Billiards Glasses

OP.... what size tables are shooting on, and what focal point are you going to choose.
I prefer 9'.
While getting your normal eye exam, there's no extra charge for the optometrist for your chosen single focal point.
 
Bavafongoul said:
What’s even better than great clarity is the world of colors exploded.

One thing you’ll need forever is sunglasses. Stepping outside into
sunlight or daytime driving is absolutely blinding. Fact: having your
vision restored via cataract surgery means permanent light sensitivity.

It’s a small price to pay to see clearly and with colors you can’t imagine.
I had no idea how much I was missing out on and boy, what a change.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
Sunglasses while driving all of the time now.
Medical miracle when it comes to pool. Cut the shit out of that ball all of the way up the long rail.
 
Nature Boy said:
I know there has been a few threads on here about them, but what kind of billiard glasses do you use and why? I have an eye appointment next week, and would like some recommendations.

I had a list saved of the different companies I have read about on here, but my phone died and I lost them.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
My doctor asked me to get a couple of eye level pictures taking a long shot and more of a mid distance to close shot. I have a remote for the camera so that was no issue. I used a tripod.

He reviewed them with me and showed me how my pupils hit the glasses while shooting. He said you can't make an optical center that high, so we had to look for frames with a high vertical size and with adjustable nose pads. I found an acceptable frame, and he sent them off to the lab after doing an initial adjustment on my face so to get the position correct for a good optical center while shooting.

He did the final adjustments after we got the glasses back. He even had me use a table in the shop to emulate a pool table and he bent down and looked at my eyes at eye level to ensure proper placement. They work well.
 
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Korsakoff said:
My doctor asked me to get a couple of eye level pictures taking a long shot and more of a mid distance to close shot. I have a remote for the camera so that was no issue. I used a tripod.

He reviewed them with me and showed me how my pupils hit the glasses while shooting. He said you can't make an optical center that high, so wee had to look for frames with a high vertical size and with adjustable nose pads. I found an acceptable frame, and he sent them off to the lab after doing an initial adjustment on my face so to get the position correct for a good optical center while shooting.

He did the final adjustments after we got the glasses back. He even had me use a table in the shop to emulate a pool table and he bent down and looked at my eyes at eye level to ensure proper placement. They work well.
Click to expand...

Get contacts. Problem solved. Trust me. Been there.
I know, you don't like putting your fingers in your eyes. Persevere. You'll get used to it and be glad you did. You can get Dailys, weekley, biweeklys, monthlys.
Thank me later.
 
Korsakoff said:
My doctor asked me to get a couple of eye level pictures taking a long shot and more of a mid distance to close shot. I have a remote for the camera so that was no issue. I used a tripod.

He reviewed them with me and showed me how my pupils hit the glasses while shooting. He said you can't make an optical center that high, so wee had to look for frames with a high vertical size and with adjustable nose pads. I found an acceptable frame, and he sent them off to the lab after doing an initial adjustment on my face so to get the position correct for a good optical center while shooting.

He did the final adjustments after we got the glasses back. He even had me use a table in the shop to emulate a pool table and he bent down and looked at my eyes at eye level to ensure proper placement. They work well.
Click to expand...
He’s physician that cares about your sight and helping you enjoy life all the more.

Too many physicians belong to a IPA and are held to productivity metrics more
than patient care. Time is money in a doctors office so when you locate a doctor
that cares, you enjoy better, more personalized care. You also avoid having to buy
eyewear that may be fully functional for pool but aren’t very appealing to wear., IMO.
 
philly said:
Get contacts. Problem solved. Trust me. Been there.
I know, you don't like putting your fingers in your eyes. Persevere. You'll get used to it and be glad you did. You can get Dailys, weekley, biweeklys, monthlys.
Thank me later.
Click to expand...
Prescription contacts for pool are impractical for everyday life’s vision needs, especially driving.
The depth of field prescription is adjusted to improve vision from 2-3’ distant to 12’. So your long
distance viewing suffers and is not practical for driving.

Getting contacts still require a optometrist so you can obtain a prescription and everyone has different
and distinct eyesight needs. Contacts are just another version of frameless, invisible eyewear to others
but need to be prescribed for the eyesight needs of the individual pool player’s requirements.

There’s also ongoing daily replacement cost for playing pool unless you can re-use them and how many
times? Regardless, there’s an on-going cost because of the contacts being a pool prescription, they’d be
impractical for wearing other than when playing pool. Nope, cool looking eyewear is the way to go, IMO.
 
Bavafongoul said:
Prescription contacts for pool are impractical for everyday life’s vision needs, especially driving.
The depth of field prescription is adjusted to improve vision from 2-3’ distant to 12’. So your long
distance viewing suffers and is not practical for driving.

Getting contacts still require a optometrist so you can obtain a prescription and everyone has different
and distinct eyesight needs. Contacts are just another version of frameless, invisible eyewear to others
but need to be prescribed for the eyesight needs of the individual pool player’s requirements.

There’s also ongoing daily replacement cost for playing pool unless you can re-use them and how many
times? Regardless, there’s an on-going cost because of the contacts being a pool prescription, they’d be
impractical for wearing other than when playing pool. Nope, cool looking eyewear is the way to go, IMO.
Click to expand...

They worked perfectly for me.
Only wore them for pool.
Put them in before I left for the poolroom otherwise wore my glasses.
Contacts were a tool and they worked great.
Of course new lenses after Cataract surgery worked better. No need for Contacts anymore. No billiard glasses either.
From what I have been reading billiard glasses are rather a picyune problem.
Contacts just work, or they did for me.
Now 20/20 vision, no Contacts
 
Nature Boy said:
I know there has been a few threads on here about them, but what kind of billiard glasses do you use and why? I have an eye appointment next week, and would like some recommendations.

I had a list saved of the different companies I have read about on here, but my phone died and I lost them.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
I emailed my prescription to a guy in the UK. They were great. Their web address is snookerxpex.com Best price I could find. They will mail them to you.
 
Island Drive said:
OP.... what size tables are shooting on, and what focal point are you going to choose.
I prefer 9'.
While getting your normal eye exam, there's no extra charge for the optometrist for your chosen single focal point.
Click to expand...
Mainly bar tables, but big tables when I can.

I feel like my vision is “decent” on a bar table, but would love to find something to help me on both.

The last time I played on a big table, I played okay on one and terrible on one that had bad lighting.
 
Cleveland_Rocks said:
Use contacts, not glasses for pool. Contacts are a lot better. Glasses smudge, in pool there can be issues with them obstructing vision, and are bulky. Contacts work great, put them in, no vision blockages, no smudges, just great vision day in and day out. If I did not have contacts, and had to wear glasses playing pool, I would quit the game and do something else.
Click to expand...
No shot I'm touching my eye.
 
philly said:
Get contacts. Problem solved. Trust me. Been there.
I know, you don't like putting your fingers in your eyes. Persevere. You'll get used to it and be glad you did. You can get Dailys, weekley, biweeklys, monthlys.
Thank me later.
Click to expand...
i tried contacts off and on for years. Started when there were only hard contacts. Went through a few iterations of soft. Never worked for me.

Like progressive lenses. Some it works for, some it takes a while, some it doesn't work for. I'm in the latter group
 
Korsakoff said:
i tried contacts off and on for years. Started when there were only hard contacts. Went through a few iterations of soft. Never worked for me.

Like progressive lenses. Some it works for, some it takes a while, some it doesn't work for. I'm in the latter group
Click to expand...

Very surprised.
 
Bavafongoul said:
One thing you’ll need forever is sunglasses. Stepping outside into
sunlight or daytime driving is absolutely blinding. Fact: having your
vision restored via cataract surgery means permanent light sensitivity.
Click to expand...
Went outdoors without my sun's on... felt like a grand opening spotlight was shined in my eyes. I lost clarity for a while..started to get a little rattled. However the co$t of surgery was worth much more than what was charged.
 
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Nature Boy said:
I know there has been a few threads on here about them, but what kind of billiard glasses do you use and why? I have an eye appointment next week, and would like some recommendations.

I had a list saved of the different companies I have read about on here, but my phone died and I lost them.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Decot Hy-Wyd are the best by far. They are not cheap, but can be worn like a regular pair of glasses and then adjusted on the fly for shooting, You wont be disappointed!
 
GoldCrown said:
Went outdoors without my sun's on... felt like a grand opening spotlight was shined in my eyes. I lost clarity for a while..started to get a little rattled. However the co$t of surgery was worth much more than what was charged.
Click to expand...
I dunno what private health insurance plans pay but even basic Medicare picks up a chunk.
Eyesight and hearing are senses we rely and depend on every day and diminishment of those
senses can be ruinous to just enjoying everyday life. Cataract surgery was like seeing color for
the first time. I didn’t know how dull colors had become because of the thickening interfering
with light. In fact, there were some I couldn’t distinguish like dark blue and dark green that
looked identical to me. Until you suffer from cataracts & undergone the surgery, it’s hard to explain.
 
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I wore glasses (nearsighted) since 13.
My issue on the 9’ tables was having the top of the frames block my vision on long shots.
Not so much of a problem on bar boxes.

As I aged my close up vision failed as it does for most. I had distance & reading glasses and they were less than optimal for pool, since only half of the table was in focus.
Bifocals were worse. The “line” would fall right on the cue ball.

No pool for years…. Then progressive lenses came along!
I was back and playing exclusively on nine footers.
The top of the frames was still giving me fits on the long shots. I’d be lifting my head or scrunching up my nose. Not good (or attractive lol).

Curran’s glasses solved that problem completely.

So what the OP chooses has to be determined by what problems he’s having.

First glasses? Shoot with your new every day glasses and see how it goes.

Have glasses, no problem with the frame blocking your view and want a more pool related prescription?

Or is the frame in way?

Just beware that many vision centers are “plug & play” types. Anything off script can be an adventure.

I hope this makes a modicum of sense. Typing on my phone is frustrating to say the least.
 
I found the frame to be like a electronic gun sight with a large MOA.
Since my billiard eyewear was not a progressive lens, I never looked
or aimed at object balls other than through the middle of the lenses.

I don’t have any limitations in bending or lifting my head or neck while
assuming my pool stance which is lower than most players. I get down
very low and do not get out of my stance with my bridge hand on the
table until the cue ball reaches its final destination on the pool table.

It is the same principle when I shoot trap, long range with my 7mm, or
any of my handguns. I view everything through the center of my eyewear
by positioning my head taking aim. I seldom even look thru the top or
bottom of my eyewear and frankly, can’t recall ever using that type aiming.

As long as the eyewear presents a clear image, viewing through the center
of the lenses offers the best image I can imagine with ample perimeter clarity
of the OB, CB and pool table. Whatever works for a player is all that’s needed.
 
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