Loupes Preference

[Gintaman]

lol Yeah I'm only buying these as a startoff- will prob upgrade to higher mag during endo sessions (specially when my eyes mess with me - which they do A LOT grrr...). But you can get extended field of vision though - so that's good.

hey miss universe are you currently using headlights?

 

[miss_universe]

No, I don't. For two reasons - cost (poor student, they don't seem to get that!) and the fact it adds weight. I bought my loupes for the weight factor - I dont want to change that. Also I feel lights are a technology that will advance a lot in few years, so I want to see where it goes for now.

My perio tutor LOVES her headlight though, amd claims she only bought loupes for the headlight, so it may be very beneficial.

 

[Hutcherson]

I just had my loupes session today and I was amazed by the company SurgiTel. The ones I am looking at, are very light, flip ups with titanium frame. Sadly its going to cost me $1,700 sigh and not sure if I will end up getting an LED light later on in my course. Opinions?. Fot those looking for loupes, definitely go for comfort. I tried many others which were just too heavy and not comfortable long term. So I have decided to invest in a pair which I will continue to use after graduation.

 

[miss_universe]

I just had my loupes session today and I was amazed by the company SurgiTel. The ones I am looking at, are very light, flip ups with titanium frame. Sadly its going to cost me $1,700 sigh and not sure if I will end up getting an LED light later on in my course. Opinions?. Fot those looking for loupes, definitely go for comfort. I tried many others which were just too heavy and not comfortable long term. So I have decided to invest in a pair which I will continue to use after graduation.

They would be my choice 2nd time around. The only downside are their small width of field. You won't be able to see much. So lightness comes at a price.
Light-wise, recommended but really not necessary. They will add to the loupes weight, and really, if you make good use of your general light, you won;t need it. Also most hand pieces now come with a light attached, so again, you won't need a loupe light.

 

[Hutcherson]

They would be my choice 2nd time around. The only downside are their small width of field. You won't be able to see much. So lightness comes at a price.
Light-wise, recommended but really not necessary. They will add to the loupes weight, and really, if you make good use of your general light, you won;t need it. Also most hand pieces now come with a light attached, so again, you won't need a loupe light.

Thanks for the advice Muse. I found that the ones I had on seemed to have a good width of field. Not sure if they have changed over time or it just suited me personally. I am going with the 2.5 magnification and 42cm working distance ones Yeah I probably won't get a light considering our hand pieces have lights anyway in them. I havent seen many students in the grades above me with an LED light I think.., even though some have recommended it to me. I will go without the light for now and see how I go

 

[miss_universe]

Make sure you get your working distance measured precisely if you can. The more accurate, the better.

 

[Tithiii]

For me, I would want to get used to a pair of loupes before JCU clinic opens up, so third year for me. We have had Heine, Orascoptic and some other one come to our school and show us. I have tried on both flip ups and through the lens. Through the lens felt much better for me so I may be thinking about that one.

Also my roommate has purchased for like $3.5K a flip up one with light fitted and when he is at my table in Sim lab, he has to set up all this stuff and the light has this massive battery that he has to attach to his waist and it just looked like a pain. The big advantage with the light though is that it has a filter that you can use while putting in composites and he said that that's awesome! So when I'm richer I'll defs get the light but for now, a nice fitted pair of through the lens I want. 2.5x probably as well, my eyesight is close to perfect so that's a plus.

Do you guys know the best companies for that?

 

[Hutcherson]

Make sure you get your working distance measured precisely if you can. The more accurate, the better.

Surgitel will come back to Orange and actually customize my loupes to my face and distance etc. The guy said he will take me to sim lab and do all the measurements/ adjustments for me I found this really good, because it allows me to get a frame that sits well onto my face etc and ensures I do get the most accurate working distance.

@Tithiii , we have to get lopes for second semester this year because they want us to adjust to them before we start treating patients in Feb next year as well. The LED light is going to be another 1.2K. So almost 3K all up.. dammit. I probably won't buy the light until I start endo in third year *really not sure yet haha*. I spoke to Heine, Orascoptic, Inline (Surgitel), Hogies and there was another company but I forgot the name. The battery set up I saw that can attach to mine seemed very simple and the battery just sits in your pocket

I choose flip up instead of through the lends mainly for ergonomics. I found the lens on the flip up alot closer and on a better angle to begin with, hence not having to tilt your head as much. Even though they add slight weight, it didn't really matter since they felt very light to begin with.

 

[Tithiii]

@Tithiii I probably won't buy the light until I start endo in third year *really not sure yet haha*. I spoke to Heine, Orascoptic, Inline (Surgitel), Hogies and there was another company but I forgot the name. The battery set up I saw that can attach to mine seemed very simple and the battery just sits in your pocket I choose flip up instead of through the lends mainly for ergonomics. I found the lens on the flip up alot closer and on a better angle to begin with, hence not having to tilt your head as much.

AH BRILLIANT! Yes actually I am going to keep pondering this obviously, quite a large investment actually. Good point about Endo as well actually, that didn't enter my mind. It is true I didn't really mind the weight of the flip ups.. Hahahahah Hutch I am so excited to get them. So CSU is making loupes compulsory next semester?

 

[Hutcherson]

AH BRILLIANT! Yes actually I am going to keep pondering this obviously, quite a large investment actually. Good point about Endo as well actually, that didn't enter my mind. It is true I didn't really mind the weight of the flip ups.. Hahahahah Hutch I am so excited to get them. So CSU is making loupes compulsory next semester?

Yeah they want us to order loupes now for next semester from what we were told from our loupe session today. So yes, compulsory from next semester onwards by the looks of things. I wonder what other uni do in regards to loupes.

 

[Tithiii]

Yeah they want us to order loupes now for next semester from what we were told from our loupe session today. So yes, compulsory from next semester onwards by the looks of things. I wonder what other uni do in regards to loupes.

Pretty sure JCU do not have compulsory Loupes! But there are heaps fourth years with them. I'll defs get some this year! Keen

 

[miss_universe]

For me, I would want to get used to a pair of loupes before JCU clinic opens up, so third year for me. We have had Heine, Orascoptic and some other one come to our school and show us. I have tried on both flip ups and through the lens. Through the lens felt much better for me so I may be thinking about that one.

Also my roommate has purchased for like $3.5K a flip up one with light fitted and when he is at my table in Sim lab, he has to set up all this stuff and the light has this massive battery that he has to attach to his waist and it just looked like a pain. The big advantage with the light though is that it has a filter that you can use while putting in composites and he said that that's awesome! So when I'm richer I'll defs get the light but for now, a nice fitted pair of through the lens I want. 2.5x probably as well, my eyesight is close to perfect so that's a plus.

Do you guys know the best companies for that?

A 2nd year bought 3.5k loupes? Brave lad.

The light is best bought from the company you bought the loupes from, as its design will be compatible with their products. However, that's not to say you can't get it from another company. The problems here is, that all lights are practically the same, and new tech is absorbed by the other companies quickly. It's all a matter of preference. The LC lens for composites can be very nice to have, but really the filtering effect takes away most of the advantages of having the light there in the first place. Not much point in relation to the bulk it adds, in my opinion,

 

[Hutcherson]

These are the ones I am getting but all in black Titanium frame ftw!

 

[Gintaman]

I tried the Heine 2.5 mag HR yesterday, it was with a headband.
The optical quality seemed pretty good, plus field of view is bit higher as well.
Best part - company selling them is giving them away at a clearance at only $1500 NZD. Although it'll be with a headband, not the normal frame.

Isn't headband better than normal frame? Or does it give you headaches or something? I don't see much ppl with headbands (or is it because they just look dorky lol?)

 

[Hutcherson]

I tried the Heine 2.5 mag HR yesterday, it was with a headband.
The optical quality seemed pretty good, plus field of view is bit higher as well.
Best part - company selling them is giving them away at a clearance at only $1500 NZD. Although it'll be with a headband, not the normal frame.

Isn't headband better than normal frame? Or does it give you headaches or something? I don't see much ppl with headbands (or is it because they just look dorky lol?)

They just look dorky for me

 

[miss_universe]

Mostly the look. Every pair of loupes can give you a headache if they have something like a strap securing it to the head, the headband will be no different.

 

[mighty]

Thread necro! Alright so it's around the time where I'm starting to look into buying loupes as well. We've already had a 'tradeshow' day where a few companies came up to show us... We had surgical images (Q optics), inline (Surgitel), Heine, Hogies, Zeiss and one or 2 more but I can't remember their names.

Personally I'm tossing up between Q optics and Surgitel. The thing with Q optics is that the loupes are only $1000 + they offer a lifetime warranty. Surgitel, on the other hand, is about $1700 and I think a 5 year warranty? I tried them both on and I think they're both fine (although tbqh I don't really remember in that much detail). The Q optics have an attachable thing from prescription lenses on the inside whereas for the Surgitel it's straight in the frame. I think my prescription is fairly stable (maybe get 0.25 worse etc) so I think the Surgitel should be fine should I need to change the lens, but the Q optics sounds good in the event that I want to wear contacts while working or whatever. Both are flip ups.

I think Heine was also an option although I hadn't really considered it. They seem similar to Surgitel (but what do I know).

Any advice? Has anyone heard about Q optics? Halp! Hehe

 

[miss_universe]

Never used Q optics so I wont be much help here.

As for Heine vs Surgitel, Heine is heavier on the nose, but has a wider field of vision. Its really just something you will need to decide for yourself. Personally, out of those two, I would go for Surgitel

 

[Hutcherson]

Surgitel! hands down. Love them and never had an issue with them.

 

[tomw84]

Same. I use Surgitel Micro 3.0x FLM on an Aero frame. Love them.

Am considering getting TTL later in the course. If I was buying for the first time, I would probably get TTL - less moving parts, less bulky, easier to clean. That said, had no major issues with my FLMs.