I thought anti-glare coating let you see night lights (street lights and car headlights) without seeing double or halo.
It reduces glare, period, regardless of the source. For me, this is reason enough to get the Crizal coating (it's the best anti-glare coating I've tried), even if it had none of the other properties. If you have night-vision problems (double-vision or halo) without glasses, though, I don't know that anything in front of your eyes would change that-- but I'm not an optician, an optometrist, an ophthalmologist, or a physicist specializing in optics; I'm just a guy who's worn awfully strong glasses for a bunch of years.
Also, I was told Crizal is a coating that can added when you purchase your glasses, not the lense itself... Am I mis-informed?
Nope... "Crizal lenses" is a marketing term. "
For an increasingly transparent lens experience, Essilor has developed the Crizal lens treatments range. Crizal coatings ensure perfectly clear vision by attacking its eyeglasses 5 worst enemies:" Notice it says "Crizal lens treatments" there.
Again, for me, the big benefit to the Crizal coating is the anti-glare effect. Yes, the scratch protection is nice, I suppose, but, as others have mentioned, starting the day with clean lenses and using the "tongue-and-t-shirt" method (or microfiber cloth, as the years passed, and those became readily available) as touch-up throughout the day has served me very well for avoiding those. My eyes are sensitive to glare to begin with, and my prescription tends to amplify glare. Long ago, when the anti-glare coating first became readily available, I tried it, and liked it. The next time I needed glasses, I was feeling the budget pinch, and opted not to get the coating again. "Big mistake. Big. HUGE!" I will not get another set of lenses without anti-glare coating... ever. Right now, Crizal seems to be the best one out there, and I have no desire to try anything different, because I know how well this works for me.
So, for you guys who are saying you never get lens coatings because you keep your glasses clean and scratch-free some other way... well, bully for you, but in my mind, you're missing the point. The REAL benefit to this coating has nothing to do with scratches and/or smudges.