Professional Grade Fitover Checklist

When I started in the fitover sunglass business, I saw an immediate need for a professional grade fitover. The products that were available weren't differentiated much at all. It was difficult for an eyecare professional to honestly tell their patients that the fitover they were selling them did a better job than the one they could buy for half the price at the local drug store. 

Since then, the fitover sunglass category has evolved. There's a significant amount of differentiation. There are more styles, shapes, sizes and aesthetics. New features and advancements in materials, lens technology and engineering have been applied. Today, many fitover manufacturers deliver top notch products that not only work better, they command a higher price due to substantial differentiation. If you are reviewing what's available and have decided that you want a professional grade model, here are a couple of features you should consider mandatory.

Chassis - The frame or chassis is the engine of a fitover sunglass. A poor chassis design, no matter what features are added, will never deliver the result of a professional grade fitover. What makes for a well designed chassis?

Firstly, make sure there's an undercarriage. The bottom-side framework needs to return underneath the frame of the prescription glasses. This stops reflected light from entering from underneath. Without underside protection, you're getting half of a fitover. Up to 70% of light is reflected, much of it from below the eye-line. You need the chassis of the fitover sunglass to block as much of that light as possible. A fitover without an undercarriage is like a bucket with a hole in it.

Secondly, the chassis should be opaque. Translucent frames that allow light to penetrate should be avoided. A well designed chassis will block out as much light as possible. The evolution of the professional grade fitover chassis has reached the point that many brands look similar. But take a closer look. Make sure there's an undercarriage and that no light shines through the frame material itself.

Side Shields - We invented fitover sunglasses without side shields. They looked great. Without the side shield, I could make the fitover sunglass look less conspicuous. They appeared more like conventional, fashion sunglasses. The problem was that without side shields, light would stream in from the peripheral and destroy the primary function. To block this light, the framework could be expanded but that interfered with peripheral vision and also caused a tunneling effect. We stopped making them. If you want the best possible performance from a fitover sunglass, you want one with side shields. The bigger the better. By providing a side lens for light to travel through, peripheral vision is maximized and safety isn't a concern. Allowing more treated light to reach the eyes is a very good thing. There's a much more balanced viewing experience.

Another side-shield item to consider is the type of side-shield. There's two types... injected and stamped. An injected side-shield is easily identifiable as you probably wont be able to "pop" it out of the frame. Injected side-shields are stronger than stamped. They don't flex. Most importantly, injected side shields are usually optically correct. That means no distortion of the peripheral. If you're wearing a fitover that has distorts your peripheral vision, there could be safety concerns when driving for example. Polarized side shields are not used in most professional grade fitovers. In fact, I don't know of any pro-grade that do use a polarized side shield. There's no point. Polarization rearranges light. In effect, it straightens out glare. For polarization to work, you need to look through the polarized lens at the correct axis. So for a polarized side-shield to do anything of benefit, you'd have to look through it at the correct axis. If you are a human being, stick with injection molded, optically correct side shields. If you're a pigeon or a goldfish, get yourself some stamped, polarized side shield fitovers.

Temples - Never buy a fitover without adjustable temples. I can't stress it enough. I'm not going to spend much time talking about the myriad of reasons an adjustable temple is critical. I think that it's obvious to everyone. But the adjustability feature is an absolute must if you're buying a fitover. They fit better. They're more comfortable. It's common sense. If someone trying to sell you a fitover tells you that adjustability is not important, take a look at the fitover they're offering. It's likely that it doesn't have adjustable temples.

Lenses - Lens technology and materials have come a long way since the '90's. You want to make sure that the lenses are 100% UVA&B rated. That means they block out light up to 400 nanometers. Polarization is almost as important. Not for health reasons but for optimum viewing pleasure. Polarization eliminates glare. Scratch resistance is another must. No matter how much you initially spend on you fitovers, you will inevitably treat them poorly. They'll slide up and down the dash board of your car. You'll throw them in a bag. You'll drop them. Demand a highly scratch resistant lens. Otherwise, over time, the lenses will accumulate thousands of tiny scratches. You might not even be able to see them but cumulatively, they create an effect called 'hazing'. The clarity of the lens diminishes. Things get foggy.

Lastly, I highly advise trying a fitover on before you buy. Go and see an eyecare professional. You don't need an appointment to buy a fitover sunglass. Just walk in and try on what they have to offer. Hopefully they carry several brands and you'll be able to see and feel the differences. Adjustable vs. non-adjustable. Full chassis vs. half-chassis.

About Us. - Live Eyewear manufactures Cocoons professional grade fitovers. Our products are available from over 20,000 eyecare professionals and some better quality sporting goods retailers worldwide. With over 250 frame and lens options, Cocoons are the worlds premier brand of fitover sunglass. You can view our products at www.cocoonseyewear.com