Doctor Lecter
Well-known member
where best to buy pilla prescription glasses , i was thinking the 540 s any used ones i could get glazed with my prescription ? anyone use them ? any good ?
pilla
- Thread starter Doctor Lecter
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Will Hewland
Well-known member
I think 540 is the best shape personally. A bit flatter and smaller than the 580. I liked mine, but felt they were over priced particularly for spare lenses so sold them recently as using Specsavers now!
Doctor Lecter
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- Mar 22, 2012
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If you’re anywhere near the north of England then Rob Hall’s your best bet. You’ll have the opportunity to see and try the lenses. Failing that Sunglasses for Sport are good and have a decent range.
Honestly speaking, and I’m a Pilla user, they’re no better than the Castellani or Randolph equivalent. Save yourself a few pounds.
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MartynB
Well-known member
For what it worth my clear shooting glasses are from Specsavers , a pair of large diameter ‘ John Lennon ‘ look a likes that don’t interfere with peripheral vision . I have two other prescription pairs in ZS sport frames from JH Steward , one of them being particularly useful is a yellow for dull to photochromic dark for bright sun . Shot in those at Churchill Swinton in those today as the sun was so bright !
The optician at my specsavers was quite happy to talk shooting , but for colours I went to JH Steward , they are worth a call and a pair of prescription specs from them are not silly money .
The optician at my specsavers was quite happy to talk shooting , but for colours I went to JH Steward , they are worth a call and a pair of prescription specs from them are not silly money .
Will Hewland
Well-known member
No, they haven’t learnt to charge extra by calling them that. (Sponge, icing and cream is worth 50X extra if you call it wedding cake).
They have various sunglass frames that you can choose, plus several colours of tint to choose from. Make sure you get ones with the adjustable nose pieces so you can set them high for shooting. I recommend the “Ultradrive” lense colour which is a good medium yellow, then the brown for sunny conditions. All their lenses are shatterproof glass. Price and vision is superb for me.
Will 
Will Hewland
Well-known member
And a first class service, chap we shoot with ordered a colour from them which was a Pilla colour, when they came it didn't suit him at all, colour wasn't what he thought it would be, he contacted them, no problem send them back and we will try another colour all at no charge
Cosmicblue
Well-known member
Try Ed Lyons https://www.ed-lyons.com/
He does Pilla and understands the needs of clay shooters too - also a thoroughly decent guy.
He does Pilla and understands the needs of clay shooters too - also a thoroughly decent guy.
Richard59
Well-known member
Have a pair bought through Ed Lyon’s, indeed they are very nice, bit pricey too which really restricts the colour range you can have against a set of arms and interchangeable lenses. Sadly the onset of age has also seen one’s eyesight deteriorate also, still use them ( sparingly) now but very soon they won’t be “correct”. That’s where, in my experience they lose out to disposable contact lenses that can be prescription changed without really losing any £
Daz W
Well-known member
Granted, changing prescription with disposable contacts is a very cheap option. Biggest drawback with disposable contacts is that they are only manufactured in a limited amount of prescriptions, so the lenses you'll end up getting are what's the closest available to what you actually need. If you've got astigmatism as well, the chances of getting them in your exact prescription is pretty slim. Contacts for astigmatism are also weighted, so they sit on your eye at the correct angle, unfortunately they can rotate slightly when you move your head. Not going to help you much with fast target acquisition.
Glasses are manufactured to your exact prescription, and the lenses don't rotate when you move your head. The down side, as you mentioned, is prescription Pilla coloured lenses are the most expensive option to change. Inserts are less expensive to change, but they do have a tendency to steam up. Also I've had 2 inserts break in as many years.
I have tried disposable contacts, but the closest available to my actual prescription was nowhere near as good as glasses. With contacts my eyesight was 6/6 ( or 20/20 as the Americans call it). That's just average. With glasses it's 6/4.5 or better.
As with most things, it's cost versus compromise unfortunately.
Glasses are manufactured to your exact prescription, and the lenses don't rotate when you move your head. The down side, as you mentioned, is prescription Pilla coloured lenses are the most expensive option to change. Inserts are less expensive to change, but they do have a tendency to steam up. Also I've had 2 inserts break in as many years.
I have tried disposable contacts, but the closest available to my actual prescription was nowhere near as good as glasses. With contacts my eyesight was 6/6 ( or 20/20 as the Americans call it). That's just average. With glasses it's 6/4.5 or better.
As with most things, it's cost versus compromise unfortunately.
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Richard59
Well-known member
Am one that needs lenses for astigmatism, normal glasses I have variofocal which adds another quirk that’s not really an option for shooting glasses. Was unaware of the limitations of contact lens options so thank you for that, also give me another excuse for all those dropped low quick crossing targets.
Cost, although the prescription Pillas are very nice, for me, with deteriorating eyesight no I wouldn’t do it again nor would I look to try and reglaze the ones I have, for those that will get greater / longer usage they are a good product.
donna
Well-known member
I too have terrible eyesight and wear bifocals daily. I have tried contacts but felt they moved in my eyes and this was years ago before I wore bifocals. Had Rangers with inserts about 8/9 years ago and they were brilliant. The insert wasn’t plastic, it was very sturdy, they were fairly large so you didn’t see the frames etc and it was that that was connected to the frame via tiny screws and the lenses clipped in rather than other way round. The inserts were not stupid money either when I needed to change. Stupidly I changed to Pilla’s about 3 years ago and it was a big mistake, the insert was plastic and tiny and I could see the outline of them whilst shooting or moving my head. The clarity wasn’t great either. After about a year I sold them and went back to Rangers but as my prescription (although strong) hadn’t changed for several years I ended up getting prescription lenses with bifocals (so I could read the score cards etc). I got the frames in a sale from USA which was a bargain and got 2 coloured lenses. I have 1 lens in the Rangers frame and I took the other lens into a local opticians and found a frame that although it doesn’t look like a shooting frame they fitted it in for me so I don’t have to worry about swapping lenses over. So much happier back with the Rangers. Phil has Pilla’s with the inserts and he’s always having to take his hat off now and again as they keep steaming up.
Jonny English
Well-known member
I've had a bit of a mix through the years, daily disposable contacts with ranger falcon sport, ranger xlw with and without prescription insert and pilla 540 with prescription lenses. I have the benefit that my prescription is quite stable so don't need to change regularly. For me all have their place. The pilla 540's give the best clarity but are definitely the most expensive, they are my go to choice. Wear daily disposables if out game shooting in the rain, with ranger falcon sport if the sun happens to come out. I'm not a fan of inserts as they don't suit my face and I can feel my eye brows rubbing them, but the clarity is pretty good, but can steam up easy. A lot depends on your prescription, if it changes a lot and your budget.
I find with my complicated prescription inserts or prescription glasses don't work so I use contact lenses to take up the bulk of the prescription and use glasses to bring it up to perfection, had a long conversation with the guy at jhs eyewear and came up with that solution, so that's one excuse I can't use for missing 
philpot
Well-known member
I had my cataracts done a couple of years ago which gave me near perfect vision but they have become a bit blurred now although it is more close up that gives me issues. I bought a few pairs of coloured shooting specs for both my wife and myself from John Bidwell's on one of our many trips there and whilst they were about £20 a pair and although I have never tried a pair of Pilla or Randolfs etc, these work well for me, I am sure the Pilla would blow them out of the water with the lens quality and colour selection but two pair/sets for us both would be sooooooo expensive, I don't think my Yorkshire roots would allow me to buy them.
