Short Stuff
A buying guide to what's available in short-corridor PALs
By Karlen Cole McLean ABOC, NCLE

Oversized sunwear may come and go, but compact ophthalmic eyewear has become an eyewear staple that's here to stay. This style looks professional, yet is sporty enough for evening and weekend wear--creating a natural appeal for baby boomer consumers. Lens manufacturers with an eye on the market have responded with a full spectrum of offerings for short corridor progressive addition lenses (PALs).

Here's the need-to-know information on what's available today in short-corridor PALs, so you can get the latest on each lens offering. Included are recommended fitting heights, lens material availability, and the key attributes of each lens.

Important to note is that all short-corridor PAL designs require fitting at the center pupil, and manufacturers recommend taking monocular pupillary distance measurements using a pupilometer for the greatest accuracy, resulting in the the best visual acuity from a short-corridor lens.

Micra

Recommended minimum fitting height: 16mm. In low add powers: 14mm

Materials: Superfin 1.523, photochromic available in late 2004

Attributes: An aspheric, front-surface PAL design, the Micra offers less distortion in power changes and requires no compensated add powers, with 85 percent of the addition at the 11mm corridor. Available from Global Optics lab network.

For more information, call 888-440-INDO or visit www.indo.es

AO-SOLA

Compact

Recommended minimum fitting height: 17mm

Materials: AO Compact 16 high-index, AO Compact 55 mid-index, Rugged Fashionwear polycarbonate, 55 Velocity Transitions, hard resin clear, and Transitions

Attributes: The first PAL specifically designed for smaller fashion frames, the Compact ranges in fitting height from 17mm to 26mm. Ideal when the frame vertical "B" measurement is less than 40mm.

Contact 800-358-8258 or visit www.aolens.com

AUGEN OPTICS USA

Air Progressive

Recommended minimum fitting height: 17mm

Materials: 1.56 clear, 1.56 SunSensors with index-matched coatings

Attributes: Augen uses ray technology to select the base curve for each Rx range for optimal visual performance. The lenses are "aspheric/multidesign" for each base curve and power combination. Air Progressives are available through authorized Augen labs.

Contact 866-284-3611 or visit www.augenusa.com

CARL ZEISS OPTICAL

Gradal Brevity

Recommended minimum fitting height: 16mm

Materials: Gradal Brevity 1.5, 1.67

Attributes: Gradal Brevity features a short progressive zone with a wide near area in a soft progressive design with horizontal symmetry, variable inset, asymmetric surface design, and a fully optical aspheric surface. Available through all Zeiss Partner Labs.

Contact 800-338-2984 or visit www.zeiss.com/lenses

ESSILOR

Varilux Ellipse

Recommended minimum fitting height:14mm

Materials: 1.50 CR 39, Thin & Lite 1.67 high-index, Airwear (available winter 2004)

Attributes: Ellipse reaches 85 percent of the power at 9.5mm, offering a reading area at the shortest depth while maintaining a wide field of distance vision.

Contact 800-ESSILOR or visit www.variluxpro.com

HOYA VISION CARE NORTH AMERICA

Hoyalux Summit CD

Recommended minimum fitting height: 14mm

Materials: 1.50 CR 39, 1.53 Phoenix Trivex, 1.53 Phoenix Trivex Transitions, 1.60 EYRY, 1.70 EYAS

Attributes: Integrated viewing areas give natural balance distance to near with a wide perspective. Negligible peripheral distortion provides best vision with short corridor performance. Balanced, symmetric design virtually eliminates side-to-side visual swim. Available from HOYA labs and distributors.

Call 877-528-1939 or visit www.hoyaopticallabs.com

OPTICAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION

Paradigm-16

Recommended minimum fitting height: 16mm

Materials: Clear, SmartShades Photochromic high- index material

Attributes: With this soft, aspheric design, power progresses rapidly through the intermediate zone to full add power. The design changes as the add power increases, providing easy adaptation and comfort for wearers regardless of add power. Available direct from Optical Dynamics laboratory, authorized labs, or ECPs with the Q-2100R in-office lens fabrication unit.

Call 800-587-2743 or visit www.opticaldynamics.com

POLYCORE

Micro

Recommended minimum fitting height: 16mm

Materials: Corning SunSensors gray and brown, LiteAir Polycarbonate and CR 39 to be introduced later this year

Attributes: This aspheric soft design features flat base curves and a wide, undisturbed width-of-field for distance viewing. The multi-design add range helps maintain reading width in higher add powers.

Contact 888-645-7788 or visit www.polycore.com

RODENSTOCK NORTH AMERICA

Progressiv XS

Recommended minimum fitting height: 16mm

Materials: 1.50, 1.52 ColorMatic Extra SF, 1.59 polycarbonate SF, 1.60 SF

Attributes: Featuring automated Prescription Technology and Advanced Surfacing Technology lens manufacturing processes, the Progressiv XS is fully aspheric with a low distortion surface design, created for rapid adaptation with long-term compatibility. Horizontal and vertical symmetry allow for precise viewing in all visual zones.

Call 888-407-EYES or visit www.rodenstockusa.com

SEIKO OPTICAL PRODUCTS

1.67 Super Proceed II Short

Recommended minimum fitting height: 18mm

Materials: 1.67 high-index in clear, Transitions gray, Transitions brown

Attributes: Patented Progressive Prism Variation (PPV) controls peripheral prism and manages unwanted astigmatism. Linear power progression in the 14mm corridor ensures that when the eye travels halfway down the channel, the wearer is halfway to the full add power.

Contact 800-235-5367 or visit www.seikoeyewear.com

SEIKO-PENTAX

AF mini and DC mini

Recommended fitting height: 17mm for both AF and DC minis

Materials: 1.67, 1.60, and 1.50 index (AF mini); 1.59 polycarbonate (DC mini)

Attributes: The AF mini features Retina Forward Design, which helps optimize the lenses for position of wear, provides smoother power transitions and wider viewing zones, and offers a slim, attractive profile. The DC mini is a fully aspheric, short-corridor polycarbonate PAL with proprietary manufacturing technology designed to eliminate bifringement stress and features triple hardcoating.

Contact 800-401-9101 or visit www.pentaxvision.com

SHAMIR INSIGHT

Piccolo

Recommended minimum fitting height: 16mm

Materials: Standard plastic, Transitions 1.50, polycarbonate, 1.60 high-index, clear glass, and Corning Thin & Dark glass

Attributes: Shamir's exclusive Eye

Point Technology design process is reported to simulate the human eye at every angle of vision, in each optical zone, in every Rx range. Piccolo is designed with an 11mm progressive corridor that provides a 5 mm reading zone, according to Piccolo's designers.

Contact 888-707-7760 or visit www.shamirlens.com

SODERBERG

iScience Micro PAL

Recommended minimum fitting height: 15mm

Materials: 1.56 mid-index

Attributes: A cast-to-Rx lens that features an aspheric design on the front surface and an atoric design on the back surface, which flattens the lens on all sides and reduces eye minification and magnification while providing a wider field of view. The iScience Micro PAL lens is also available in a photo-chromic option directly from Soderberg.

For additional information, contact Soderberg at 800-755-5655 or visit www.soseyes.com

SOLA

SOLAMAX

Recommended minimum fitting height: 18mm

Materials: Spectralite 1.54

Attributes: A progressive design derived from Design by Prescription technology, SOLAMAX has soft boundaries with somewhat harder boundaries at the bottom of the near area.

The key feature is the larger near zone, up to 33 percent bigger on average in small frames, according to company representatives.

For additional information, contact 800-358-8258 or visit SOLA's Website at www.sola.com

VISION-EASE

Illumina

Recommended minimum fitting height: 17mm

Materials: Clear polycarbonate, with other materials to follow in the first quarter of 2005, including polarized and melanin

Attributes: A new generation soft design PAL with a lower peak of astigmatism, improved binocular vision, a wide near zone, a wide corridor, and flat aspheric base curves, reports the company. Lenses come with Tegra ultra SR and are available through authorized labs.

For more information, contact 800-328-3449 or visit www.vision-ease.com

YOUNGER OPTICS

Image

Recommended minimum fitting height: 18mm

Materials: Hardcoated and uncoated resin, mid-index, polycarbonate, Trilogy Trivex, NuPolar polarized, Transitions photochromic

Attributes: The 18mm fitting height provides more vertical intermediate viewing area; peripheral blur is minimized. Distance vision width is uncompromised for clarity around the fitting cross, the company notes. Wearers see distance clearly even with small vertical head movements.

Contact 888-807-4950 or visit www.youngeroptics.com

Kodak Concise

Recommended minimum fitting height: 17mm

Materials: 1.67 high-index, 1.56 EvoClear, 1.60 EvoClear, PolyClear, Standard resin with or without scratch resistance, Corning SunSensors gray and brown

Attributes: Soft near zone boundaries and a wide near zone designed to minimize peripheral distortion through a wide corridor. Kodak Concise also features a spacious distance viewing area.

Contact 800-759-0075 or visit www.signetarmorlite.com