Your experiences with Transitions XTRActive lenses

[Pink Jazz]

I just had an eye exam and am getting a pair of Oakley Holbrook Rx frames with Transitions XTRActive lenses in gray.

I wonder, does anyone know how these perform, specifically at night? I know they are slightly dark indoors; I just wonder if this will affect night vision. I am keeping my existing Oakley Chamfer 2 frames and will install brand new clear polycarbonate lenses since mine were worn out.

[jakeroot]

I know that my grandfather had to give his up. They too often got confused about when he was indoors versus outdoors, which was especially problematic for him as a farmer (going in and out of buildings a lot). Perhaps the newer models are better?

[Scott5114]

The odds of anyone one this forum having direct experience with such a specialty product are very low.

[GaryV]

I don't know if I had the specific brand.  But I gave up transitioning lenses several years ago as they don't work well in cars with UV-blocking windows.  And driving was a major portion of my outside time.  I just use clip-ons now.  I've been tempted to get prescription sunglasses, but the "deals" that optical shops offer don't work with my insurance.

[Pink Jazz]

I don't know if I had the specific brand.  But I gave up transitioning lenses several years ago as they don't work well in cars with UV-blocking windows.  And driving was a major portion of my outside time.  I just use clip-ons now.  I've been tempted to get prescription sunglasses, but the "deals" that optical shops offer don't work with my insurance.

That is one thing that differentiates the XTRActive from the original Signature, where Transitions claims it works in the car since it reacts to both UV and visible light while the Signature only reacts to UV.

[formulanone]

For a very specific non-forum-related question, you ought to explain it with some detail!

Not sure precisely which Transitions product is on my lenses — not an expert — but my last two pairs of daily lenses have a slight degree of polarization and tint in a less absolute way than the my older lenses. They'll tint more slightly, yet more rapidly, if lighting conditions permit. Which makes them a bit nicer for driving, and not feeling like a blind man when entering a dimly-lit room after being outdoors on a sunny day is more comfortable.

That is: Transitions-treated eyeglass lenses used to either darken-fully, or not at all. So if you went from outdoors to indoors, the lenses took longer (depending on temperature) to un-tint back to "normal" eyeglasses. I started using them around the late-1990s, but they seemed to improve the "formula" in recent years.

So I like them; it sure beats toting another pair of sunglasses.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

My first pair of glasses, back in 2000 (or 01) were transitions lenses. They never got as dark as promised (and wouldn't change while in a vehicle), and would stay lightly yellow while indoor (which led to a discussion between me and several staffers at Ohio State geography about whether it was appropriate to wear them those glasses at job interviews).
After I got them, I rarely wore them at night for the first couple of years I had them till I got lost in Baton Rouge, shortly after I moved there, because I couldn't read the roadsigns, without my glasses.
When I got had to get a new pair of glasses in 2013 (because one of the lenses in my glasses popped out in the snow, and I never could find it), I had standard lenses put in.