Are prescription lenses ok for sport use?
16th September 2024
Be wary of using ‘normal’ prescription lenses for sports use especially where impact protection is required such as tennis, clay target shooting and cricket. Virtually all prescription lenses made today use a material called CR-39 and it has certainly revolutionised lens making. However CR-39 does not provide a high level of impact protection and it can shatter. Lightweight, impact-resistant polycarbonate and Trivex lenses are the best choice for safety glasses, sports eyewear and children’s eyewear. Most opticians are not able to make prescription lenses from polycarbonate or Trivex but there are specialist manufacturing opticians that can. You will also come across plenty of online material claiming that polycarbonate provides a poor visual experience. Such views are out of date. Current generation polycarbonate lenses are typically Class 1 optical grade and the visual experience is excellent.
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