Today only. Coastal Contacts is offering a free pair of glasses with coupon code FREEGLASSES63 [10,000 uses]. Some exclusions may apply; shipping and handling is around $13. Includes the frame and standard 1.5 index lenses.
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Many also include a reasonable quality hard shell rubberized metal case with velvet lining, a microfiber cleaning cloth, a microfiber drawstring pouch, and a metal keychain type 2 in 1 mini philips and regular screwdriver.
Downside? They don't stock replacement parts. Mine arrived with the nose pad broken off and they wanted me to either ship them back for replacement or send them a receipt for reimbursement to have a local shop do the repair. While that isn't necessarily unreasonable for more expensive glasses, for free glasses and a 10 cent piece of plastic it is a minor annoyance that they don't stock what looks like a generic interchangeable part used on most of their metal frames. At least I can get 25 pairs of pads for 3 bucks on eBay.
what is 1.5 index? Does that have to be your prescription? Same in both eyes?
^ 1.5 index means the relative refractive index of the type of material used for the lens. The range is usually between 1.5 and 1.75, (a bit higher for mineral glass but it is too fragile, IMO) the bigger the number the thinner the lens is, so 1.5 is thicker for any given prescription than their more costly lenses. Their 1.5 is probably the industry standard CR39 or equivalent.
Whether it matters much depends on how strong your prescription is and how big (tall and wide) your lenses are based on the frame you pick.
However there are mitigating factors. For lenses sold in the US the FDA requires they be thick enough to pass a ball drop test, and some need to be 2mm thick to pass this test but other newer materials can pass it thinner than that. This means that if you use a material that can have a thinner minimum thickness, it can effect the thickness of the whole lens too.
A generic recommendation is if your prescription is between - 2.5 and +2.5, AND your lens (frame dimension) is not more than 2 inch diameter at its widest points (which typically means not much over 50mm wide by 35mm tall), you won't notice much difference from 1.5 index lenses versus higher index unless you jump past their 1.59 index and 1.61 to the 1.67, then a little difference but only you can decide if it is worth the $30 price increase.
Mine just received are within the specs mentioned above and the 1.5 index lenses, and I have to look pretty closely to tell they are any thicker than a similar frame sized pair of 1.67 index glasses I already owned, but years ago I had a pair of larger aviator style glasses with polycarbonate lenses and they look at least twice as thick at the edges, resulting in glasses weighing probably 4X as much if not more, though they had heavier frames too.
Also note that if your lens is subject to rough treatment, activities that could shatter it, instead of picking by index it is better to pick polycarbonate lenses since they…