WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POLYCARBONATE AND TRIVEX

Both polycarbonate and Trivex lenses have properties which make them an ideal material for lenses where the wearer may require extra durability and protection for activities that they undertake. It’s recommended that such lens materials are used in glasses for sports goggles, sports glasses and certain safety glasses (used in industry). Indeed, they are suitable for practically all glasses frames where added lens safety is a requirement.

Polycarbonate and Trivex lenses provide greater impact resistance than lenses made out of other materials. They are made out of softer plastic compounds which makes them less brittle than other lenses and, consequently, able to absorb impacts without cracking, fracturing or shattering. Both types of lenses are provided with a scratch-resistant coating which gives added protection from scrapes and scratches.

Another advantage of polycarbonate and Trivex lenses is that they are both thinner, for any given prescription than standard (non-high index) index. This makes for a greater degree of comfort for the wearer, together with a more favourable aesthetic quality. These lenses offer around ten 10 times more resistance to impact damage than traditional lenses and their properties, together with complete 100% UV sun protection, make either of these lens options a great choice for most wearers.

So – what are the differences between these two materials? Well….. read on!

Polycarbonate is a material that was originally developed in the 1970s for use in the aerospace industry. It is still widely used today have been further developed for use in the optical industry during the 1908’s – especially in those areas where a comfortable, lighter and impact-resistant lens was required.

The new millennium saw the development of Trivex by PPG industries in conjunction with the military. Initially, it was used as ‘eye armour’ and then subsequently further developed for use within the optical industry. The name TRIvex was given in order to allude to its three fundamental qualities; namely the inherent material strength, its superior optical quality and the lightness & comfort of the material itself.

For any given prescription, Trivex is a lighter lens than its polycarbonate counterpart. This is because of its lower density which keeps its relative weight lower.

On the other hand, a Trivex lens is marginally thicker than a polycarbonate lens in any given prescription. Not a huge difference, but, to some, these things matter – with polycarbonate lenses coming in around 10% thinner.

However, to most wearers, the most important choice tends to be the lens clarity. In this area, Trivex wins hands-down. It has a far higher clarity in its central and peripheral vision. Trivex has a higher ‘Abbe’ value than polycarbonate. The Abbe value is a measure of the material’s properties with regard to the dispersion of the colours within the light that passes through the lens. It’s called chromatic aberration. The higher the value, the better the overall lens clarity.

Polycarbonate has one of the lowest Abbe values (30) in the industry compared to Trivex (43 to 45). Here’s how the Abbe values stack up with a selection of other popular lens materials:

Cr-39 58

Trivex 43-45

1.60 36
1.70 36
1.74 33
1.67 32

Polycarbonate 30

Poly-carbonate's the ‘clear’ loser when it comes to Abbe measurements!

So – in summary – Trivex has the lead in terms of vision quality, though it can cost more. Polycarbonate has the edge on thinness, though it’s substantially heavier.

Here’s an at-a-glance summary of the two materials: