Multifocal Contact Lenses in Hong Kong: 2026 Presbyopia Buyer's Guide
Somewhere in your forties, the menu moves. Your arms get longer, your phone drifts further away, and the fine print on a box of paracetamol becomes a two-person job — while distance vision stays exactly as it was. That is presbyopia: an age-related change in the eye's focusing ability, not a disease, and not a sign that your contact lenses have stopped working.
The question most Hong Kong wearers ask next is whether it means going back to spectacles. It does not. This guide explains how multifocal contact lenses work, how they differ from reading spectacles, and compares all 12 presbyopia lenses WateryEyes carries — replacement cycle, material, prescription coverage and reading-power options. If you would rather start from the replacement cycle, read our daily vs bi-weekly vs monthly guide first; if you would rather start from brands, see the 2026 Hong Kong contact lens brand guide.
What presbyopia actually is
Inside the eye sits a flexible lens held by a ring of muscle. To focus on something close, that muscle contracts and the lens thickens, bringing near objects to a sharp point on the retina. This is called accommodation, and it is the first thing the eye loses to age: the lens gradually stiffens, the muscle has less to work with, and near objects stop resolving.
It happens to everyone, usually becoming noticeable around 40, and it keeps changing — which is why a reading prescription is worth re-checking every year or two. It is also entirely independent of being nearsighted (myopia). If you were nearsighted at 25, you will be nearsighted and presbyopic at 45, needing one correction for distance and a different one for near.
Worth stating plainly: presbyopia is a normal age-related change, and contact lenses are there to help you see clearly with it rather than to treat it. If you come across a product or procedure claiming to reverse presbyopia, check it with an optometrist or ophthalmologist before you spend anything on it.
How multifocal lenses work, and why they are not reading spectacles
Progressive spectacles stack powers vertically. Distance sits at the top, reading sits at the bottom, and you aim your eyes through the right zone by tilting your head. The lens stays put; you move.
A multifocal contact lens cannot do that, because it sits on the cornea and travels with the eye. Instead the powers are arranged in concentric zones — centre and periphery handling near, intermediate and distance — so light from every distance enters the eye at once and the visual system selects the image it needs. In practice you stop tilting your head and stop swapping between two pairs of spectacles: driving, screen work and reading a menu all happen through the same lens.
The trade-off is adaptation. Because your brain is learning to prioritise one image over another, most people need one to two weeks before it becomes automatic, and during that time night-time lights may show mild haloes and fine print may not be quite as crisp as it is through a dedicated reading lens. That is expected, not a fitting failure.
The 12 presbyopia lenses WateryEyes carries
The range spans four manufacturers and all three replacement cycles, from entry-level hydrogel to high-oxygen silicone hydrogel. Brands are listed alphabetically; specifications are taken from each product page.
| Brand / line | Cycle | Material | BC | Nearsighted range | Reading power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acuvue Moist 1-Day Multifocal (30 / 90 pack) | Daily | Hydrogel, Etafilcon A · 58% | 8.4 | to -9.00 | Low +0.75-1.25 / Mid +1.50-1.75 / High +2.00-2.50 |
| Alcon Air Optix plus HydraGlyde Multifocal | Monthly | Silicone hydrogel, lotrafilcon B · 33% | 8.6 | to -10.00 | Low +0.75-1.25 / Mid +1.50-2.00 / High +2.25-2.50 |
| Alcon Dailies AquaComfort plus Multifocal | Daily | Hydrogel, etafilcon A · 69% | 8.7 | to -10.00 | Low +0.75-1.25 / Mid +1.50-2.00 / High +2.25-2.50 |
| Alcon Dailies Total 1-Day Multifocal | Daily | Silicone hydrogel, Delefilcon A · 33% core to 80%+ surface | 8.5 | to -10.00 | Low +0.75-1.25 / Mid +1.50-2.00 / High +2.25-2.50 |
| Bausch + Lomb Biotrue 1-Day for Presbyopia | Daily | Hydrogel, Nesofilcon A · 78% | 8.6 | to -9.00 | Low +0.75-1.50 / High +1.75-2.50 |
| Bausch + Lomb PureVision 2 for Presbyopia | Monthly | Silicone hydrogel, Balafilcon A · 36% | 8.6 | to -10.00 | Low +0.75-1.50 / High +1.75-2.50 |
| Bausch + Lomb SofLens Multifocal | Bi-weekly | Hydrogel, Polymacon · 38% | 8.5 / 8.8 | to -7.00 | Low +0.75-1.50 / High +1.75-2.50 |
| Bausch + Lomb ULTRA 1-Day for Multifocal | Daily | Silicone hydrogel, Kalifilcon A · 55% | 8.6 | to -10.00 | Low +0.75-1.50 / High +1.75-2.50 |
| Bausch + Lomb ULTRA for Presbyopia | Monthly | Silicone hydrogel, Samfilcon A · 46% | 8.5 | to -10.00 | Low +0.75-1.50 / High +1.75-2.50 |
| CooperVision Biofinity Multifocal | Monthly | Silicone hydrogel, Comfilcon A · 48% | 8.6 | to -8.00 | +1.00 / +1.50 / +2.00 / +2.50, plus dominant / non-dominant eye |
| CooperVision Clariti 1-Day Multifocal 3 Add | Daily | Silicone hydrogel, Somofilcon A · 56% | 8.6 | to -12.00 | Low +0.75-1.25 / Mid +1.50-1.75 / High +2.00-2.50 |
| CooperVision Proclear 1-Day Multifocal | Daily | Hydrogel, Omafilcon A · 60% | 8.7 | to -10.00 | Single add (+2.50 or below) |
Seven of the twelve are silicone hydrogel, which transmit substantially more oxygen than conventional hydrogels and suit long wearing days. Every line also offers farsighted powers, generally to +6.00, and Clariti reaches +8.00. On Acuvue Moist, those farsighted powers come in the 90-pack only.
The most useful way to read that last column: if you know your exact reading power, you can choose the line whose band sits tightest around it. Manufacturers do not draw the band boundaries in the same places, so the same prescription lands in a narrow band on one brand and a wide one on another.
- You know the exact figure and want no rounding at all — Biofinity Multifocal does not use bands. You pick +1.00, +1.50, +2.00 or +2.50 outright.
- +1.50 or +1.75 — the "mid" band on Acuvue Moist and Clariti covers only those two steps, a 0.25 span. On the three Alcon lines, the same band stretches up to +2.00.
- +2.25 or +2.50 — the reverse: Alcon's "high" is exactly those two steps, while Acuvue and Clariti start "high" back at +2.00.
- +0.75 to +1.25 — a 0.50 span on Acuvue, Alcon and Clariti. The five Bausch + Lomb lines split the whole range into just low (+0.75 to +1.50) and high (+1.75 to +2.50), 0.75 per band, the coarsest division in the table.
The power you are actually fitted in remains your optometrist's call, and none of this is an invitation to adjust it yourself. But if you already have an exact reading power in hand, knowing which brand brackets it most closely makes the shortlist a good deal shorter.
Daily or monthly? Four places to start
The first decision is not the brand, it is the replacement cycle. Dailies come out of a fresh blister every morning with no cleaning regime, which makes them both the most straightforward hygienically and the sensible way to try multifocals for the first time — if a design does not suit you, you have not committed to a month of lenses. Monthlies cost less per lens and make sense once your reading power is settled and adaptation is behind you. Four lines are where we usually suggest starting:
- Alcon Dailies Total 1-Day Multifocal — the water content is not uniform across this lens: about 33% at the core, rising past 80% at the surface, which is what Alcon markets as its Water Gradient design. Dk/t 156, the highest in the table. The usual pick for full-day wear and for anyone who notices dryness by late afternoon.
- Bausch + Lomb ULTRA 1-Day for Multifocal — its 3-Zone Progressive design is specified by the manufacturer for near and intermediate work, which is the distance range that matters if your day is spent between a monitor and a phone. Dk/t 134, also a silicone hydrogel daily.
- Bausch + Lomb Biotrue 1-Day for Presbyopia — 78% water content, the highest here, on a 14.2mm diameter. A good first step if you want the soft initial feel of a hydrogel without giving up moisture.
- CooperVision Clariti 1-Day Multifocal 3 Add — the widest prescription coverage of the twelve, reaching -12.00 for nearsighted wearers and +8.00 for farsighted ones, with three reading-power steps, in a silicone hydrogel daily. If your prescription is on the deeper side and you want a daily, this is usually where the combination exists.
Already in monthlies and confident about your reading power? Biofinity Multifocal, PureVision 2 for Presbyopia and ULTRA for Presbyopia are all high-oxygen silicone hydrogels, and SofLens Multifocal is the one bi-weekly option in the range.
What to have ready before ordering, and how the first fortnight goes
A presbyopia order needs more than one number. If you want to work through every field on a prescription slip from scratch, our guide to contact lens powers covers them; what follows is what you will actually be choosing on the product page:
- Nearsighted or farsighted power — pick which applies, then the power for each eye separately.
- Reading power — labelled ADD on the product page. Most lines group the manufacturer's +0.75 to +2.50 range into low / mid / high or low / high bands; Biofinity is the exception and takes an exact value of +1.00, +1.50, +2.00 or +2.50. The band boundaries are not the same from line to line: "mid" means +1.50 to +1.75 on Acuvue Moist and Clariti but stretches to +2.00 on the three Alcon lenses, and the Bausch + Lomb lines have no mid band at all — just low (+0.75 to +1.50) and high (+1.75 to +2.50). Do not carry the same band name across a brand change; check it against the table above.
- Base curve (BC) — a single value on most lines; SofLens Multifocal offers both 8.5 and 8.8.
- Dominant / non-dominant eye — required only by Biofinity Multifocal, which pairs two different optical designs between the eyes and must follow what was fitted.
Spectacle and contact lens powers are sometimes the same numbers and sometimes not. A contact lens sits on the eye rather than a centimetre or so in front of it, and the stronger the prescription, the more that distance matters. Rather than working it out yourself, have it measured: a registered optometrist or ophthalmologist can give you a current contact lens specification. Worth repeating for a first fitting, a brand change, or any time your vision feels different.
For adaptation, give it a fortnight. Spend the first few days in good light and leave night driving until you are settled; hold your phone or book where you normally would rather than hunting for the sweet spot, so your visual system learns to do the selecting. If a particular distance is still clearly missing after two weeks, that is rarely the brand — it usually means the reading power or the eye pairing needs adjusting, which is a conversation with your optometrist, not a reason to give up on multifocals.
Frequently asked questions
Will I see clearly straight away?
Distance and intermediate vision usually feel right immediately; near vision takes a little longer. A multifocal delivers several images to the eye at once and your brain learns to prioritise between them, which typically takes one to two weeks, and longer for some people. Judge them on how your day flows, not on a side-by-side sharpness test against single-vision lenses.
I am nearsighted and presbyopic. Can one lens do both?
Yes. Every line in the table above carries both a distance power and a reading power, so a single lens handles both. You select the two independently on the product page.
Is the reading power (ADD) the same as a farsighted prescription?
No, and it is the most common mix-up, because both are written as plus numbers. A farsighted power corrects your eye itself and goes in the main power field on the product page, exactly where a nearsighted power goes. The reading power, labelled ADD, is an extra amount added on top of that main power for close work, and it has its own field. Someone who is -3.00 nearsighted can still have a +2.00 ADD: they are nearsighted, not farsighted. Choose the two fields separately — putting your ADD in the power field will get you an entirely wrong lens.
My prescription is fairly deep. Are multifocals still an option?
Yes. Seven of the twelve reach -10.00, and Clariti 1-Day Multifocal 3 Add extends to -12.00, the widest currently available here. Beyond that range, browse the presbyopia collection or get in touch and we will check what can be ordered.
How much more do multifocals cost than single-vision dailies?
Within the same family they generally cost more, because the optics are more complex and every power combination is produced separately. Entry-level hydrogel dailies such as AquaComfort plus Multifocal and Proclear 1-Day Multifocal still work out modestly per day; current pricing is on the presbyopia collection page.
What about one eye for distance and one for reading?
That approach is called monovision and uses two single-vision lenses of different powers. Some people adapt to it easily; others find depth perception suffers. Whether it suits you is a judgement for your optometrist based on your work and driving, and not something to self-prescribe by ordering two powers.
Do I still need reading spectacles?
Keep a pair. Multifocal contacts are not the right call when your eyes are tired or irritated, or on a long night drive, and having spectacles to hand means you are never forced to wear lenses you should not be wearing. That holds for every contact lens wearer, presbyopic or not.
In short
Presbyopia does not end your time in contact lenses. WateryEyes carries 12 multifocal lenses across four brands and all three replacement cycles, from entry hydrogel dailies to high-oxygen silicone hydrogels, covering nearsighted prescriptions to -12.00 and farsighted to +8.00 — enough range that most wearers find a workable combination.
If you are trying multifocals for the first time, start with a daily: lower cost per box, no cleaning regime, and the least painful way to discover a design does not suit you. If your reading power is settled and adaptation is behind you, a monthly is the better long-run economics. Have your distance power, reading power and base curve to hand, then choose from the presbyopia collection — or ask our team which line fits your prescription.