Our eyeglass lenses are finished in Montana by a privately owned lens lab located in Helena called Summit Optical. This lab is rare in that it is a stand-alone facility that is not owned by any of the major national and international corporations which dominate the eyewear business. Our lab regularly receives the highest quality ratings in the industry and consistently delivers quality eyewear to us on a timely basis. It also has the only on-site state-of-the art anti-reflective coating facility in Montana.
Our opticianry has a wide assortment of safety frames and participates in a number of local safety eyewear programs. We are also participating providers in the Veteran’s Administration eyecare and eyewear programs. We have on hand the latest VA frames to choose from.
Beartooth Vision Center offers almost every lens type and lens material option available, so the possibilities for your particular glasses are almost limitless. Following are a few of the ways that Summit Lab can make your next pair of glasses from Beartooth Vision Center the best you have ever had:
- Our high end anti-reflective (AR) glare reduction lens coatings are formulated and processed by our lab specifically for the hot and cold temperature extremes of Montana and Wyoming using 21 steps and multiple layers over 17 hours. Commercial store coatings are a dip coat mass produced process of only 1 or 2 steps. The result is that our AR coatings are generally far more durable and long lasting, give better clarity, and are more resistant to scratching. Summit Optical scratch coatings are also of extraordinary hardness.
- Beartooth Vision Center is an authorized distributor of BluTech glasses lenses. These lenses are available in single vision and bifocal styles and they effectively block most of the potentially harmful high energy visible light that comes from all electronic devices, including computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The BluTech lenses make an electronic display read like a sheet of paper and reduce strain. The result is that your eyes are more comfortable and protected from blue light while working on electronic devices. Think of it as SPF for the eyes.
- Summit Optical is better able to fabricate lenses with high prescriptions
and for frames such as sunglasses with a lot of “wrap” in a way that is cosmetically more appealing and which gives better optical performance under these circumstances. Our lab does not mass produce your eyeglasses in the way large commercial retail labs do. The pride in craftsmanship is evident in all the work that Summit Optical does for us. We are proud to be affiliated with such a quality organization. - Our lab has access to almost every type of no-line progressive (PAL) bifocal lens type available in the U.S., including leading edge digital lenses. Each type of PAL has its own fitting characteristics and no single lens type is best for the variety of prescriptions, frames, and visual needs we each have. Despite this, commercial and retail optical departments commonly fit only one type of progressive lens for all of their customers. This is akin to deciding that only one type and length of nail works for all building projects. It is simply not true, and by contrast, the Summit Optical lab lens “tool box” has all of the lens style and materials options available to maximize your visual experience.
