Have you ever squinted through sunglare on a highway, only to struggle with darkness moments later in a tunnel? Road trips throw all kinds of lighting challenges at you, making your choice of eyewear essential for both comfort and safety. Transitions XTRActive Polarized lenses might be the solution you didn't know you needed. They adapt quickly to changing conditions and cut glare from reflective surfaces like wet roads and car hoods. But there's more to these specialized lenses than just convenient tinting...
GlassesShop offers a variety of frames and lenses on their website, including Transitions XTRActive Polarized prescription eyeglasses and prescription sunglasses. You can also use their face shape detector to find the best frames that fit your face.
Transitions XTRActive Polarized lenses provide drivers with adaptive eyewear that automatically adjusts to changing light conditions, reducing glare and enhancing contrast outdoors, while offering a slight tint behind the windshield without full polarization due to UV-blocking glass, eliminating the need to switch between regular glasses and sunglasses for a safer, more comfortable driving experience.
- These specialized lenses reduce glare by up to 90% on wet roads and reflective surfaces, significantly enhancing driving safety in diverse weather and road conditions.
- The dynamic polarization technology responds quickly to light changes, darkening in bright sunlight and lightening in shaded areas for consistently optimal visibility behind the wheel.
- Offering complete UVA/UVB protection while reducing eye strain, these versatile lenses are particularly valuable during long-distance driving through varying environments and lighting conditions.
- Drivers experience preserved color perception and visual clarity across different landscapes, from sunny coastal highways to foggy mountain passes, making these lenses ideal for scenic road trips.
To test these new pair of glasses out, I took a quick road trip to explore the coast of Lake Erie in Ohio, including Marblehead Lighthouse and Port Clinton. In the summer, this is a prime tourism spot for people headed to the beach and Cedar Point. On this trip though, it was the perfect environment to test these XTRActive Polarized Transitions lenses. The combination of bright sunlight that could quickly shift to heavy cloud cover that created strong shadows combined with glare off of the frozen lake ice to make a very challenging environment for any pair of glasses.
I've been a Transitions user for more than a decade; this technology is something that I simply can't live without. While I also enjoy traditional sunglasses for their style and fashion benefits and special-purpose situations where I need wrap-around eye protection, my everyday glasses will always be Transitions.
One thing that has frustrated me though with the previous generation of Transitions that I had been wearing is that the "normal" style never got dark enough and the XTRActive was too dark even in dimly lit indoor environments like bars and restaurants. Additionally, they weren't polarized so when I was fishing our out on the water they weren't as good as a dedicated pair of polarized sunglasses. To take things even further, when wearing polarized lenses, they tend to interfere with screens including cameras, Heads Up Displays in your car, and more recently cause sensors designed to ensure the driver is alert so that hands-free-driving systems can be safely enabled.
For instance, on a recent road trip the sensor kept beeping saying that my eyes couldn't be detected when i was wearing my sunglasses.
While I haven't had a chance to test this particular aspect of the new XTRActive Polarized lenses, based on the way it is designed to work this should no longer be an issue!
How Transitions XTRActive Polarized Lenses Work
While this section may get a bit detailed and scientific, I find it fascinating how photochromatic lenses work - so bear with me ...
Transitions XTRActive Polarized lenses utilize a revolutionary multi-layer matrix technology that hosts two specialized types of dyes: new Transitions XTRActive broad-spectrum dyes that provide extra darkness and ultra-fast dichroic dyes that create dynamic polarization. The dichroic dyes are particularly innovative as they can organize into a linear pattern within the lens matrix when activated by UV light, achieving up to 90% polarization efficiency outdoors (comparable to dedicated polarized sunglasses) while remaining completely non-polarized indoors.
This breakthrough technology represents the culmination of extensive research backed by over 400 patents, allowing the lenses to darken in response to both UV and visible light, become extra dark outdoors, protect against harmful blue light (up to 90% outdoors and 34% indoors), and activate even behind car windshields while providing the wearer with sharper vision, a larger field of view, and more vivid colors by reducing glare.
This all translates into the perfect all-around pair of glasses for a man who works hard, plays hard, and wants to look good while keeping his eyes healthy!
The Ultimate Lenses For My "EXTRActive" Lifestyle
Ultimately for me, these glasses that I got from GlassesShop feel like the perfect "Goldielocks" solution. While this photochromatic technology does come at a significant price - it's totally worth it when you consider that these lenses do everything I need. To be honest though, while I always like to have the best I can ... the normal XTRActive are less expensive and provide most of the same benefits, they just don't have the dynamic polarization that I find very important for my lifestyle.
Driving Confidence
The XTRActive Polarized lenses activate behind the windshield according to light intensity, absorbing visible light to provide comfortable vision while driving without becoming fully polarized since windshields block UV light. This unique capability means you'll enjoy reduced glare and eye strain during long drives without the screen-blocking effect that traditional polarized sunglasses would have on your dashboard displays and GPS screens.
Travel Versatility
Whether you're casting a line on a fishing trip where reflective glare off water would normally impair your vision, or transitioning from bright outdoor cruise decks to elegant indoor dining spaces, these lenses seamlessly adapt to your environment without requiring a lens change. The dynamic polarization technology automatically provides maximum glare protection when you need it outdoors (improving visibility by up to 33% compared to non-polarized sun lenses) and then reverts to a clear, non-polarized state indoors so you can easily view your smartphone or digital menu.
Digital Workday Protection
During long hours at your computer, the XTRActive Polarized lenses maintain a slight protective tint that filters up to 34% of harmful blue light indoors, reducing eye fatigue and strain associated with digital screen use. The lenses' ability to stay clear yet protective indoors means you won't experience the screen-darkening effect of traditional polarized lenses while working, yet they'll automatically provide robust protection when you step outside for lunch or your commute, offering truly adaptive eye protection throughout your entire day.
Transitions XTRActive Polarized Lenses: Vision Without Compromise!
Transitions XTRActive Polarized lenses represent that rare travel essential - gear that actually delivers on its promise to make every mile traveled a bit more enjoyable. Studies show that proper eye protection can reduce driver fatigue by up to 20%, allowing you to push your adventure further without sacrificing comfort or safety. For me that has held true except for in recent years when I was faced with the choice of a pair of glasses that worked well in all the various environments that I work and play in.
Transitions lens technology has made huge strides since I first reviewed XTRActive on here more than five years ago. While there are other competitors offering photochromatic lenses for less money, the simple question needs to be asked ... how much is clear vision, fewer headaches, reduced eye strain, and crystal clear colors worth to you? If you are like me and spending thousands of dollars on a cruise or even a quick weekend road trip with the guys then spending a few extra dollars on the right eye wear should be an easy choice!
