See our guide to choosing varifocals Some glasses were flimsy and poorly madeĮven if your glasses are the correct prescription, they might still fall apart earlier than you’d expect.Įleven pairs of glasses drew criticism from our experts for poor construction – even taking low price into account.Įight pairs had poor-quality lenses that were scratched, loose, warped or positioned badly. If positioned incorrectly, the glasses could cause blur and vision distortion, which could lead to a higher chance of someone falling over and could be dangerous if driving. They were within the tolerance range for the measurements we provided, but just two of the nine stores attempted to take height measurements – which are crucial for accurate positioning – so the other seven pairs could potentially cause issues. Most of the varifocal glasses we ordered caused concern because no pupil height measurements were taken. Varifocals were deemed the riskiest thing to buy online by our experts. Our experts said this could make the glasses unusable due to weight and vision distortion.
Retailers should have prompted us to choose thinner lenses for this prescription, but just five of the nine did so. Stronger prescriptions were a different story. Our experts commented that you’re also more likely to be able to tolerate slight deviations in the measurements, as the prescription is weaker. All nine pairs of glasses we ordered with a simple prescription passed our opticians’ checks.
If you have a simple prescription, you’re much less likely to run into problems. The second pair had lenses that were too wide for the wearer, based on supplied measurements.