At LensFactory, we offer a range of lens options to fit your lifestyle, prescription, and budget. In this post, we’ll break down the differences between common lens materials and help you decide which one is best for you.

Lens Materials Overview

Let’s take a closer look at the most popular prescription lens materials on the market today:

1. Standard Plastic

Best for: Low prescriptions, budget-conscious users

• Lightweight and affordable

• Good optical clarity

• Limited durability and thickness with stronger prescriptions

Worth noting:*Standard plastic is a solid choice if your prescription is mild and you’re looking for the most economical option.

2. Polycarbonate

Best for: Active lifestyles, kids, rimless or semi-rimless frames

• Impact-resistant and lightweight

• Built-in UV protection

• Slightly less optical clarity than CR-39 but more durable

Why it matters:*Polycarbonate lenses are 10x more impact-resistant than standard plastic—perfect for sports, work environments, and everyday wear.

3. Trivex

Best for: Those who want a balance of clarity, durability, and comfort

• Even lighter than polycarbonate

• Excellent impact resistance

• Superior optical clarity

Bonus: Trivex lenses offer better visual clarity and less distortion compared to polycarbonate, while still providing the same rugged durability.

4. High-Index Plastic

Best for: Strong prescriptions, style-conscious users

• Ultra-thin and lightweight

• Reduces lens thickness for stronger prescriptions

• Available with all premium coatings

Why you’ll love it: High-index lenses are the most discreet option. If you hate the “coke bottle” look, these are your best bet for slim, comfortable eyewear.

Which Lens Material Should You Choose?

Here’s a quick guide:

LensFactory’s Expert Tip:

Don’t forget the coatings! Regardless of material, adding anti-reflective, scratch-resistant, and blue light coatings can make a huge difference in comfort and performance—especially if you spend time on screens or drive at night.

Why Lens Material Matters

Choosing the right lens material is about more than just prescription strength. It affects:

• How your glasses feel on your face

• How clearly you see throughout the day

• How durable your lenses are*against drops, scratches, or pressure

At LensFactory, we help you match your lens material to your lifestyle—whether you're a student, athlete, professional, or just someone who wants to enjoy clearer, more comfortable vision every day.

Universal Call to Action

Ready to give your favorite frames a new lease on life?

Discover how easy and affordable it is to replace your lenses with LensFactory. [Visit lensfactory.com](https://lensfactory.com) to get started today!

Cue Endless Drive Progressive lenses, designed specifically to:

• Offer a night vision area to help with night myopia
• Provide a larger distance area
• Provide a wider upper-intermediate area
• Considerably reduce lateral astigmatism

>> Driving lenses now available in our Occupational Lenses collection!

They are generally designed to offer clarity, reduced glare, and enhanced comfort, making them the ideal choice for anyone looking to optimize their vision on the road.

According to a customer survey, 97% of wearers of Endless Drive Progressive lenses responded that they felt much more comfortable driving during the day and at night.

Table of Contents

• The Benefits of Driving Lenses
• Factors to Consider When Choosing Driving Lenses
• The Value of Driving Lenses During the Day and Night
• Standard Benefits of Driving Glasses
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Why Choose LensFactory for Your Driving Lenses?

The Benefits of Driving Lenses

What makes Endless Drive Progressives the best lenses for driving are expanded visual areas and targeting of night myopia.

1. Progression profile: This lens incorporates extra negative power (up to 0.25 D) in the upper area of the lens to compensate for the effects of night myopia.
2. Unwanted astigmatism: with Endless Drive Progressive lenses, the maximum astigmatism level is 14.6% lower than that of general-use premium progressive lenses. This improves vision in the peripheral areas of the lens and increases your visual range.
3. Unique Configuration: driving lenses are 70% wider in the distance and 45% in the upper-intermediate when compared to premium general-use lenses. You will be ecstatic about your expanded views of the road, dashboard, and mirrors.

Our driving lenses also offer a range of general benefits, like:

• Enhanced Clarity & Reduced Glare: Our lenses minimize glare from headlights and reflective surfaces, making it easier to spot hazards and navigate challenging conditions, especially at night.
• Adaptive Lens Colors: Our lenses come in a variety of colors tailored to different driving conditions, ensuring optimal visibility whether you're driving in bright sunlight, overcast weather, or at night.
• UV Protection: Our lenses provide advanced UV protection, shielding your eyes from harmful rays and reducing eye fatigue during long drives.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Driving Lenses

Choosing the right lenses can make a world of difference in your driving experience. Here are some factors to consider when looking for good glasses for night driving:

• Polarized vs. Non-Polarized: Polarized lenses are ideal for cutting glare from reflective surfaces like wet roads or car hoods. Non-polarized lenses, on the other hand, are a better fit if you require prescription lenses or frequently use digital devices while driving.
• Lens Tint & Color: The tint and color of your lenses can impact your driving visibility. In general, brown or grey tints are good driving lenses, because can help visibility of traffic lights or brake lights. Gray tints are great for maintaining true color perception, while yellow or amber tints can enhance contrast and depth perception, especially in low-light or foggy conditions.
• Lens Coatings: Anti-reflective coatings minimize glare and internal reflections. Scratch-resistant coatings protect your lenses from daily wear and tear.

The Value of Driving Lenses During the Day and Night

Driving conditions vary throughout the day and night, and having the right lenses is more than helpful. Our lenses are designed to perform exceptionally well in different lighting conditions:

Lenses for Day Driving

Our lenses offer superior clarity and contrast during the day, reducing glare from the sun and enhancing visibility in bright conditions. You might also consider a gray coating when the weather is sunny and bright. A neutral shade is the least disruptive to your natural color vision.

Additionally, since neutral shades are some of the densest lens colors, they can absorb a higher percentage of light. This means that you’ll receive maximum sun protection and won’t have to squint as much while driving.

Lenses for Night Driving

With advanced anti-glare technology, our lenses minimize halos and reflections from oncoming headlights, providing clear vision and reducing eye fatigue during nighttime driving, making them the best eye glasses for night driving.

Benefits of Driving Glasses

Investing in the right pair of driving glasses offers more than just clear vision. Here's how our lenses can further enhance your driving experience:

• Improved Night Vision: Our lenses optimize light transmission, reducing glare and enhancing visibility during nighttime driving, making them the best eye glasses for night driving.
• Reduced Glare: Advanced coatings minimize reflections, ensuring a glare-free drive and reducing eye strain, especially when you're looking for good glasses for night driving.
• Customizable Options: Personalize your lenses with various coatings and tints tailored to your preferences for the ultimate driving experience with the best lenses for driving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the best type of lens for driving?

A: Polarized lenses are often considered the best lenses for driving as they cut glare, reduce eye strain, and improve overall clarity, making it easier to see the road ahead.

Q: What tint is best for driving glasses?

A: Gray tints maintain true color perception, while yellow or amber tints enhance contrast and depth perception, especially in low-light conditions, providing optimal visibility during both day and night driving, particularly when you're searching for good glasses for night driving.

Q: Which glasses are best for day driving?

A: Glasses with UV protection, anti-glare features, and a neutral gray tint are ideal for day driving as they reduce glare, shield your eyes from harmful UV rays, and maintain true color perception.

Q: What color lens is best for night driving?

A: Yellow or amber lenses are recommended for night driving as they enhance contrast, reduce glare from oncoming headlights, and improve depth perception, making it easier to see in low-light conditions, proving to be the best eye glasses for night driving.

Q: Are Transitions lenses okay to wear while driving?

A: Transition lenses darken or lighten depending on the level of UV exposure. They’re a popular choice for their convenience -- not having to switch back and forth between your everyday glasses and sunglasses.

Most cars have an anti-UV treatment on the windows. Since transition lenses require UV exposure to work, they often don’t change significantly while in a car.

So, while there is no problem wearing light-sensitive lenses while driving, you're not necessarily improving your driving visibility with Transitions lenses.

Q: How do I stop night glare while driving?

A: Anti-glare coatings and polarized lenses can help reduce glare from oncoming headlights, improving visibility and reducing eye strain during nighttime driving.

Q: Do anti-glare glasses really work?

A: Yes, anti-glare glasses effectively reduce reflections and improve vision, especially during night driving, by minimizing distractions caused by glare from headlights and other light sources.

Q: What glasses help with halos at night?

A: Anti-glare glasses with yellow or amber tinted lenses can help reduce halos and glare, improving overall night vision and making it easier to see the road ahead.

Q: How do I reduce the glare on my oncoming headlights at night?

A: Polarized lenses and anti-glare coatings can help reduce the intensity of oncoming headlights, allowing for clearer vision and safer driving at night.

Q: Can you wear night driving glasses during the day?

A: While night driving glasses can be worn during the day, they may not offer the same level of UV protection as daytime lenses. It's best to opt for lenses with UV protection and a neutral tint for daytime driving.

Q: Do any night driving glasses work?

A: Yes, specialized night driving glasses with anti-glare features and yellow or amber tinted lenses can significantly improve night vision, reducing eye strain and enhancing overall safety.

Q: Does astigmatism make driving at night worse?

A: Astigmatism can cause blurry vision, especially at night, making it more challenging to see clearly while driving. Prescription lenses tailored to correct astigmatism can help improve night driving and overall vision.

Q: How can I improve my night vision while driving?

A: Opting for lenses with anti-glare coatings, yellow or amber tints, and proper prescription can help improve night vision while driving, reducing eye strain and enhancing safety on the road.

Why Choose LensFactory for Your Driving Lenses?

When it comes to selecting the best lenses for driving, quality matters. We pride ourselves on delivering excellence in eyewear -- more than 6,000 pairs of lenses pass through our optical labs every day.

We know what "getting it right" looks like.

Our lenses are crafted using advanced technology and premium materials to ensure superior clarity, durability, and performance.

We're the go-to source for online lens replacement of just about any type...and now, driving lenses as well!

LensFactory re-lenses your existing eyewear allowing you to continue using that frame you love so much!

One of the most common questions we are asked is, why are your prices so much less than my doctor’s prices?  The easy answer is, we are a business that is a branch of an optical lab that makes lenses.  That’s right!  We are a lab located in Louisville KY that has been in business for 30 plus years. 

LensFactory is one of several e-commerce stores that is owned and operated by the lab.  This allows us to keep our prices low and pass the savings on to our customers.

The second most common question we are asked is, When I am at the eye doctor, after my exam they have me sit in front of someone and they are measuring things, how do you know what measurements to use if I order online?   

That someone is known as an optician.  An optician is someone who specializes in fitting glasses and making lens.  We have over 100 opticians employed here at our lab and can call on them at any time for their expertise and advice.  An optician can provide all the measurements we need to re-lens your frame.

If you are ordering online there's one measurement is critical to making your lenses, your pupil distance.  It is the distance between your two pupils measured in millimeters and requires a precise measurement. 

This number gives the lab what is known as the optical center of the lens. The optical center is the best and clearest vision point on your lens, and you need your pupils to line up directly with that focal point on the lens.  Once you are an adult this number will not change, so once you know your pupil distance, record it in your medical records for your future use. 

If your pupil distance is not correct it will create eye strain and headaches and make wearing your glasses unbearable, it needs to be correct.  We do not know if your eye doctor will provide it to you on your prescription.  We recommend you ask your eye doctor to provide your pupil distance to you.  

If your eye doctor will not provide it to you, find a new doctor!  There are other ways you can make the determination yourself.  There are many phone applications that you can download, and they will measure it for you.  We’ve experimented with the most popular ones and found them to be fairly accurate. 

You and a friend can also work together to measure it yourself.  Make sure you measure in millimeters and that you measure enough times so that you confirm the same measurement at least three times. 

If you are sending us a frame that has an existing prescription in it that has worked well for you, please send a note with the order asking us to measure the pupil distance from the existing lens and we will do that for you.

If you wear a multifocal lenses such as progressive, bifocal, or trifocal there is another measurement we use based on the size of frame you have.  That measurement is called a segment height.  The segment height is where the near vision stops, and the other visions begin in the lens. This line varies and is unique to each frame and individual. 

We recommend you have each frame you are sending us to re-lens measured by an optician to determine your best segment height and that you provide those numbers for us to use as well, but it is not required unlike the pupil distance.

If the segment height is not provided to us, we will use a formula that we have found works well for most people.  Let us try it!  If it does not work well for you, give us a call, or email us to discuss it.  We will happily adjust it for you.  Also, if you are a multi-focal and you wear your glasses low on your nose, please let us know by including a note with your order! That will let us know we need to make an adjustment to our formula to compensate for it. At the end of the day our goal is to have them work well for you! 

The third most common question we are asked is what brand of lens you are going to use for my frame.  At LensFactory we want to offer a great product at a fair price.  We have discovered a way to make great lens at great prices.

We order our lens blanks from all the major manufactures of lenses. Varilux, Essilor, Hoya and Zeiss to name a few.  We offer them as a house-brand lens at a discounted price.  They offer the same superior quality that the branded lens offers, but without all the marketing jargon that raises the price.

Our flair, and what makes us stand out for the rest of the crowd is our customer service team.  If you don’t know what lens you need, please reach out to our experienced customer service team and they will be happy to help you select the right lens for your prescription, lifestyle, and your frame.  Our team is here to help you move forward and understand your lensing requirements.  Let us help!

If we make lenses for you and they are not what you expected, please contact us in the first thirty days and we are happy to work with you to determine next steps.  If for any reason you are not happy with our service in the first thirty days, you may return the lens to us for a 100% refund.

Give LensFactory a try and we believe you will be glad you did!  You can start here by searching for lenses by material, or by vision need.

Plastic

Plastic or CR39 is as close to glass in clarity that you can get.  It’s the most cost effective solution, and very easy to tint.  With plastic lenses, you will generally have thicker or heavier lenses than using Polycarbonate (“Poly”).  Plastic is easy to scratch, crack or shatter.   Plastic lenses can’t be used with drill mounted or semi-rimless frames.  Children under the age of 18 cannot be prescribed plastic lenses.

Polycarbonate (Poly) 

Polycarbonate or “poly” for short is very impact resistant.  Poly lenses are thinner, lighter and more durable than plastic lenses.  Unlike plastic, poly lenses are able to be used for drill mounted or semi-rimless frames.  With these additional pro’s in poly’s favor, there is additional cost.  While we put anti-scratch on all of our poly lenses, they can be easily scratched.  Poly does have lower clarity than it’s glass or plastic cousins.  Poly, while it can be tinted, does not take tint very well.

High Index

If you have a high prescription, High Index is the way to go.  We can get the thinnest lens with High-Index lenses.  Ever had that “soda bottle” look? Say goodbye to it with high index lenses.  Many times, people use high index lenses on vanity glasses.  High index lenses are lighter and thinner than plastic, but heavier than poly.  Because it takes a lot of work to make these lenses thinner, High Index lenses are usually the most expensive lenses.  We add anti-scratch and anti-reflective coating to all high index lenses due to the amount of reflection that can occur with high index lenses.

Glass

Glass has the highest clarity and greatest optical quality due to it’s high ABBE value.  With no coatings it is very scratch resistant.  Glass is very heavy.  If you’re not used to it, it may not be for you.  Glass is NOT impact resistant and can chip or shatter when dropped.  This is not a good material if you have an active lifestyle that may put your glasses in danger of being dropped.  Glass also takes a long time to manufacture, sometimes over 30 days.

We know!  That’s a lot of information to take in.  If you'd like to read more about our lens materials, check out this page.  If you still have questions, feel free to reach out to us via phone, email or chat.  Contact Us Now!