The occasion for all this hilarity is my
new pair of Trufocals. A pair of small round lenses mounted
in a bold titanium frame with colored temples (in my case,
blue). My wife hates them – she doesn’t want me to wear
them out front, afraid it will hurt my image as a style
consultant. But boy, are they comfortable - both in fit and
function. A simple slider on top of the bridge changes the
focus from far to near by moving it from left to right.
Unlike a progressive, the entire lens changes power as the
mechanism moves.
Each "lens" is actually a set
of two lenses, one flexible and one firm. The flexible lens
(near the eye) has a transparent distensible membrane
attached to a clear rigid surface. The pocket between them
holds a small quantity of crystal clear fluid. As you move
the slider on the bridge, it pushes the fluid and alters the
shape of the flexible lens. Changing the shape changes the
correction. This mimics the way the lenses in your eyes used
to perform when you were younger. The outer lenses are
magnetically attached and contain your distance Rx.
Dr. Stephen Kurtin, a physicist and an
independent inventor is the father of the Trufocal. He’s
working hard to popularize this amazing invention by getting
them on as many ECP faces as possible. These lenses have
been in development for 10 to 15 years, and with other new
alternatives like electronic lenses coming within 6 more
months it probably was a great strategic move to get these
to the market ASAP!
Both Elmer Friedman and I have written
about these in other issues but reading about them doesn’t
prepare you for the experience of wearing them and seeing
the change of focus as you slide the mechanism to adjust the
lens.
Downsides, ah yes…they’re not without
some negatives. Appearance for one thing, (but engineers and
techno geeks love them), I’ve noticed unusual reflections
in certain lighting conditions, they seem a bit fragile –
wouldn’t want to wear them doing yard work. Cleaning them
is a bit complicated with magnetically attached outer lenses
and a delicate membrane inside. Peripheral vision is a bit
limited for me due to the small lens size, about 40 mm. And
of course the steep price – retail of $898.00 (though
compared to the new free form PALs they aren’t out of
line), and about 8 weeks for delivery means they aren’t
for everyone. On the positive side, they work slick, you can
interchange front lenses – Transitions lenses are
available as well as sun lenses, - and they do attract a
certain amount of attention.
Jim “well rounded” Magay
