SPORTS RX PROGRAMS
PERFORMANCE ENHANCERS
A must-keep guide to 17 sports eyewear Rx programs that can pump up your business
BY SUSAN TARRANT
Photo courtesy of Rudy Project (style Rydon)
Got active patients? Today, they can have it all—the performance sunwear they crave, in their prescription, and with all the high-tech lens bells (and whistles) they love from their favorite sports brands.
In the past, athletes and active patients had to settle for fashion sunwear for sports protection because sports sunwear couldn’t be Rx’d, especially with its own proprietary performance-enhancing lens features.
Free-form technology and customizable lens designs have, however, ushered in a new era of prescription lens capability, even for high-wrap sports styles. Now, most performance sports sunwear brands offer their own prescription lens programs, serving up their proprietary lens technology in a growing range of Rx’s, including progressive designs.
How does this help your business? By delivering a real solution for the growing number of active patients looking for one, you’ll drive home additional revenue.
In fact, in Eyecare Business’ 2015 Market Trends Study, ECPs pointed to Rx sun as the fastest-growing specialty lens category—and a whopping 82% of respondents said they are expecting an increase in Rx sun sales in the next two years.
Are you ready?
Here, for your business-building background, we present a guide to some of the leading sports sunwear brands’ Rx programs.
ADIDAS FROM SILHOUETTE
Prescription orders in the Adidas Performance Rx program are digitally produced by Digital Eye Lab as part of DEL’s EZConnect online portal. ECPs order the frame and lens together on the portal; there’s no need to send the frame to the lab. The program features easy ordering and package pricing, five-day turnaround, free shipping, and a two-year frame and lens guarantee.
INFO: digitaleyelab.com/adidasrx, 800-223-0180, 866-866-8673
COSTA SUNGLASSES
Color-enhancing polarized 580 lens technology selectively filters out harsh yellow and harmful high-energy ultraviolet blue light. Orders are filled at Costa’s lab in Daytona Beach, FL. Rx lenses are available in glass, poly, or Trivex, and with C-WALL protective coating. Rx technology includes Waypoint SV, Waypoint C-SCAPE PAL, Waypoint C-SCAPE Bifocal (backside round segment), and Varilux Stylistic PAL. Rx range is +3.00 to -5.00 for its 580P lenses and +3.00 to -3.00 for 580G lenses.
INFO: costarx@costadelmar.com, 855-267-8279, or visionweb.com (to order)
HILCO LEADER C2 RX SPORTS GOGGLES
Hilco’s proprietary V-Port technology widens the field of vision by up to 40 degrees while providing ventilation and comfort. A wide choice of colors, sizes, and wearing options (temples and straps) are available. An Rx sports protection eyewear display features four Leader C2 Unleashed and two Leader C2 Rx-able sport frames.
INFO: hilco.com, 800-955-6544
JULBO
Julbo’s prescription program features Rx Trem lenses, offering a wide field of distortion-free vision and clear vision regardless of which direction the wearer looks. Rx Trem lenses are available in NXT and polycarbonate, and all of them are treated with in-mass technology. The entire depth of the lens is colored, polarized, and treated photochromically for optimum durability and resistance.
INFO: julbo.com, 802-651-0833
LIBERTY SPORT
Exclusive Pro-Thin digital surfacing creates attractive wrap and high-power lenses. The lab specializes in prescriptions that would be out of range in other products. Liberty’s Switch Magnetic Interchange Technology uses magnets embedded in the lens and frame to enable users to swap lenses quickly and easily as light conditions and activities change. The lab offers value benefits for Sports Eye Injury Prevention Center accounts (SEIPC) and Sport Zone accounts, along with seasonal promotions.
INFO: libertysport.com, 800-444-5010
MAUI JIM
Every Maui Jim sunglass style features the company’s patented PolarizedPlus2 color-infused lens technology that eliminates glare, 100% harmful UV, and boosts color via specially designed lens treatments. Lenses are digitally surfaced, with an Rx range of +3.00 to -3.50 (Maui Evolution lenses) and +3.00 to -4.50 (polycarbonate lenses).
INFO: mauijim.com, 888-666-5905
Kevin Gausman of the Baltimore Orioles
NIKE VISION FROM MARCHON
Using the highest-quality materials and digital free-form technology, Nike Vision has broadened its ability to meet customers’ needs for Rx-able sports eyewear. Through the Nike Rx program, over 90% of Nike sunglasses are Rx-able. All Rx orders are managed through VSP ONE lab in San Diego. ECPs can take advantage of the Nike Rx program via a free account on eyefinity.com, where they can also access ordering tools to avoid Rx errors.
INFO: marchon.com, eyefinity.com, 800-645-1300
OAKLEY
Oakley’s new Prizm lens technology emphasizes colors where the eye is most sensitive, without the compromises of conventional lens tints. Prizm Rx lenses are available in Oakley sport and active frames with Oakley True Digital (OTD) lens technologies in golf, road, trail, and baseball lenses. OTD Rx lenses are designed for high-wrap frames, minimizing blurring and distortion in the periphery. OTD Sport Specific progressive lenses are custom-engineered for specific sports.
INFO: oakley.com, 800-733-6255
RED BULL RACING EYEWEAR FROM MAD VISION
Poly, Trivex, and Transitions are available in SV and PALs, with an Rx range of +7.00 to -9.00 depending on frame style. Orders are processed through Solidar Optical Laboratory’s web portal. Turnaround time is two weeks for non-mirror and three weeks for mirror lenses. Pricing includes lens, edging, AR, mirror, anti-fog coat, and digital thinning. All lenses carry a one-year warranty.
INFO: 888-961-4675 (Mad Vision), 855-272-6284 (Solidar)
REPTILE SUNWEAR
Reptile Sun Polynium DHD 160 is a patented digital lens design engineered to provide enhanced high-definition vision throughout the entire lens. The advanced back-surface digital processing converts frame information, fitting measurements, and Rx to data-points files that control the generation of the optics of the lens. This computerized program results in a lens customized for the wrap angle of the frame, the Rx, the wearer’s PD, and the position of wear. Each of the Reptile frames is Rx-able.
INFO: reptilesun.com, 877-744-3516
REVO FROM CLEARVISION
The Revo Light Management System and Revo High-Contrast Polarization technology are now available in an Rx program powered by Shamir. All REVOlution Rx lenses come standard with the Revo SurfacePro Protection System. Lenses are optically centered and positioned to prevent eye fatigue caused by shifting images within deep base curves. Availability: digital SV and progressive, polarized and non-polarized, and serillium poly and NXT Trivex.
INFO: cvoptical.com, 800-645-3733
RUDY PROJECT NORTH AMERICA
FreeFormTEK Rx lens technology is suitable for a wide range of prescriptions and ideal for most types of sports and outdoor activities. Lenses are customized to exact prescriptions and created with sophisticated edging equipment. Rx lenses are available in Rudy’s latest generation of unbreakable ImpactX lenses, the ImpactX-2, which has been updated with cutting-edge photochromic particles. RxDirect Clips and Rx Inserts provide additional methods for prescription-wearing athletes to manage their vision with Rudy Project frames.
INFO: rudyprojectusa.com, 888-860-7597
SMITH OPTICS FROM SAFILO
Smith’s proprietary ChromaPop polarized lenses filter light at two specific wavelengths to eliminate color confusion to the brain while providing a sharper, easier, and faster visual experience. They provide color clarity and visual definition in a high-impact-resistance Trivex lens. All lenses feature front- and backside AR. Rx range is +2.00 to -5.00, with -2.00 to +2.00 cyl.
INFO: smithoptics.com, 888-206-2995
SPY OPTIC HAPPY LENS
The Happy Lens allows in the sun’s “good” rays that create an uplift in mood and alertness, while blocking the “bad” blue light and UV rays. All Happy Rx lenses are digitally surfaced and come with backside AR coating. Suggested power range is +3.00 to -4.00 for 8-base frames and +3.50 to -5.00 for 6-base frames. Max cylinder is -3.00. There is a two-year manufacturing warranty on Happy Rx lenses and a one-year courtesy scratch redo. Rx orders are processed by iCoat Company. A website is being built that will allow ECPs to order easily and receive overnight shipping.
INFO: icoatcompany.com, spyoptic.com, 310-433-7760
VUARNET
Vuarnet Plus prescription lenses are made of mineral glass, which allows for a lens that is up to 10% thinner depending on prescription. This exclusive, patented technology results in a uniform lens tint, whatever the lens thickness. The free-form “hard” progressive lens design favors distance vision for an outdoor lifestyle. It offers three corridor lengths, with adds from 1.00 to 3.00 diopters. Its Rx “blending” technology allows for the extension of the prescription grid of 9-base lenses up to +4.50 and -4.50D.
INFO: customerservice@vuarnet.us, 914-495-3701
WILEY X
DIGIFORCE digital Rx lenses increase and optimize the field of vision in all directions while providing a significant reading zone and crisper, clear optics. DIGIFORCE lenses, matched to the specific Wiley X frame, account for various measurements including pantoscopic tilt, wrap angle, and vertex distance. As a result, wearers enjoy wide vision zones, a smooth transition through the corridor, and minimized oblique astigmatism.
INFO: wileyx.com, 800-776-7842
ZEAL OPTICS
All Rx orders are filled at the Maui Jim lab in Peoria, IL. Every polarized poly Rx lens is digitally processed and includes backside AR. Rx parameters are +3.00 to -5.50, depending on frame style. All Rx sunglasses are stamped with the ZEAL name on the lens, certifying authenticity and guarantee of warranty. Rx lenses are produced in a zero-waste lab, which means all excess lens material produced during processing is recycled or reused.
INFO: zealoptics.com, 888-454-9325