Smith Low Light Igniter no longer available.

dudemanspecial

dudemanspecial

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I have seen these recommended on here a few times during sunglass discussions so I figured I would share the news.
I was going to pull the trigger on a good pair of low light glasses, and noticed that the igniter color was almost non existant on the website.
I emailed Smith and recieved a reply that they were moving away from rose tinted lenses. Their recommended replacement is the low light yellow. It is available in glass with a VLT of 33%
 
Yes, the rose colored ones have been getting phased out if I'm not mistaken. Low light lens is fantastic though.

Title says 'Smith Low Light Igniter no longer available" which had me worried... Low Light Igniter still going strong but it's the original 'Igniter' that is going away.
 
krayfish2 said:
Yes, the rose colored ones have been getting phased out if I'm not mistaken. Low light lens is fantastic though.

Title says 'Smith Low Light Igniter no longer available" which had me worried... Low Light Igniter still going strong but it's the original 'Igniter' that is going away.
Click to expand...
Maybe I am confused here, but "igniter" is the color, and it is being discontinued, so it will no longer be available. So I do not see where the low light igniter is still going strong.

They still make a low light lens, but it is yellow. Which is fine, I am the last guy to try to make a fashion statement, but I hate yellow lenses, from an aesthetic standpoint.
 
Ignitor lens
Screenshot 20221103 2141272
 
Low Light Ignitor lens
Screenshot 20221103 2141202
 
I see they changed the name to low light yellow. Looks like the same thing
 
I called the company about a month ago and was told they no longer make an igniter lens. Was I misinformed? Where can I go to buy a pair or order a pair? I need some kind of readers, preferably a progressive lens.
 
I would search their website for an optometrist in your area that handles Smith. If they're no longer making the 'ignitor' lens, chances of you getting some are slim to none. Without looking at the specs on light transfer, I can only assume that the yellow lens is close to the same. I would doubt they're going to change it unless there's a lateral move or an improvement in performance. You can find guides choice and a couple other frames with the low light ignitor lens on clearance with a quick Google search. Unfortunately, they won't be prescription or custom. Maybe another call to them picking their brain between the low light ignitor and the new yellow lens will answer your questions.

Maybe big bass chime in as he is a Smith sunglasses junkie
 
The yellow is what I wanted and was told they don't make them. Guess I'll have to call em again.
 
bigjohn358 said:
Just curious but how much do they run cost wise?
Click to expand...

Guide's Choice

Vision Lightweight, scratch-resistant Techlite™ polarized glass lenses cut glare ChromaPop+™ lenses are polarized to cut glare, and they enhance contrast and natural color to make the details pop ChromaPop™ Glass polarized lenses cut glare and enhance color and contrast while being highly...
www.smithoptics.com www.smithoptics.com

259.00 on their website. I'm sure you could shop around.
 
Using the Guides Choice menu above, the 40 VLT Low Light Ignitor glass lens is absent. This was never a Chromapop lens. The 33 VLT Low Light Yellow Chromapop glass lens seems to be its replacement.
 
That sucks. I was considering a pair of Smith LLI's because of the higher light transmission. At 40% VLT, it was a significant upgrade over MJ's HT lens (29%) and Costa's Sunrise (27%). But at 33% the low light yellow is really in that same ballpark.

But the others are turning away from low light too. Maui's HT, with a glass lens combo, is only found in 2 models now. Costa, dropped the sunrise and now only has sunrise silver mirror, which drops it to 25%.

As I understand it, the LLI was an amber lens, which, is yellowish, but not yellow yellow. Even if discontinued, can probably still find it out there in store for a while, including Amazon.
 
Last edited:
Ok, I just had a nice conversation with smith optics. As pictured above, the old ignitor lens was pinkish and they have moved away from continuing to make it. The low light ignitor is a yellow tint. That lens only came in techlite glass. While the new models have a low light option, it's not called 'ignitor'. He wasn't sure for the name change but said it's almost exactly the same lens. Previous model had 32% VLT and the new one has 33% VLT. It's only available in glass, 4 frame model (castaway, redding, guide choice and guide choice xl).

The older lens models are closed out and you should be able to find the few remaining stock at $150 - $210.
 
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