It might not just be the small print that’s giving you a headache – it could be your ready-made reading glasses. Should it be so easy to buy something that could give you headaches and make you see double?
Like me, you might have thought that cheap off-the-peg glasses were a useful boost for a short read.
But now that we’ve investigated these glasses I’m much more concerned about relying on a more powerful ready-made pair.
Our expert said higher prescription ‘ready-readers’ aren’t suitable to wear when moving about, so buying them to save getting paint splashes on expensive eye-wear might not be money so well spent. Well, they are reading glasses after all.
Off-the-peg glasses are inexpensive and a tempting way to save cash. I can understand why spending less than a fiver is far more appealing than the cost of an eye test and a trip to the optician, especially when you only need glasses at odd times of the day.
After seeing the Which? expert’s findings, I’m still happy to use lower prescription ready-readers now and then. But the results on some of the higher prescription glasses (+3.50 or +4.00) made me worry that I might strain my eyes if I started to use them.
I’d hate to think of people getting into the habit of using powerful ready-made reading glasses all the time – half the 14 pairs we bought had problems.
These glasses are easy to pick up on the high street while you’re out doing your day-to-day shopping, so any of us could take home a headache with our new cheap ready-readers. But I don’t think you should risk picking up eye strain, blurred vision, or double vision along with your shampoo or socks.