Scout Contacts by Warby Parker Review

What are Scout Contacts?

Contact lenses are great for people who prefer not to wear eyeglasses. They come in various options, catering to multiple vision needs and preferences. One brand that’s becoming increasingly popular is Scout by Warby Parker.

Scout is a daily disposable contact lens. Unlike reusable contact lenses, daily disposables can be discarded at the end of each day, eliminating the need for cleaning and maintenance.

Let’s explore what Scout is, their cost, pros and cons, how to purchase them, and how they compare to other brands.

Current Special: 20% off for new customers

Pros and Cons of Scout Contact Lenses

Pros of Scout Contacts

Convenience

Scout is a daily disposable lens, so you no longer need cleaning solutions and storage cases. 

Buying Scout contacts is easy, too. You can quickly get a prescription online (if you’re eligible) and place your order without leaving home.  

Innovative Packaging

Scout’s flat packaging looks like a gum pack instead of the traditional blister pack and carton box we are familiar with. This significantly removes the bulk, making Scout daily contact lenses easier to carry and store. 

Warby Parker claims to use 80% less packaging than traditional packs. Less waste is always nice, which is a plus point for me.³

Hygienic

Being a daily contact, Scout is hygienic since you wear a new lens daily. There will be fewer chances of having any allergens, debris, bacteria, or microbes getting into your eyes.

Scout’s flat packaging is also designed to reduce contamination. When you open a pack, the lens side you will touch is on the right side up. This is unlike other contacts where your finger touches the same side that will touch the eye. 

Cons of Scout Contacts

Limited Use & Accessibility

Scout daily contacts are great for people with uncomplicated eye needs. But if you have the following conditions, Scout is not for you:

• Astigmatism 
• Severe nearsightedness or farsightedness
• Chronic dry eye
• Recurring eye infections or allergy
• Severe eye conditions or injuries (like corneal abnormalities or recent eye surgeries or injuries)

Note that other daily contact lenses are also unfit for these conditions, not only Scout. You’ll have to resort to different contacts like multifocal or toric lenses to address these conditions.

Scout is only available through Warby Parker’s website and affiliated eye exam locations, making them less accessible than other brands.

Pricier than Alternatives

You’ll spend only $1.22 daily if you buy Scout’s 90 days supply.³ If you focus only on Scout and not minding other brands, it seems $1.22 a day is not a big deal for purchase. 

However, Scout’s price is on the high side compared to other daily lenses. More in-depth comparisons are in the “How Do Scout Contacts Compare to Competitors?” section.

Being a single-use lens, Scout tends to be more expensive than reusables. But this is a common gripe for all daily disposables, not only for Scout. 

Less “Breathable”

Scout uses Hioxifilcon A, a hydrogel with a lower Dk/t of 25.^3,5 (Dk/t is a measurement of breathability. The higher the number, the more oxygen that can pass to your eye.) 

Scout’s 25 Dk/t rating is standard for lenses made with older hydrogel technology. Other daily lenses nowadays are made with silicone hydrogel, a newer material with D/kt over 100. These contacts tend to be more comfortable and produce less risk of swelling and irritation.⁶

About Warby Parker 

Warby Parker is an online eyewear company that sells contact lenses, eyeglasses, sunglasses, and accessories. The brand has various types of contact lenses to choose from, including:¹

• Daily disposables
• Bi-weekly disposables
• Monthly disposables
• Toric for astigmatism
• Multifocal and bifocal
• Colored

In 2019, the company launched Scout as its own brand of daily contacts.² It also sells contact lenses from other brands like:¹

• Acuvue
• Air Optix
• Biofinity
• BioTrue
• Clariti
• DAILIES
• INFUSE
• MyDay
• Precision1
• ProClear
• ULTRA

How Much Do Scout Contact Lenses Cost?

Scout’s cost varies depending on order quantity and type of shipping.^2,3

• The 90-day pack costs $110. You’ll get a 15% discount if you order for the first time. 
• If you buy a one-year supply, you’ll get a $50 eyewear credit which you can use on any purchase of eyeglasses or sunglasses.
• Standard shipping for contact lenses is free, and you should receive your order in 5 to 7 business days. You can choose expedited shipping for an additional $25, cutting the turnaround time in half.
• Warby Parker offers a free trial. They’ll send you a 6-day trial pack after they verify your prescription.

Does Warby Parker Accept Insurance?

Yes, several insurances cover Warby Parker’s contacts, including: 

• United Healthcare
• Spectera
• Davis Vision
• Care First
• BlueCross BlueShield FEP Vision
• Guardian Vision

If Warby Parker is not part of your insurance carrier, you can receive a reimbursement if your vision insurance plan includes out-of-network benefits.

You can also get Scout with your flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA), as long as your FSA or HSA is affiliated with a major credit card.⁴

How Do Scout Contacts Compare to Competitors?

If you’re considering Scout by Warby Parker, you must know how this brand stacks up against its competitors. The table below compares Scout to three other popular daily disposables we’ve featured. 

In terms of lens parameters (diameter and base curve), Scout is similar to other brands. These are the areas where Scout differs: 

• Narrower power range. This means Scout can accommodate fewer nearsighted and farsighted people.
• Water content. Scout is in the middle. While a high water content is sometimes equated with a red eye condition, several other factors are at play here. We won’t delve much into this aspect.  
• Low Dk/t. Being made from hydrogel, Scout and Biotrue ONEday have the lowest Dk/t. Hydrogel contacts are less breathable than those constructed from more porous silicone hydrogel.
• No UV protection. This might not be a dealbreaker, but it would have been nice if Scout had this feature.
• Relatively expensive. While Scout and Biotrue ONEday are made of hydrogel, their prices differ vastly. Furthermore, Scout is equally expensive or costlier than this line-up’s two silicon hydrogel contacts.
• Limited availability. Last but not least, there’s the issue of Scout only being available through Warby Parker or one of its affiliated eye shops. You can buy other lenses from various sellers, including Warby Parker.

Current Special: 20% off for new customers

How to Get Scout Contacts by Warby Parker

If you’re interested in trying Scout Contacts, here are the steps. 

Get a Prescription

You need a valid prescription to order Scout (including the 6-day trial pack). You can get a prescription in two ways:

1. Download the Virtual Vision Test in the App Store. Take a quiz to see if you can get the prescription through this method. You’ll hear back from an eye doctor within 48 hours and will be charged $15 if the doctor renews your contacts prescription.
2. Book an in-person eye exam near you. Warby Parker has a list of eye exam locations on its website where customers can book an appointment with an optometrist. They can even purchase contact lenses at these locations.

Purchase Scout Contacts 

Once you have your prescription:

• Navigate to the contact lenses section of Warby Parker’s website
• Select Scout Contacts
• Enter a photo or a scanned copy of your prescription
• Choose a quantity and shipping option
• Add to cart and proceed to checkout

Warby Parker offers a 30-day return or exchange policy for any contact lenses, as long as they’re in the original, unopened box or arrived in a defective or damaged state.

Our Final Verdict on Warby Parker and Scout Contacts

Warby Parker is a reputable eyewear company that offers a variety of affordable contact lenses, including their own Scout daily disposables. We especially like their prescription assistance and free 6-day trial for Scout contacts. 

Warby Parker’s Scout has pros and cons, but it’s primarily lauded for its daily-use convenience. It’s also an environmentally friendly product with innovative packaging not seen among its competitors.

You can only get Scout contacts through Warby Parker’s channels, limiting its reach to any interested user. Scout is also unsuitable for many situations, but this limitation is true of other daily disposables. 

If you want to know if Scout contact lenses suit you, we recommend consulting your eye doctor first.

Current Special: 20% off for new customers