Best Reading Glasses Reviews 2018

Reading glasses can either be custom-made at the optician’s or ready-made, and they come in different styles, shapes and magnifications. Reading glasses that are ready-made are usually less expensive than custom-made reading glasses. Since we are focusing on ready-made reading glasses, you will be pleased to know that you can get a pair of comfortable, stylish and suitable reading glasses for between $15 and $60.

From our research, we were able to note the factors that can influence the price and they include the nature of the frame and lens, the style and the shape. As a general rule, reading glasses with superior lens and frame quality tend to cost more. We also came across some cheap reading glasses, but we disregarded them because we want only the best for your eyes. Don’t you?

If you’ve decided to buy reading glasses, it means that you have limited vision while reading. This problem needs to be corrected and great care must be taken in doing so. There are several important factors that must be considered carefully before you make a choice of reading glasses and they include:

• Style and Shape
• Optical Power
• Frame Information
• Lens Information
• Application of Reading Glasses

Now let’s look at how your choice of reading glasses can be affected by these factors…

Reading glasses are available in several styles and shapes to suit the personality and reading needs of the user. When it comes to style, there are reading glasses specially designed for men, women, and both men and women (unisex). Some reading glasses are also retro-styled – imitating a style from the recent past – while others are vintage-styled – imitating a style from the past of high quality. When it comes to shapes, there are the traditional shapes, oval and rectangular being the most popular. You can also get the vintage cat eye reading glasses, aviator-style reading glasses, and retro-styled “Clark Kent” mod frames.

The magnification of lenses that are used to correct vision problems is usually measured in diopters. A diopter is the unit of the lens’s optical power and it equates to the reciprocal of the lens’s focal length which is usually computed in meters. In simple English, a 4-diopter lens is capable of bringing rays that are parallel to converge at ¼ meter. It is the job of an optometrist or other eye professional to measure the focal length of the eye and suggest the lens that would best regulate that distance. Once adjusted, the eye can either focus nearer or some distance away. Ready-made reading glasses usually come in magnifications starting at +1 diopter and increase by increments of 0.25 diopters. The maximum diopter that you can typically get is +3.5 diopters. Please note again that only a professional can recommend the correct lens strength for you.

There are different frames for reading glasses and they can be stylish or plain, depending on the taste and personality of the user. Some frames are made of plastic while others are made of metal or rubber. Plastic frames are the most popular and some come with a spring hinge which allows the frame to sit comfortably on the nose. The colors of the frame can range from basic traditional colors like black, grey, brown, silver and gold to unusually bright colors and even multi-colored patterns. One thing that should also be considered when selecting the frame of your reading glasses is the face’s shape. A dainty frame would be suitable for a small face while a large frame would look good on a rugged and large face. While narrow frames constrict the face, wider frames flatter and open up a narrow face.

Determining when and how the reading glasses will be used should be a priority when purchasing them. If you spend a lot of time reading or focusing on close material, you should consider full reading glasses. But if you won’t be spending a significant amount of time reading, then reading glasses with half-eye would be more suitable. This is because the lenses of a pair of full reading glasses will blur the images viewed from a distance. But with the half-eye glasses, you can look up and over the frames to view distant images, and down and through the lenses to view close materials. A special set of bifocal lenses are more suitable for correcting vision problems that prevent you from seeing both far and near clearly. They can also be called progressive lenses. The lower portion of a bifocal lens is magnified and there is a distinct line that separates the magnified area from the non-magnified part. Sometimes, there is no line separating the magnified area from the non-magnified region and the magnification is improved gradually as you lower your eyes.

There are reading glasses that are UV protected or tinted and they can be used for reading outdoors. Most reading glasses are foldable, allowing them to be easily tucked into a purse or a shirt pocket. There are also reading glasses that enable you to read from computers, especially desktop computers. They are quite popular now and their area of magnification is located in the upper part of the lens. This design prevents you from having to tilt your head backward in order to view images through the lens’s lower part. To increase the durability of the lenses of your reading glasses, getting a pair with anti-scratch properties would be the best bet.

Since ready-made reading glasses are relatively inexpensive, it is sometimes advisable to get more than one pair. This allows you to store them in several rooms of the house as well as giving you an extra pair for your car, purse, office, etc. For cleaning and maintenance purposes, there are some reading glasses that come with either a tube or hard case for storage and a soft cotton fabric for cleaning the lens.