Here’s Which Coatings You Really Need on a New Pair of Glasses

Buying glasses can feel strangely like buying a new car. Prices are often hidden from you. The price is higher than the rightful right. It also pushes you with a lot of mysterious upgrades. coating. I’m talking about coating. That means anti-scratch, anti-glare stuff that you can add to your lenses to make your glasses and vision even stronger. On the surface, these sound like decency. (As the man who once wiped his glasses with the tail of his concrete-splattered shirt, acted like sandpaperan anti-scratch coating sounds like a good idea.) But do these coatings actually work? requirement any of them?

scratch resistant coating

It’s a simple clear coat applied to the front and back of the lens to help protect it from scratches and scuffs as you fumble through your friction-filled life. Almost all modern lenses are pretty scratch resistant in their basic form, but the word “resistant” doesn’t mean “impermeable,” so a little extra protection is always a good idea. If given the option to add scratch resistance, it’s usually worth it because it extends the useful life of your eyewear.

recommendation: Hard yes.

anti-reflection coating

This coating reduces the amount of light reflected from the lens. This improves the clarity of what you are looking at, especially your computer screen. shoot Brighten your eyes and help night vision especially while driving. As you may have heard, it doesn’t really do much for light glare, like when someone puts you on the high beams on the highway. It does not. If you don’t often drive at night or work in front of a screen, you may not realize you need an AR coating.

Recommendation: Depends on your lifestyle.

Ultraviolet coatings

Ultraviolet (UV) light is the violence the sun beams down at us every day—it’s the same light ray that blesses us with sunburn and, eventually, skin cancer. So as you might imagine it’s not super good for your eyes, either, which is why most sunglasses will advertise a certain amount of UV protection. Keep in mind, though, that your standard un-coated eyeglass lens blocks most UV rays already—the coating just boosts that to 100% protection.

Recommendation: Not a bad idea, but only essential if you spend a lot of time in the sun.

Anti-fog coatings

This coating aims to reduce or eliminate that death-defying moment when you step out into the cold weather and your glasses immediately turn opaque with water vapor, or when you put on that facemask and your own exhalation turns against you. You can get a coating on your lenses that will fight off fogging, but it’s not always available if you have a complex prescription or other coatings on the lens—and it will Only lasts 1-2 yearsIt may be better to use one of the many wipes, sprays, and gels available to prevent fogging, or simply deal with the occasional inconvenience.

recommendation: Probably skip.

blue light blocker

All the screens we see all day emit “blue light”. bad influence upon our overall healthSo getting this blue light blocking coating might sound like a good idea. Most of the problems we see after staring at screens for a long day have nothing to do with blue light. This coating is harmless, but probably won’t do you any good.

recommendation: P.ass.

Other coatings, such as mirror coatings that tint your lenses to keep them opaque so other people can’t see your eyes (but don’t block the light entering your eyes like sunglasses do) is available. Darkens lenses in response to light, turning glasses into sunglasses. These coatings are a personal choice. If you want cool tinted lenses or hate switching back and forth between separate sunglasses, go for it.

After all, you don’t requirement Any of these coatings – your glasses will work just as well without them – and the only good choice is the coating Everyone Scratch resistant coating.For the rest, consider how you live and how you use your glasses before you buy them.