ULTRA is Bausch + Lomb’s flagship monthly, and it takes a different route to comfort than its rivals. Instead of engineering the surface, it aims to make the material itself hold onto its own water for a full sixteen hours.
The material
Samfilcon A: silicone hydrogel at roughly 46% water with a Dk/t around 163 — among the highest published for any monthly lens.
That pairing is the interesting part. In conventional hydrogels, more water means more oxygen; in silicone hydrogels, less water usually means more oxygen. ULTRA lands relatively high on both at once.
MoistureSeal is the manufacturing process behind it — a two-phase polymerisation intended to keep the lens holding a high proportion of its moisture across a full day. The target is explicitly the sixteen-hour mark, not the first hour.
Who it suits
- Anyone whose monthly lens “dries out” in the afternoon
- Long days — fourteen to sixteen hours in lenses
- Anyone needing high oxygen transmission: strong prescriptions, a history of neovascularisation, or simply a lot of hours
- People who want monthly economics without giving up end-of-day comfort
The family, including a rare combination
- ULTRA — spherical monthly
- ULTRA for Astigmatism — toric, with its own stabilisation design
- ULTRA Multifocal — for presbyopia, with three add profiles
- ULTRA Multifocal for Astigmatism — the combination almost nobody makes
That last one deserves emphasis. If you have presbyopia and astigmatism, your options across the whole market are few. The existence of this lens is a legitimate reason to consider the brand quite apart from the material — availability decides more fittings than technology does.
Against the other premium monthlies
- Biofinity (CooperVision) — balance and the widest parameter range
- Total30 (Alcon) — a water gradient surface, aimed at friction
- ULTRA — moisture retention within the material, and the highest Dk/t of the three
There is no universal winner. The decision gets made at hour fourteen with the lens in your eye, not by reading specifications. See the brand comparison.
The solutions angle
Bausch + Lomb is the only one of the four big lens makers with a full line of care solutions, including a widely used peroxide system.
There is no requirement to match your lens brand to your solution brand. But if you are sensitive to preservatives, having both conversations in one appointment is practical — and peroxide is the standard answer for preservative reactions. See solutions compared.
The rule that undoes it
A monthly lens is monthly from the day the blister is opened. Stretching it to six weeks discards precisely what you paid for: a clean, well-hydrated material with high oxygen transmission.
See do contacts expire and how to clean them properly.
Sources
- Bausch + Lomb technical specifications for ULTRA (samfilcon A)
- Published moisture-retention data at 16 hours
We are not affiliated with Bausch + Lomb. General information, not a substitute for a fitting. Reviewed by Dr. Teresita Bollar, OD.
What this lens costs right now
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