We've have a few threads before here at ETS about spare glasses. But I just ran across an interesting emergency eyeglasses product that I may have to try. It's adjustable for prescriptions within a 12 cylinder range! Obviously the best option is to have your own prescription but if it works as claimed it would be a great addition to group preps.

Considering these myself. Should be good for a closeup work as well. Just get a sturdy case for them, as they are quite flimsy (saw other images of them a while ago). They are very popular on eBay, by the way, as merchants popped the price up to 50 and even 70 already

There are so many more options these days for buying prescription eyeglasses, I recommend just getting a normal pair for a spare.

This spring I bought three pair at Costco for what my normal eye doctor would have charged for one pair (bit over $500).

Took my eye doc's prescription to Costco, where there was less selection on frames but plenty in the style I wanted. To my surprise, my favorite pair of frames were just $49. The most I paid for a frame at Costco was $123 (Giorgio Armani). Lenses (high-density but not progressive) for each pair were about $80.

I was planning on getting two pair but turns out Costco gives you $25 off each additional pair so I went for the third. And they were ready for pickup in five days.

Now I have a brand-new pair as a spare and they are kept in my car's glove compartment.

Brutal competitive environment for small business optometrists. Sweet deals for consumers.



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On Amazion for $23 -- not highly rated but cheap enough I suppose.

For run-of-the-mill crises (forgotten contact lenses, broken glasses, etc), I wouldn't want to wear these. A spare pair of normal prescription spectacles looks a lot better, will likely have a positive impact on your interpersonal interactions, and may have better peripheral vision. But as something to have on hand for someone who really can't see without glasses and doesn't have spares, this could be useful.

Check out Zenni Optical - an online prescription eyeglass maker. You can get glasses starting at $6.95 and bifocals for under $25. You enter your prescription information obtained from your optometrist and they ship you your glasses within 2 weeks.

They have a large assortment of frames and sizes and can even do sunglasses. The frames are sturdy, but not quite up to the quality of the designer frames you can get elsewhere. They are good enough for everyday use, however and I wore a pair of their bifocals for over a year with no problems(when I had financial difficulties and couldn't afford store-bought glasses).

The lenses are top quality - comparable to what you'd get anywhere else. Lots of options, too. To date, I've bought three pair with no complaints. Give them a try. No affiliation of course, just a satisfied customer!

I've also used Zenni and others like them with great success.

A dozen of these would be really useful by medical personal helping out in remote, poor locations. They might also be worth keeping a few on hand if you're in areas prone to earthquakes or wildfires. Imagine your popularity handing a few of these out at some emergency shelter to some senior citizen or child who lost/forgot their glasses in the rush to escape.
-Blast

There are very robust versions of these being made available in the Third World. (Several adjustable systems out there; a friend of mine has been involved in the distribution of one of them.) It's hard to imagine how transforming the ability to see clearly -- or at all -- is for people who are otherwise dysfunctional, and therefore destitute.

(And here I am grumping over the need to occasionally use 1.00 dollar-store readers when perusing the fine text. Sheesh.)

This is what I was getting at. I am a fan of Zenni Optical and atm I have ten spare pairs of glasses! So I'm not worried about backups for me. I'm thinking more of emergency preps for groups and stuff. For example, my brother is a cheapskate that will drop $500 on a new Xbox in a heartbeat but hasn't been to the eye doctor in 10 years, and he won't buy spare glasses. Something like this could be a trip saver if not an actual life saver. If they work well it seems like an inexpensive and useful addition to one's preps, especially if you anticipate having to assist other folks.

+1 on Zenni Optical
They have Buy 1 Get one 2 times year.
pciked up 2 pairs of single vision, with titanium flex frames, for 21.00 shipped.

Not on sale right now.
I do not work there.