Transition Lenses

[Peebles]

Has anyone here used transition lenses while hunting? I'm thinking of getting a pair and it seems like there would be some pros and cons best sorted by experience.

The benefits I see are not needing to switch glasses with the sun and having a polarised lens on all the time. The pitfall I imagine is that they can still transition on overcast days from the UV and they might end up too dark.

[West O'5]

I don’t like wearing sunglasses at all when I’m hunting,the only exception being bright sunny days with snow on the ground to relieve the strain of snow blindness.
Perhaps it’s just me and my preferred style of deerhunting which is stillhunting the predominantly aspen hillsides and river bottoms with some rattling sessions mixed in,but I find sunglasses makes it even harder to spot deer in the hardwoods,especially if they are standing still.They are difficult enough to pick out of their surroundings without shades making them blend in even more in my experience.

[Dick284]

Ok during the day, but they suck donkey nuts come evening, they transition slowly in the cold, you easily give up 10-15 mins of last light with them.
I run zero tint straight distance prescription glasses, with clip on sunglasses. Oh ya and if you need progressive bi focals, don’t hunt with them either.( I can still see fine print without glasses but at about nose length)

[Peebles]

Thanks for the advice. You brought up some points I hadn't considered. Sounds like they aren't the right choice for hunting.

I was hoping to be able to hunt in a single pair for convenience since I can never go without sunglasses. On those glaring prairie days I need them more than any time the whole summer. Guess I'll keep doing the switch or get some flips like Dick. Good tip.

[calgarychef]

I tried some transition lenses...nearly killed myself in the Bush because I couldn’t see.

[Barry D]

I have fairly good eye sight, but still need glasses for the long range clarity. I have had transitions for years and before that Photo Grey's. The new transitions are good from dark to sun/bright, but they are a real challenge in -10 or colder. I can see good enough without my glasses to make a shot if I have too in those temperatures but it's not ideal. Once the sun goes down, or sooner if it is cloudy, but getting a bit dusky, I take off my glasses and tuck them inside my clothes to the base layer so they can warm up and then transition to clear. In -20 or colder, that takes a solid 15 minutes. Once they are clear, they go back on for the prime time last 15-30 minutes. If you don'e warm them up, they will not transition at all, no matter how long you are in the dark.
I still continue to use them, because they are so convenient for the rest of the year for maintaining eye health. Too many older guys can't see in the low light because they fried there eyes in bright conditions for too long.

[HunterDave]

I wear progressive transitions hunting and trapping all winter long and I don’t have too many issues with them. At last light I might take them off for the last 15 minutes of legal hunting depending on conditions. I prefer to have them off when I’m looking through binos or a rifle scope anyway. Just like anything, they may take a little getting used to but I wouldn’t advise anyone to not get them because of hunting situations. Maybe get get a pair of each and see how they work for you?