I don't need multi-focal lenses (yet), but mom does, mom-in-law does and so does almost everyone I know over the age of 50. This is a huge section of the population that will never have laser eye surgery.

It intrigued me when I heard a rumor from Dr. Marc at 39DollarGlasses about a new progressive lens that 39$ was about to start offering. This lens, which I assumed would be a premium option turned out to be Optical Dynamics' clearLight progressive lenses.

We've added a new progressive lens option to our site. It is made using a digital free form lens molding technology and is manufactured by Optical Dynamics. The lens is a 1.58 index Aspheric design and has vastly superior optical quality because it is not surfaced using conventional methods.

It is also eco-friendly using 70% less material in the manufacturing process, significantly minimizing waste. This technology allows for the most customized lens based on prescription, PD, and frame measurements. This, in turn, gives the clearest most comfortable vision at any distance.

Best of all? It's the default lens option for all progressives at 39DollarGlasses now -- so it's the included lens. Prices did not rise to accommodate this change.

So, all of you progressives out there, give them a try and let me know what you think.

I got an email a couple of weeks ago asking how "Project Dean" ended up. It has been awhile, and my first thought was to pass along the link in the previous sentence to all of the articles -- and then I realized that I had never finished the series. I stubbed in the title for this piece and it got buried under dozens of other posts.

More importantly, it's been four months of daily wear and they're still pristine. Proof that you can have success with progressive lenses online.

It's been over forty-eight hours and I've not heard back from Goggles4U on my query, so we'll approach this as a two-candidate race between Optical4Less and 39DollarGlasses for the time being. (Note to self: Another communication breakdown.)

We'll start with Optical4Less' offerings.

As mentioned in part one of this series, Dean is looking for Photochromic Progressives, and the frames are going to need to be on the large side.

Lens costs and options:

• High index 1.56 Multi-focal Progressive Lens (non-Photochromic) - $98
• High Index 1.56 photochromic progressive lenses - $187 (Grey Only)
• PRECISION ® customized 1.56 photochromic progressive lenses - $198
• PRECISION ® customized 1.67 photochromic progressive lenses - $398
  

We strike the first, due to the fact that he wants Photochromic (I only include it at all to compare the non-Photochromic lens price). The last one is struck for two reasons, he doesn't need Hi-Index with his prescription and the nearly $400 price tag is cost-prohibitive.

That leaves two options and I think for the extra $11 you probably buy the hype ("The ultimate-quality progressive lenses!"), to the point that they're probably better than the $187 option.

Optical4Less charges $3 per degree of prism correction, per lens. So that tacks on $6 to the order. They include anti-reflective, UV and anti-scratch coatings in the price.

These decked-out lenses will come to $193.

Frames?
I dug into the site with the existing sizes of Dean's frames in front of me -- and I ran into trouble. Really, there was only one frame that came close to matching up with the numbers...

The much-maligned Aviator. I won't debate the merits of this frame in this piece, but suffice it to say, I think this is a tough frame to pull-off, especially in it's non-sunglasses form.

There were a couple of pair that are close, but are they "close enough?".

Next up, I saw this titanium pair which will likely hold up to the stresses of being slept in.

Only one problem. They're only available in gold. I'm not a big fan of gold, and I don't think Dean is either. I think he'd rather stick to the more subdued, gunmetal or even silver, but I can't really speak for him. I like these, but the sizes, in particular the temple length, scares me a bit. It's not like spending $15 or even $40 on glasses, this is a bigger investment (and risk).

Another bigger frame in an aluminum and alloy is the MA080. The lenses are 55mm by 39mm, so we're in the same ballpark at least. The width is 145mm, but the temple length of 140mm might be a bit short for ol' Dean. Regardless, this is still an option.

It's available in Bronze, Gunmetal and Black and the $34.00 frame price makes this ensemble price out at $238 (+ shipping).

Next up -- probably Sunday -- we'll look at what 39DollarGlasses has to offer. I'll be out of town for the weekend, so email responses might suffer for a couple of days. I'll try to get online at least once a day, but I have no broadband (or even cell reception) when I'm in the hinterland. Have a great weekend.

[ED. NOTE.: This is part one in a 5-part series culminating in the receipt of the glasses.]

My wife is patient. She needs to be with me. Round-about Christmas, we visited her uncle who lives in the little town in the middle of Minnesota. This uncle (let's call him Dean, as that is his name) had a pair of broken glasses. He's one of our favorite people. Living on a fixed-income, the idea that he could get a pair of glasses for less than the $400+ he's been paying seemed quite attractive -- especially with the success I've had with my purchases and the successful purchases in the forums.

I've been particularly busy professionally and personally, and frankly with his glasses "fixed" (with a section of thick clear tubing to help fuse the break in the temple), it slipped on my priority list. I mean, if he's not an anchor on the evening news each night, who's going to notice? Oh, and I kept forgetting.

So today, I sat down to write in an unusually quiet house and there staring me in the face was "the prescription."



I'd also jotted down the details on his existing frame to aid in the search -- again, over 3 months ago. His "broken" pair are a Van Heusen "Benjamin" frame in Gunmetal Grey.

• Frame width is 150mm
• Lens height is about 41mm
• Lens width is about 58mm
• Bridge width 19mm
• Temple length 145mm

His distance PD came in at 66mm.

Dean is very interested in Transitions, or photochromic lenses. He's a voracious reader who's prone to falling asleep with his glasses on, so sturdiness and utility are weighed more heavily than trendiness, which refreshingly carries little weight in small town Minnesota.

The Qwest Begins
Right off the bat, or rather after twelve minutes on hold, Zenni was no longer in the running. A polite "no, we don't" to my query regarding a slight prism and we were down to four options.

A few moments later at a much better laid-out site with an actual F.A.Q., EyeBuyDirect, I was able to pare down the contenders to three.

I knew Optical4Less could accommodate a prism prescription as they're the only online retailer in the group that allows you to enter a prism in the online prescription form.


Checking with Goggles4U was going to take some time. There is no mention of being able to deliver prescriptions with a prism on their site and the "Live Chat" feature was in "Leave a Message" mode. I left a message on Wednesday morning at about 10:30AM CDT. I'm curious how long it will be until I get a response.

My last stop was 39DollarGlasses and their F.A.Q. mentioned nothing about prism. Popping into their "Live Chat" brought up a window and Melanie was able to answer my question almost immediately to the affirmative, if not requiring me to jump through an extra hoop:

I wish I hadn't highlighted the thing before taking the screen shot

So we're down to two (and possibly three) of the retailers to fill this prescription. I'm not surprised at the choices as they seem to be two of the more "hands-on" or "in-house" places in the "Big5".

Next step will be to look for frames of a type I haven't had to consider for myself. It's a daunting prospect, but the next couple of installments will narrow down the options in "Project Dean."