about anything.
I will say that I will not be surprised if many of the ones of decide to try this Trivex, do not detect any benefit. Some people are more sensitive to CA (seem to detect it). When I tried on the Trivex glasses after pulling off my regular glasses, I noticed a greater degree of vibrancy or color popping. It seems they sell these glasses to golfers and bird watchers.
I am pleased that I now have safety glasses to protect my dreamy eyes and rugged good looks, without destroying the IQ provided by my expensive riflescopes. It is my contention that polycarbs contribute to the IQ destruction of shimmer/mirage, but do not expect miracles, this is subtle and incremental, and as I said, most people will be hard put to see any difference.
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