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That's odd, Adski. The reason I wanted another pair is that mine have been fine in the car. Done the job very well indeed. Reactolites lose their effectivenss if they are kept in the dark for a long time, such as storage in stock stomewhere, though they recover when re-exposed to light. It can take a little time though, and the first trip or so may not be too effective. I had a spare pair which I used to keep on a windowsill for that reason.
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Well I never knew that Stripey. When I got mine the optician told me that (Specsavers). They've never tinted in the car, I've had them for a while and wear them all the time. Outiside they're great though.
Sorry for the duff advice.
Adam
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not duff advice....
my glasses don't darken in any car either for exactly the reason you said.
JaB
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I'm not suggesting the advice is duff -- I'm sure that the comments on windscreens and UV are perfectly correct. It's just odd that my specs have been OK. I,ve worn the last pair of reeactolites in a variety of cars for a good few years now and found them so efective that I want the replacemrnts in the same. Are there polychromatics and polychrmatis I wonder.
Incidentally, the note about the need to restore Reactolites after a long spell in the dark was on a warning leaflet enclosed with the glasses, which were Reactolite brand not generic.
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>>. Are there polychromatics and polychrmatis I wonder.>>
This US company advertises them at the foot of this web page:
www.kounopt.com/
as does this small UK outlet:
www.judithroberts-opticians.co.uk/services.htm
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Not entirely the same but I wear glasses all the time. Mine are the reactolite ones you speak of but you do know they won't change in the car don't you? Car windscreens block out most UV light which is what the glasses work off. I've been in at least 10 different cars since I got these and they've never changed at all in sunny weather. Adam
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I Cannot agree with them NOT working in cars.
I have had them for years.
I have mentioned on the forum that I drove into the unlit Homer tunnel in NZ and had no vision because they were so dark. Brain was not in gear so did not immediately take them off. I had 4 different hire cars on that trip and they worked in all of them.. Mine are Zeiss lenses. I do however think the ability of them to darken is wearing off.
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Apart from having the familiar Bosch and Lamb's RayBan airline pilot sunglasses I also have a pair of its Driving Series sunglasses, also under the RayBan trademark, with Cromax lenses.
They are designed to particularly emphasise red and green and are very effective whilst driving.
As for Reactolite lenses, again I had a pair before getting the RayBans - these again worked well whilst driving, darkening as expected in the right conditions.
My son got the Reactolite sunglasses - much to his disgust. He wanted the "airline pilot" RayBans I had just acquired.
Puzzled as to why a teenager would want them so badly, I eventually gleaned from him that they were the really cool thing to have at that time amongst his peers.
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I suppose it could be relative -- perhaps a little less effective in the car than outside and I've never actually noticed. I'll have to check this when I get a new pair. If anyone sees a Mégane veering all over the M55 on the next really sunny day, it's only me carrying out some tests in the cause of scientific endeavour.
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PS. This is all immensely interesting, although my real enquiry is where I can buy a pair. However, I understand that RAF aircrew glasses are polychromatic, and aircraft windscreen will also block some UV. (I don't take the 'Aviator' label on some designer glasses too seriously!).
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PPS (grasshopper brain). Thanks for the tip about Cromax, Stuartli. I'l do a bit of Googling.
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I would think that Cromax is a B and L trademark. The lenses don't darken - it's the nature of the colours that are blocked or let through that is involved.
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RAF aircrew glasses are polychromatic
I was issued with a pair back in my handlebar moustache Tally Ho Wizard Prang days - the Mk14s as issued at the time were a pair of very (very) dark lenses in a chrome surround. They didn't react to light levels - is that what you mean by polychromatic?
Generally, once you are above the clouds the light level doesn't change much. Not that the Mk14s ever saw much in flight service - the helmets have a second tinted visor so the shades end up being for ground use only.
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Polychromatic is simply the generic term for a glass that adjusts to light levels. Reactolite is a brand name. Incidentally, I flew myself with Transport Command ra little later than the Tally Ho!days. Polychromatic lenses weren't around then, if I remember rightly.
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"My son got the Reactolite sunglasses - much to his disgust. He wanted the "airline pilot" RayBans I had just acquired."
Must have been about 1973 then, did he want the jason king hairstlye and face fuzz as well? ;)
I wear glasses. Used to have a pair of Reactolite rapides, and they were useless in the car, rarely getting darker.
Now I always buy two pairs when my prescription is changed, one ordinaire, and one sunglasses for the car. (always a buy one get one free deal on)
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I have plain i.e. uncoated, prescription lenses and flip-up clip-on sunglasses.
Instant change available: sun out, sunglasses down.
Into tunnel, sunglasses up.
No loss of vision either way.
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>>Must have been about 1973 then>>
You can add at least 20 to that particular year...:-))
Re photocromatic lenses. Here's a piece on the subject (copy and paste to save typing from tinyurl.com/68ktl). Note the last paragraph:
Photochromic lenses
"Reactolite is the name most people associate with this type of lens and a lot of people use the term in much the same way we call a vacuum cleaner a Hoover, it is in fact the trade name of one particular type of lens.
"This lens was first produced as a spin off from the space race in the 60?s but it has now evolved far past its early forms. It is a lens that changes from light to dark and back again depending on the light it is in.
"Although it was originally only available in glass, plastic versions have become available over the last few years. Some of the original plastic versions performed quite poorly and had some ?interesting? colours.
"Now you can have faster reacting, less temperature dependant lenses in a choice of colours, including some that work just as well behind a car windscreen ? ask about them, not all photochromics are the same."
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Most interested to read these posts. I has photochromatic lenses in the late '70's, but gave them up because a) they reacted to UV light, so were dark when it was raining (uv comes through cloud) and b) being shortsighted (-6+), the central spot of the lens was a lot thinner, and hence clearer, than the rest of the lens.
Plastic photochromatics overcome the problem of b), but (used to) have a much slower reaction time.
You can specify, for prescription lenses, what the min/max values of light transmission should be; I went for max transmission, so I could wear them at night, and found they were of little use during the day, due to b).
I'm sure that there have since been further advances , but being shortsighted, slightly astigmatic, needing varifocals and not wanting lenses as heavy or as thick as Corona bottle bottoms (showing my age!), my normal lenses are already £400ish, so additional cost for photochromatics is not in question.
I did have a pair of prescription sunglasses, but driving into underground carparks, Swiss tunnels, etc was not clever. I settled for a pair of USA oap type overglasses,£10, (my children wanted to disown me when I was wearing them) but I could easily put them on/remove them whilst driving.
My new Zeiss spectacles have custom made magnetic clipon sunglasses - but that still doesn't help with eg Swiss motorway travel through many tunnels...
Bad teeth and eyesight (genes and illness!!) have kept me poor - but that's not a topic for this forum!!! :-)
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