Fetch Eyewear Review

About this review

Fetch Eyewear is the latest in my review series of online eyeglass retailers focusing on predominately online stores that offer a limited range of designer frames, at-home trials, a risk-free returns policy, free shipping both ways and charitable programs, all at a price point of around $100 (or $125 for high indexes). I'm not out to find the cheapest possible glasses, but the best value for money and most safe/reliable companies to buy from. You can view the full series of reviews to date here. Fetch kindly opted to take part in this series by providing me with a pair of high index sunglasses, making them the seventh company that I have reviewed since I first started shopping for glasses online last year.

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Mezzmer Eyewear Review

Since my reviews of Glasses.com, DB Vision and Warby Parker exploded in popularity, I wrote two additional reviews for high index sunglass options - Cocoons and Eyefly. In response to requests, I have decided to continue my look at some of the latest trendsetting companies now selling eyeglasses online that fit a certain model set out in my earlier reviews. These new web stores offer a limited range of mostly non-designer frames in trendy styles, free home trials, a risk-free returns policy, free shipping both ways, preferably a charity program, and a price point around $100 ($125) for high indexes. In this respect, I'm not out to find the cheapest possible glasses, but the best value for money and most safe/reliable companies to buy from.

Mezzmer kindly opted to take part in my review series, making it my sixth eyewear review since last year. At some point, I may move some or all of my reviews and how-tos to another blog for ease of browsing. There is an anthropological connection to my new work on online consumerism that will be made clear in the future. But for now, it's all about the glasses.

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Eyefly review: tinted sunglasses for fieldwork and photography

[Update 10 April 2013] My Eyefly sunglasses broke! Scroll down for more info.

In my last post, I detailed why polarized sunglasses are great for everyday use and to protect your eyes from harsh glare, but less than optimal for outdoor photography and/or using any devices with an LCD screen like digital cameras, tablets, smartphones, laptops, etc. To recap, lens polarization causes LCD screens to black out at certain angles depending on the manufacturer, so you can't always see what is displayed on the screen. However, there is a solution for photographers and tech geeks: tinted, not polarized, lenses.

I take plenty of photos as a hobby and an ethnographer and spend a lot of time using LCD devices, so I have been on the lookout for an alternative to polarized lenses that will still shade my eyes and enable me to see what I'm doing on sunny days. Not too much to ask, right? Well, previous "designer" sunglasses have cost me up to $700 choosing from the cheapest styles available in my prescription. Those plastic sunglass clips from the drugstore never work for me. Luckily, the past couple of years has seen the state of the glasses market revolutionized by a new set of online retailers offering quality, reasonably priced eyewear to the masses.

After browsing a few sites, I was excited when I learned that Eyefly.com, whose glasses cost only $99 $94 [Update 04/2013: price reduction!] including lenses ($124 for high index prescriptions), offer non-polarized tinted lenses with "a neutral gray or brown tint" and UV protection. I visited Eyefly's website when I received a request for my thoughts about the company after the publication of my series How to buy glasses online. I immediately loved their selection of frames (more on that below). And I am now pleased to be able to add Eyefly to my comprehensive review of high index eyeglasses in the $100 price range.

I'll begin with a little information about the company and a brief overview of the website shopping experience, so scroll down if you want to skip right to the glasses.

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Anthro field gear review: Cocoons OveRx photochromic eyewear

A few months ago, I embarked on a series of posts reviewing online retailers of high index (read: strong) prescription eyeglasses. The result was an unexpectedly detailed 5-part comparison review called How to buy glasses online. Although the posts were not especially anthropological in content, all 5 parts of the series are now in the top 10 most popular of all time on this blog.

In the course of reviewing what is generally seen as a specialist item, I became aware that many of the needs I had for eyewear were common with other academics (a lot of us need corrective lenses... due to all that reading/writing and staring at our screens?). I also realized that key factors in my search for adequate and reasonably priced eyewear connected with my experiences as a field researcher. That got me thinking about essential field gear for anthropologists and how I never considered putting glasses on the list. I begin this review by addressing this common oversight (no pun intended).

Whatever the vision needs, including contact lenses or non-Rx sunglasses, eyewear and eye care should be factored into the anthropologist's field preparation. For ethnographers working in less-than-ideal conditions far away from eye care professionals, or in my case, on a tight budget with no insurance, glasses are an essential, yet easily overlooked component of the field kit. What if your lenses break and there is no local optician to replace them? The first good advice is to have a couple of spare pairs, which is something my how-to on buying discounted eyewear online can help you with. (If you can afford several spare pairs of high index glasses without bargain hunting online, might I direct you to my coffee donation button at the top of the page?) As it happens, when I was in the field, I did not have spares and I could not afford the optician's prices while I was there. Having always purchased glasses from opticians, I wasn't even aware at the time that I could order glasses online and probably could have saved myself a lot of money and eyestrain had this been an option.

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How to buy glasses online: A comparison review of Glasses.com, Warby Parker and DBVision.com (Part 5)

This is Part 5 of my multipart review How to buy glasses online. I have already posted my reviews of DB Vision, Warby Parker and Glasses.com. This recap and summary is my final post which completes the series.

So far I have introduced the predicament of buying glasses with high index lenses in a monopolized glasses market, and reviewed my online shopping experience at three web-based optical retailers: DB Vision, Warby Parker and Glasses.com. Along the way I have attempted to provide objective reviews of these retailers based on my personal experiences as well as advice for anyone considering buying high index glasses online.

Review summary

For this post, I intended to rank my three purchases and pick my standout favorite. That turned out to be more difficult than I thought. Instead, I'll finish with a brief summary and the pros and cons of each pair. This will supplement my earlier reviews now that I have had the time to wear each pair for a longer period.

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How to buy glasses online (Part 4): DB Vision

This is Part 4 of my multipart review How to buy glasses online. I have already posted my review of Warby Parker and Glasses.com. This is the third and final review to complete my comparison, and will be followed by a recap and summary post in Part 5.

DB Digital Balance – DBVision.com

Each of the companies reviewed in this series stand out from the crowd for one reason or another: Glasses.com for its branding and designer frames. Warby Parker for its soaring popularity and media coverage. DB Vision also caught my eye for some exceptional reasons. It is probably the most unique in terms of the product (digital lenses) and shopping experience (online or via kiosk in select locations). DB may be the least well-known, but hopefully this review will change that.

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How to buy glasses online (Part 3): Warby Parker

This is the third part of a multipart review series, How To Buy Glasses Online. Part 3 focuses on Warby Parker (warbyparker.com). If you haven't read Parts 1 or 2, you should start here.

This post marks the second of three companies under review, so I'm about mid-way in the total review process. To recap so far, this multipart review has spanned the progress of my attempt to buy high-index glasses online for the first time. Thus far, I have discussed some tips and tricks for choosing online retailers and selecting frames with high-index lens buyers in mind, then comprehensively reviewed my purchase at Glasses.com. As of the writing of this post, my Glasses.com review is still a work in progress, so be sure to check back to see how it all works out. Each part in this review is comparative and cumulative, so best to start at the beginning if you're new to all this. Now, on to Warby Parker.

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