Glass or plastic lenses?

Glass is too breakable, and can get badly scratched and if your eyesight is really poor, as mine was before cataracts, glass lenses are very heavy and uncomfortaable to wear.

I've never had anything other than glass lenses - to be honest, it wouldn't have occurred to me to get plastic and it's certainly never been suggested by my optician.

Glass is heavier, but can be made up in the thinner high index lenses. I have a high (10.5 dioptres) prescription so always have glass. It does mean I'm limited to smaller frames though. No Deirdre Barlows for me!

Have always had glass lenses, including in the varifocals I have worn for 10 years. I didn't know plastic lenses existed

I stopped having glass lenses as they were so heavy in my metal frames and plastic was so much lighter. Now I have plastic frames and lenses. Hadn’t thought of switching back to glass. I have anti glare plastic lens and they only seem to last a couple of years before getting scratched and I have to get new frames as well.

I don't wear glass lenses. They are heavy. I wear very light Zeiss lenses that are thinned down.

Glass for me. I find them less smeary. I use a wipe on them every day and they're gleaming.

I have two identical pairs of glasses. One is glass and the other is polycarbonate.
They are in the same round frames and both were made in the thinest option.

I have a strong feeling that I like the glass ones best. There is something beautiful and sort of "serene" about them - but I have noticed recently that I'm sometimes looking for the other pair...
The weight difference is huge.

I don't have the anti-glare on either pair but do have "anti scratch". I'm rough with mine as I take them off for reading - and am a bit clumsy and often put them down with little thought. Even so, any scratching really is minimal - and certainly invisible whilst I'm wearing them.

I decided to update an old frame recently with my new lenses as my prescription has changed a little. I have chosen the Hoya ones this time. They are stunningly clear.

My optician has told me he would never recommend glass so near the eye now we have other options. He says if you fall forward the chances of serious eye damage is high. Polycarbonate is 10 times more impact-resistant than glass (or standard plastic). I'm not sure about the PNX 1.53/ Hoya ones - but they are the lightest of all.

Plastic always. They are less likely to shatter in an accident. You can recycle old prescription spectacles at places like SpecSavers, so there's no need to worry about plastic pollution. Also, they are lighter.

Polycarb for me and because they do scratch, I like to change them for new ones at every eye test. Expensive as they are varifocals but relatively cheap on a daily basis. I cycle and having glass spectacles could be catastrophic for my vision

I do prefer glass but have my sensible head on

I much prefer plastic as they are so much lighter, Specsavers do offer a scratchproof coating.

I hadn’t realised you can get glass lenses any more !

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@slope 2 To tell you the truth, the idea of getting plastic lenses never occurred to me, and my optician has never even considered the possibility of doing so.

@dino game Plastic lenses can become scratched or lose their coating over time, which may make vision seem cloudy. It would be worth having both the lenses and your eyes checked by an optician, especially if the difference is that noticeable.

Reported

I had new glasses last year I don't know if they're glass or plastic lenses, but I'm so fed up with them as I always seem to be cleaning the lenses. I didn't know you could get plastic lenses

Mine are plastic, been wearing specs since I was 14 (I'm 52) and for the last 8 yrs, had Stepper frames (one of the lightest). My current frames weigh in at 5g but my lenses knock the total weight up to 16g. I need to replace but I can't get a pair I like and though these frames are available, the colour isn't (brown), I've had the blue, but I don't want them again and the other 2 colours aren't for me. I have transitions xtra adaptive which means they can only thin them down to 1.66 (is it?). I can't manage with clear lenses due to sensitive eyes (since I was 34).

I envy ANYONE who can go straight into a pair of frames, if I did that I'd be crosseyed due to my wonky ears that I NEVER knew about until I needed glasses. Getting them squared up can be difficult as I also have one eye brow slightly higher and the lady who fit them would always line them up with my eyebrows rather than my eyes. She said they were straight, I would say they weren't, battle of wills basically, now they listen! Besides, when I'm having to fork out around £400 for a pair of specs, I want the damn things to be comfy and look right!