# Need bifocals/trifocals or progressives - wondering which I'll hate less **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-bifocals-trifocals-or-progressives-wondering-which-ill-hate-less/806023 "2018-01-07T02:49:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-bifocals-trifocals-or-progressives-wondering-which-ill-hate-less/806023/41 "2018-04-17T04:55:17Z")
I too used Zenni as a cheap way to try progressives. I use them mostly for driving, a distance correction for TV but nothing is better for reading. For a time, I found that rectangles morphed into trapezoids as I moved my head up and down. My brain has now filtered that out. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-bifocals-trifocals-or-progressives-wondering-which-ill-hate-less/806023/42 "2018-04-17T06:44:12Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Ooh. Big mistake. Progressives are hard to fit correctly, and require face to face time with a qualified (licensed and/or ABO certified) optician at the time of order and for the final fitting. There are necessary measurements that are specific to **this** frame on **that** face. I got progressives from Zenni. I love them. I’m not denying that it can be a crapshoot, but it’s a crapshoot that you can win. And for forty buck? Well worth the shot. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-bifocals-trifocals-or-progressives-wondering-which-ill-hate-less/806023/43 "2018-04-17T16:57:14Z")
Probably too late for the OP, but I’ll throw in for bifocals. I tried progressives for a year and couldn’t get used to the limited tunnel-vision effects. They LOOK great, but when you hit my age, who cares? I do have different sets of bifocals, though. I have smaller lenses that allow me to read comfortably at about 6"-18". I also have larger lenses that allow me to focus at 18"-36" and I use these when I shoot. These put my front sights in perfect focus, as well as providing more protection for my eyes. The “distance” prescription for both pairs are exactly the same. I also tried trifocals once. Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-bifocals-trifocals-or-progressives-wondering-which-ill-hate-less/806023/44 "2018-04-18T17:43:45Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I got progressives from Zenni. I love them. I’m not denying that it can be a crapshoot, but it’s a crapshoot that you can win. And for forty buck? Well worth the shot. No, it isn’t. It isn’t physically possible to take the required measurements to fit them correctly unless the optician is face to face with the patient and the frame being used. Tolerance on optical center placement is very small, and if it’s not correct you get results like these: > [@zombywoof](#): > > - The intermediate/near focus areas on the lenses are pretty small, though - they’ll do in a pinch, but if I’m sitting down to work on the computer or read for any length of time I don’t want to have to move my head (rather than eyes) around, look down my nose, etc… > [@ZonexandScout](#): > > Probably too late for the OP, but I’ll throw in for bifocals. I tried progressives for a year and couldn’t get used to the limited tunnel-vision effects. They LOOK great, but when you hit my age, who cares? And that’s not even getting into the quality of the materials. Wholesale prices on average quality frames was more than $100 over ten years ago. I’ve seen the garbage that Zenni and other online places produce many times when people came to see me wondering why the glasses they bought online didn’t work right or the frames wouldnt stay in shape. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-bifocals-trifocals-or-progressives-wondering-which-ill-hate-less/806023.md?page=2)