Prescription Packages Explained

There have been enormous developments in lens technology over the last few years. Modern lenses are lighter, thinner, and stronger and provide superior, sharper vision than lenses of only a few years ago. We also understand far more about lens tints and the benefits they provide in improving contrast and target acquisition for different sports activities.

With this in mind we have created a wide selection of prescription package to meet most requirements. Whether you need a prescription for a particular sport, leisure or work related activity we have selected lens packages to meet that need.

To help you select the right package for you we have created standard package titles. The words before the hyphen relate to the lens material being used. For a comprehensive guide scroll further down, the quick guide to the prescription package is as follows: 

These are the basic prescription packages we offer:

Lens Coating Upgrades

Can cost between £10-£30+ extra and include all of the above coatings as well

As you can see from the above chart about the basic prescription packages, we would highly recommend the up grade added on for some of these options.

Lens Tint Colour

We do many different tints to see which one you should use for your sport click here for a quick look or choose your sports from our list of articles for an in depth view. If you would like to know more about what tint category you should get click here for more information.

Cheat Sheet - Particular considerations:

• Drivewear Lenses include Polarised and photochromic tints
• Consider a 'High Performance' prescription package if your prescription is within
• Sphere or Cylinders is +/- 3 to -8 
• Melanin lenses - If you require melanin lens when you are on the page where you select the prescription packages, click Sports lens and Polarised then scroll until you find Sports Lenses- Polarised Melanin.
• Yes, we can do certain speciality lenses, prescriptions etc on request. Send us an email to see if we can do yours at prescriptions@eyekit.co
• Varifocals, yes we offer varifocals on request email prescriptions@eyekit.co with your prescription and the prescription package you would like and we will send you a price. The more information you can provide the better. We can offer a huge range of varifocals from general use to those for particular requirements. I.e. Do you require general varifocals, sports or occupational? Which frame do you require them for?
• Branded prescriptions, yes, we offer many branded prescriptions - Bolle, Julbo, Serengetti etc, they usually appear at the front of the slider bar at the bottom of the prescription selector page.
• Dyslexic tinting- yes, we offer dyslexic tinting. Email us with your frame choice, prescription (if you need one but of course this is not necessary) and the specific colour you need to prescriptions@eyekit.co and we can send you a price and invoice (the price is usually around £95 excluding the cost of the frame). It is only available in a 1.5 index so cannot be done in safety frames and you cannot have coatings added as these change the colour. 

Other add ons- these may vary from frame to frame 

• Bifocal- +£30
• Tint- +£15
• Gradient Tint- +£10 +the tint
• Mirror tint- +£60 (which includes which ever category of tint you require)

For everyday use- the comprehensive guide to choosing your prescription package

These lenses are for glasses and fashion sunglasses.

Lifestyle Lenses – Denotes CR39 resin lenses which are the most common lens material used in commercial spectacles today. Some can be tinted to allow only a certain percentage of light to go through. I.e. Instead of choosing a clear prescription for you chosen frame, you could incorporate a light tint if you are dyslexic or a more substantial tint, if you wish to convert them into sunglasses. When you select a package, you will be guided to select the amount based on the EU category definition.  

Performance Lenses - Our performance lenses are aspheric. They are cut with a much improved surface profile enhancing optical performance compared to simple lenses.  They are lighter and can reduce or eliminate optical distortions in the peripheral area of vision. Recommended if your prescription is between 1 and 3 spheres. 

Thin & Lite Lenses - These single vision resin lenses are thinner and lighter than the 'Lifestyle' lenses. This improves optical performance by reducing or eliminating optical distortions in the peripheral vision dependent on your prescription. Recommended for prescriptions where your prescription is between 2 and 4 spheres. 

Super Thin & Lite Lenses - As the name implies, Super Thin & Lite single vision resin lenses are even thinner and lighter than the thin and light lenses. This improves optical performance further by reducing or eliminating optical distortions in the peripheral vision dependent on your prescription. Recommended for high prescriptions where your prescription is 4 spheres or over. 

For optimum design

These lenses are for high prescription or for highly curved frames such as 8 base sports sunglasses. They are ordered in conjunction with both the every day use lenses and the impact resistant lenses.

Performance Lenses - Our performance lenses are aspheric. They are cut with a much improved surface profile enhancing optical performance compared to simple lenses.  They are lighter and can reduce or eliminate optical distortions in the peripheral area of vision. Recommended if your prescription is between 1 and 3 spheres. 

High Performance Lenses - Called ‘Free-form’ these prescription lenses are Aspheric just like our ‘performance’ lenses. However, using the latest free-form technology, they are cut using a digital design process that gives lens designers the ability to reduce lens aberrations even more than they can using conventional lens design and processing techniques. Lighter and thinner than standard lenses they provide exceptional night/low light vision reducing glare and halo effects from car headlights. They also offer exceptional contrast perception sharpening vision and improved colour rendition providing brighter and more intense colours. This is particularly important for high prescriptions, frames with large lenses or highly curved lenses as it ensures they provide near perfect vision across the whole curvature of the lens avoiding optical distortions that can occur in the periphery area of vision. Recommended if your prescription is over 2 spheres.

For impact resistance

These lenses are for sports and safety eyewear. They will not shatter on impact with an object and will protect the eye

Sports Lenses - These lenses are made from polycarbonate. They are very strong, lightweight and thin. Most branded safety glasses, sunglasses and goggles are made from this material. 

Sports Performance Lenses – Aspheric polycarbonate lenses.

Sports Wrap Lenses – Made from polycarbonate, wrap lenses are designed for 8 base wraparound sunglasses and above. They are made to minimise distortion of periphery vision due to the increased curvature of the lens, providing much improved all round vision.

Super Sports Lenses - Made from a unique material called NXT, it optimises the qualities of polycarbonate while benefiting from mineral glass manufacturing techniques and leaving out their inherent weaknesses. In fact, it does not have any weaknesses. Its transparency and stability over time are exceptional (no cracking). It is ultra-light,  has exceptional optics, is unbreakable and solvent-resistant. 

Super Sports Performance Lenses – Aspheric NXT lenses. 

Super Sports Wrap Lenses - Made from NXT, wrap lenses are designed for 8 base wraparound sunglasses and above. They are made to minimise distortion of periphery vision due to the increased curvature of the lens, providing much improved all round vision. 

The words after the hyphen relate to the type of lens and coatings used. They are as follows:

Crystal Clear – This lens package includes our Crystal Clear coatings. In addition to the hard coating that we incluse on all our lenses, there is an anti-reflective coating which eliminates those irritating reflection you sometimes see on the back surface of your lenses. It also includes a hydrophobic coating which is similar to a wax coating on a car. It helps to shed water droplets and grease marks keeping your lenses cleaner for longer and making them easier to clean. Together they will help to maintain crystal clear vision! 

Mirror  - Indicates that the package also includes a mirror coating which is useful for situations that require a reduction in the overall brilliance of light, such as sunlight on snow or roads.

Photochromic (Cat.x-y) – These lenses are all photochromic. That means the lenses get darker or lighter in accordance with the intensity of the light. Some of our photochromic lenses will start clear and get darker when you step outside. Others will start with a mild tint and get darker as the intensity of light from the sun increases. The luminous transmission factor (LTF) which determines how much and how little light is allowed through the lens is summarised in brackets using the EU category classification. For example (Cat.0-2) means the photochromic lens changes from category 0 (Clear) to category 2 dependent on the light conditions.

Polarising – Our anti-glare range incorporates polarising lenses. They have a unique ability to improve vision by eliminating reflected light from surfaces such as concrete, buildings, roads, cars, snow or water. 

PhotoPolar/Driver – These lenses are both Photochromatic and Polarizing. PhotoPolar lenses are activated on the amount of Ultra Violet (UV) light absorbed by the lens and are great when used outside.
However, they will not perform well behind a car windshield or aircraft canopy which blocks UV light. Our Driver packages incorporate photochromic lenses that are sensitive to the amount of ambient light available and react much quicker to changing light conditions. 

Above are the key terms that describe the packages. In addition, there are a number of specific packages for particular needs. We select packages which are most suitable for specific frames, sports or leisure requirement. However, if you have selected a frame and need a prescription lens package that is not available to you, just give us a call or email us at prescriptions@eyekit.co and we will price a package for you.