Review: Switch Vision Prescription Glasses

If, like me, you have poor eyesight, you may have to run with prescription glasses. Running with spectacles that are not made for running quickly becomes annoying, as they start sliding down a sweaty nose. Luckily, good prescription glasses for runners do exist. Run-commuting adds some complexity to all of this. North of the 49th parallel, it is not uncommon to run in total darkness during winter months. Therefore, clear lens prescription glasses made for runners are required. Dark lens glasses are preferable for the rest of the year.  

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Switch Vision H-Wall Sunglasses. Photo from http://www.switchvision.com
Switch Vision H-Wall Sunglasses. Photo from http://www.switchvision.com

Three years ago, I bought Switch Vision prescription glasses. They came with interchangeable lenses; one clear set and one darker set for sunny days. These are made of ballistic material, which means they can also be used as safety glasses. Switch Vision uses small magnets inserted in the frame and around the lenses to keep them firmly in place. In my opinion, this feature places Switch Vision in a category of their own in terms of sports glasses. Switch Vision glasses’ design is great for people that needs sports prescription glasses for dark and sunny days. However, I have a bit of a bad aftertaste with the durability of the H wall model I purchased. The exposed metal rusted out after only a few months. When that happened, I took them back to the store, where they were replaced. Just like the first one, however, the second pair showed signs of rust after only a few months. Therefore, I would recommend avoiding these particular Switch Vision frames that expose portions of the magnets – they tend to rust over time, as shown below. I would also avoid frames with a soft nose mount and choose one with a plastic one instead.

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Switch Vision H-Walls
Switch Vision H-Walls, showing spots of rust on top of the frame

Finally, depending on the number of dealers in your area, these can be pretty expensive (myself, I paid $700 Cdn, which is an outrageous amount of money for any pair of glasses when I think about it). I could probably have bought 2 pairs of sport prescription glasses, 1 clear and 1 dark, for less money than that. I really like the Switch Vision magnetic system, but not enough to pay such a premium to get it again the next time around. Hopefully, prices will have come down to a more reasonable level. ********************* Characteristics of good run-commuting prescription glasses: -durable -interchangeable lenses -light -lenses held firmly in place -resistance to fogging (good luck finding that!)[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Author: Nick Pedneault

I'm an engineer by day, a husband and a father by night, and a Canadian run commuter in between! My blog (in French) can be found here: http://johnnyboysaventures.wordpress.com/ I also do volunteer work for Ray Zahab's impossible2Possible organization http://impossible2possible.com/home. For the past 2 years, I have been translating their i2prace website from English to French http://i2prun.com/

One thought on “Review: Switch Vision Prescription Glasses”

  1. The quality of the lenses is very poor and the finish will begin to deteriorate within a month or two. It is like looking through clouds. For the price it is very disappointing.

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