I wear glasses all the time; I've never tried contact lenses as there weren't any suitable for my eyes years ago. As such I'm always on the lookout for lighter specs that are comfortable to wear all day. Back in late 2008 I saw this post on Cool Tools about Eyephorics which led me to the Swissflex website. Despite emailing Swissflex and getting no response I eventually found that Frames in the Lanes right here in Brighton carries the range and bought a pair a year ago. They are amazing and are the most comfortable glasses I've worn. They are entirely plastic and use no metal or screws. Mine weigh only 9g and have nosepads that conform to the shape of your face; with most glasses it's pretty typical to end a day with red pressure marks on your nose as it is difficult to get the fit exactly right, none of those problems here. Highly recommended.
Swissflex are an interesting case in that their product is fantastic yet their Flash only website is dire. Their advertising is the worst kind of bland pan-European / International market work going (think those Mazda 'zoom zoom' adverts). I emailed their UK supplier and got no response. I emailed them via their website and got no response. Were it not by chance I wouldn't have been able to get hold of a pair. Even today the retailer section has the same contact details that I could elicit nothing from.
I can't find this stated on their website but was told by the optician that for a small additional payment they will cut lenses to any shape you provide a template for within reason, so if you have an existing favourite shape you could get a Swissflex version made-up.
Before these I favoured
ic! berlin; the previous two pairs I have weigh in at 14g and 16g and were nice but just not as comfortable to wear all day.
As a footnote if you're a Brighton glasses wearer I recommend
Bromptons for their excellent customer service and range of interesting specs. I always have my eyes tested here as they're spot on. They recently made up a pair of prescription sunglasses for me with large lenses, frames by
orgreen. They are something that any other optician would have baulked at as I think my prescription is at the limits of what a large lens can stand. They really persevered and found a supplier who could do the job so hats off to them, they really deserve your business.
DO NOT go to
Specs in the North Laines. A while back I saw a pair of ic! berlin frames I liked and thought as I'm here I'll buy them. Big mistake. I feel they were using a cheap lens supplier and just could not get the lens for my left eye correct despite several attempts. The answer
"the computer says it's fine" is not helpful when my eye says it can't see through it properly. Sadly they were pretty rude about the whole thing. Eventually they rang Bromptons, found out where they sourced their lenses and ordered from there. Came back right first time. Lesson: write down the name of the frame and go to Bromptons.
