Overview
If you’ve ever stood at a rack of reading glasses trying to decide which level of magnification you needed, you probably wished someone would make a pair of adjustable readers so you could simply change them to what you needed.
The Claim
The makers of Instant 20/20 claim that you just dial them in, and you can see instantly what you couldn’t before. They say they’re good for a multitude of situations, including watching TV, reading the newspaper or books, doing arts and crafts and other hobbies, sporting events, and more. They say if you ever break your glasses or lose a contact you’ll need something to function as a temporary back up, and these work for that too.
They caution that these shouldn’t be used while driving, or while operating anything big and potentially lethal. They also disclose that these won’t help with astigmatism, and that you should have your eyes checked by your eye doctor. They say you can get these without a prescription, and that they’re far less expensive than name brand frames.
The Hype
We’re seeing more and more products marketed at the baby boomer generation, and this trend is only expected to continue as there will be millions and millions of people with the same problems, leading to huge markets with disposable income to burn. What this means for you if you’re a baby boomer: you have to be doubly cautious about what you buy because there is a mad dash of new companies and new products and not all of them will be reputable and provide quality products.
The Cost
The cost of Instant 20/20 is $40 per pair, which includes shipping. These are pricier by far than many reading glasses, but offer the distinct advantage of being adjustable, so they should be the last pair you’ll need, and they should provide better eyesight than what you’d get with a cheap pair of off-the-rack readers.
The Commitment
You only use these when you want, and they should provide a better experience than ordinary reading glasses that only come in certain magnifying strengths.
Evaluation
Instant 20/20
What totally sold us on it is the ability to correct the acuity for each lens. That’s huge, as most of the time your vision will vary depending on the eye. Some people have just one really weak eye and one relatively strong one. This is why wearing ordinary glasses can be worse for your eyes, as it weakens the strong one. But here each eye is getting just what it needs to bring it back to perfect vision. That’s pretty great, and is essentially what the eye doctor is doing when he has you look through that machine and switch out the different lenses. Of course this is no substitute for that process, but it’s still cool.
It’s not everyday that you see an On TV product that seems like they really did some quality inventing, but these glasses seem to measure up. What’s nice is that they don’t inflate the offer by making you buy two of them, and it’s sold straight up at $40 a pair. Want two pair? That’ll be $80. Those sorts of gimmicks are just used to make sure that the company will make money if you return them. In this instance the shipping cost is only 25% of the purchase, which is within reason.
Instant 20/20 is getting our Thumbs Up rating, as long as you understand what they are for and don’t buy them under false pretenses. Even though it’s clearly stated many times on their site that these are not meant to replace prescription glasses, or remove the need of a professional eye exam, many will buy these for this exact hope. What these are good for is a handy pair of reading glasses, or glasses to have around the home for certain uses, not as long-term replacements of your regular glasses.
In that regard they outdo reading glasses because you can set each lens separately, and get the exact acuity that you want, instead of having to settle for a pair of standard glasses where one eye might need more or less magnification than the other. The price is set up so that if they aren’t what you’re expecting you’ll get the majority of the money back and
Our Recommendation
These are a great for those that simply can’t get by without their glasses. Having a backup for $40 is doable for most people, and makes a lot of sense. You may even find that they become your go-to glasses due to the way you can zero in on just the right levels. Either way, with the guarantee in place and the good feedback, this is a strong buy.
Official Website: Instant 20/20
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View Comments
Please don't Buy.
it's fake and cheating to customers.
It doesn't work at all. It's a piece of junk.
With two lenses per eye (the stationary lens and the moving lens), when I view an area which contains a light source (like TV, computer monitor, into sunlight, etc.) I see reflections or maybe refractions (bands like looking through a glass bottle). In dark areas the glasses are sort of OK. Also, dust can get between the stationary lens and the moving lens. That dust cannot be cleaned.
I would like to order a pair of glasses by money order,where do I send this to?thanks
In your evaluation, you refer to these glasses as "reading" glasses. Please note that these particular adjustable lenses ("Instant 20/20") work for both close-up and distance sight. They are for near-sightedness and for far-sightedness. Thanks.
Their claim to be the only adjustable lenses on the planet, as they say in their infomercial, is false. Eyejusters, which work on the exact same principle, have been around for a while, and they LOOK much, much better than these you've reviewed. They actually look GOOD, and they're in the same price range, too.
If I had the need for different strengths in each eye for reading, I'd buy two $2 matching pairs and swap lenses.
And if I need glasses to correct nearsightedness, I'll buy a $7 pair from Zenni.
I'm not going to waste my money on these.
I paid $40.00 and when i opened the box there was paperwork but no glaases. The Co. has not done anything .
29 August 2013 order # 6627- 11743 invoice no. 11743 ship date 8/8/2013
To Whom It May Concern:
I puchased instant 20/20 glasses and can't see with them! I can't adjust for my vision.
I would like to return the c2 pair of glasses I purchased for an instant refund.
Thank you,
Charles T. QuartuccioI
Got 2 pairs for my parents and it works for my dad, especially with his different prescriptions for each eye. Not great for my mom since she has a very high prescription.
And wow Charles Smith, I'm glad you "through" the paper on time before (God forbid) you got seriously injured and your house went up in flames..
People (trolls) like you make me sick, when others need help you come in with your nonsense, exaggerated crap which actually some take seriously and take into account. And that is especially sad when it's done on some type of medical website where people look for answers.
I only wish it happens to you too in your time of need.
Davy Jones - a medical site? Really? I came here looking for reviews on the "dial vision glasses" just like everyone else did. I learned what I needed to about the product - I'm sure other visitors did as well. The website is called *does it really work* - that doesn't sound like a medical website to me. There was nothing wrong with Charles Smith's comment, it was intended to give people a laugh - and he definitely succeeded there. YOU sir, are the problem. Too bad a sense of humor can't be purchased - you desperately need one.
"Instant 20/20 says that they’re the first adaptive eyewear to hit the market, and we haven’t seen anything else exactly like it. "
They are not the first adaptive eyewear to hit the market. Superfocus was.
I looked into the Superfocus glasses and was turned off by the price ($800). In the HP tech museum in San Jose California there was on display a set of glasses with lenses that could be individually adjusted using water pumped into them with a syringe. Unfortunately they were for 3rd world countries and not available for purchase. I can't believe this issue of glasses being individually adjustable has not been addressed before now. I'll try these new "Instant 20/20" glasses and see how they work out.
Superfocus glasses can be had for $30.