Do I Need Prescription Sunglasses?

Do you need prescription sunglasses? It depends on your prescription, of course, but it also depends in part on what you are doing while you are wearing your sunglasses. If you wear contact lenses you are set--the contacts cover your distance vision, and all you have to do is get the perfect sunglass lens for your activity. But if you wear glasses on a daily basis you might consider putting a prescription into a high-quality pair of sunglasses.

At Skyvision Centers we make it a point to carry sunwear that can be "Rx'ed". Our Maui Jim, Kaenon, Nike, and Oakley lines can all be made with your regular prescription. Even your bifocal prescription! There are some other options, too. We have the entire spectrum of Transitions lenses available, including the revolutionary "Drivewear" lens that changes color in the car! On top of all that, you can add a magnetic clip-on to many of our highest high fashion frames when it gets sunny.

Whether its' golf, biking, tennis, or just reading this summer's blockbuster on the beach, we can outfit you with a pair of high-quality, hi-def sunglasses with YOUR prescription to maximize your vision outdoors. It's just one more way that we are changing the face of vision care. Vision Redesigned!

Nike SportsVision Golf!

Did you know that all of the Skyvision Centers doctors are golfers? Dr. Kaye has actually competed in some of the biggest Cleveland golf events. All of our doctors know the importance of protecting their eyes from UV light. But what about performance? Can a pair of sunglasses make you see BETTER on the golf course?

You bet! The Nike Max Tint SportsVision series of sunglass lenses are designed to only let the most important wavelengths of light make it to your eyes for your special sport. The Nike Golf lens is a purple lens that makes the white golf ball "POP"  against the green background of a golf course so that you can follow your shots better.

The other big advantage of wavelength management is how the Nike Golf Lens allows a golfer to see contours on both the fairways and the greens. Dr. Kaye wears his all the time and feels he can see the breaks on the greens much better when he is wearing his Nikes!

Skyvision Centers is the leading provider of Nike Max Tint sports lenses in Cleveland. Let the doctors and our optical staff fit you with the perfect pair of Nike Golf lenses so that you an improve your game!

What Color Lenses For Golf?

Dr. Greg Kaye and Dr. Scott Schlegel represented SkyVision Centers yesterday at the 1st Annual Ken Lee Golf Outing. You may recall that Dr. Lee, was a very close friend of one of our founder's Dr. White and Dr. Lee passed away last year after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The outing raises money for a lecture series in Dr. Lee's honor. SkyVision was a major sponsor of this year's event and Drs. Kay and Schlegel WON! What a great way to introduce our first sunglass color for golf.

All three of our doctors have been lifelong golfers and they have tried pretty much every type of sunglass lens ever made for golf. One important thing to remember before we even start on color is that polarized lenses may NOT be best for golf. Dr. White has noted that typical polarization will make contours appear to be flatter than they really are. This is particularly of concern on the green when you are trying to read the break on a putt.

The optimal color for a golf lens is one that will make the white golf ball stand out against a green background. The lens should also enhance a golfer's ability to tell the difference between different shades of green, and most importantly the lens should increase the recogition of contour changes all over the golf course. The color that best accomplishes this is lavender or purple, a combination of red and blue nearer to blue.

NikeVision makes the golf lens that all of our doctors have been wearing for at least 7 years. The Nike golf tint is a lavender lens with 28% Visible Light Transmission (medium darkening) that can be worn on sunny and bright overcast days alike. Wearing the Nike golf tint make the white golf ball POP against the green background of the course. All of the doctors have found that it significantly enhances their ability to recognize contour while playing. And of course, the Nike lens essentially blocks all harmful UV rays in order to protect your eyes.

So congratulations to our victorious doctors and the very best of luck to the organizers of the Ken Lee Lecture Series!

Sunglasses? What Color Lens Should I Get?

It's Summer time! We are in the full swing of sunglasses season. We've talked in the past about the importance of protecting your eyes from Ultraviolet light, and we've discussed what polarization is. Let's talk a little bit in general about the color of sunglass lenses, and then over a few posts we can break down some of the specifics of lens color.

All sunglasses limit some part of the natural light that surrounds us from getting into the eye. Visible Light Transmission (VLT) is a measure of how much light gets through in general. The darker the lens the smaller the VLT, and the smaller the VLT the less light gets through. The first thing to think about when you buy sunglasses is how much dimming do you want from your lenses. The brighter your environment (beach, snowfield) the lower you want your VLT.

The next consideration is color. More specifically, what color of light do you wish to filter out with your sunglasses, or what color to you wish to let in? The color of light is determined by its wavelength. A lens can be designed to filter out all wavelengths, or you can choose specific wavelengths or colors to filter out. If you do this you will make the un-filtered colors stand out more.

Most people will do best with general purpose sunglasses that simply decrease all of the wavelenths or colors that come through. Grey or Brown lenses are suggested for this. Grey will be darker, dimming everything. Brown lenses tend to let you keep your sense of colors better than grey. If you are choosing sunglasses for very common tasks like driving you can't go wrong with either Grey or Brown lenses.

Stay tuned for discussions about special use lens colors, coming soon on the SkyVision blog!

Transitions Vantage!

What will they think of next?! The Transitions company has not only brought out some of the coolest photochromatic lenses (lenses that change color depending on light levels) including the DriveWear lens that will darken in a car, but now they have introduced a lens that becomes polarized as it darkens! As the amount of UV light increases and the day gets brighter, the Transitions Vantage lens will not only become darker, it also becomes polarized to decrease the amount of horizontal glare that reaches the eye.

Bright levels of sunlight can cause not only discomfort but also difficulty seeing. A part of this comes from increased glare off on horizontal surfaces like roads, water, snow and ice, and the hood of your car. Polarization decreases this glare by dramatically reducing the reflected light off of these surfaces. Since the reflections increase as it gets brighter the Vantage lens INCREASES the polarization at the same time as it darkens.

Controlling the amount, color, and direction of the light entering the eye can deliver a much higher level of comfort. The Vantage lenses can be put into most fashion frames so that you can continue to enjoy the look you prefer at the same time you enjoy better vision and better comfort! We are all excited about this new lens from Transitions, and now we can't wait for the next cool thing they dream up!!