Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui / Wellington

Zenni?

$400 will get you transition lenses for two middle school aged boys, a pair of clear bifocals, a pair of tinted bifocals, and two pairs of prescription readers... not to be too specific :) (total was $385US, and just my two bifocals are easily over half that, them bitches are pricey man). Takes a month or more to get shipped to you, and they aren't top shelf or anything, but I'm hard on glasses, always have been (career soldier, hard on everything tbh), and the solution was kinda counterintuitive for me, I got frameless hingeless lightweight glasses instead of big chonky durable looking ones... they're basically just two lenses with flexible titanium wire earpieces bolted straight onto the lens. I super glue the screws when I get them so they don't work themselves loose, and the lightweight flexible earpieces, having no hinges (they just bend inward to fold), have proven to be ridiculously tolerant to abuse :) the original intent was that they'd be disposable basically, get 8 pair for what a single pair would usually run, and just toss em as they got demolished, except they dont get demolished...

If you go on the zenni webpage and search frame# 420611 you'll see exactly what I mean. The frames look ridiculously delicate and like they'd break with a sneeze, but they're bendy as hell to the point that the lens coatings will start cracking with age before you can break any of the frame pieces. You sit on them and they smoosh like a slinky and sproing right back up like they're made of nerf :) you can take them off, grab each earbow, and pull them apart far enough to make the whole pair straight, like a pair of paper 3d glasses (don't actually do this, but I actually do this lol, I also drop kick my kyocera phone occasionally just to show it's durable, don't do that either lol). No hinges to get fucked up.

They're also insanely lightweight, which I didn't think I cared about until I got some super light glasses on my face and realized I kinda do care about it a little...

If you got a prescription, and you get basic ass lenses in those frames, it's like $50 or so. Well worth giving it a go imho.

I've been told the right way to go about it is to get your eyes tested by an optometrist (say, if you're an AA member with a free check at Specsavers, if you're a Southern Cross member with a free check at OPSM, etc.). Then ask them to print out your subscription, and order your lenses and frames online.

There are places online that will ship glasses to you at a fraction of the cost. The most common one I've heard is https://www.zennioptical.com though there are others that ship to NZ.

This way you can get a bunch of them and it's still cheaper than Specsavers.

I have gotten glasses through Zenni and was very satisfied.

I know how you feel. I'm hard on spectacles too. My previous set from specsavers were 2 for the price of 1. I think it was around $190 for the 2 but they ended up being heavy and hurt my nose after long periods. So the last set I splashed out and got a set with titanium frames. Came in around $550 for 2 pairs if I remember correctly. Best decision ever.
They're light, I can wear them for the whole day and they don't hurt my nose. They flex under abuse. I usually end up sitting on them and the frames handle it. I love them. If you can stretch your $400 upwards I would recommend it. I would pass on the extra tints or coating they offer and put that money towards the frames. My 2c.

On the flip side, I also have a cheap set from the warehouse with plastic frames I use to watch TV. $15 or something like that. Work like charm. Light as too. Only trick is, if you find a set that works for you, go back and buy 2 or 3. Warehouse and other places like that don't often have lenses for my prescription. This way you have a spare when you sit or stand on them.