Lets talk sunglasses

[Joe Snuffy]

I need a new pair of shades. Polarized. Do you fine folks buy into the marketing of high dollar sunglasses, or do you sail with some cheap specs? I would rather not drop 100 bones on some sunglasses, but I will if they are superior. Do you guys/gals find that sunglasses are a common item that gets damaged? What brand seems to be the most popular with sailors?

Cheers!

 

[cephius (Dave)]

I used to be very hard on sun glasses, so I bought cheap ones.

I now need prescription glasses, so I get sun glasses at the same time as my clear glasses. I don't focus on the frames too much, but they still cost much more than I used to pay. I've learned to care for them.

The key is the coating, not the logo. I'm not much into fads or fashion. I hate the idea of paying to advertise a brand for the maker. In my opinion a product with a prominent logo should be discounted or free. (Never happen)

Growing up in California a logo was a proud badge of how much money was paid. Now in the Midwest people brag about how little they pay; "See this, I got it for 15 cents at a garage sale!" It's a nice cultural change.

 

[zeehag]

i wear what works and i keep them on leashes so they arent gone sunglasses. i dont believe in designer sunglasses. i believe in keeping things reasonably simple. just remember--they WILL go overboard, so, pay what you want to .

 

[Mac]

Go cheap

I've had Ray Ban and loved them, but very expensive, around 120.00 But I'm tough on sunglasses. So now I use Wal Mart polarized glasses from the fishing dept. Around 12 bucks. They even have them with readers. I've used the same pair this whole summer and they work great. Just my opinion. JM

 

[MJWarner]

Until I had to go to presciption polarized sunglasses, I wore cheap Walmart polarized sunglasses just fine. When you find a pair that work, don't slide down your nose when you sweat and are 100% polarized, go back and buy 2-3 more of the same style. You will eventually drop a pair over the side, or sit on them in the cockpit, or some such disaster, and you can just smile, and whip out a new pair.

 

[Steve Dion]

I have worn cheap ones and I think that you do not get the same amount of light through most of them as you do with quality glasses.

Now if you are under 40 you probably cannot tell the difference, but once you grow up and OLD there is a difference. I currently wear Hobies and they do a good job for me. They were probably about $70 at Costco.

I am not into spending $150-250 for glasses either, but I do think that there is a difference. If you are really just looking for eye protection, then the cheap-o's will probably do the job. If you need to see clearly, I think a few more dollars will get you a lot more quality.

http://www.hobiepolarized.com/Default.aspx

 

[Ross]

If you wear tri-focals and wish to have sunglasses and still be able to read a chart you don't buy single vision Ray-Bans but you do pay the price.

 

[Steve Dion]

You may also find that you can get quality eyewear with your RX. Hobie offers this service, I do not know if other do too.

http://www.hobiepolarized.com/Rx.aspx

 

[Steve Dion]

.... more about sunglasses.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/sunglass.htm/printable

 

[Winkfish]

Calcutta by Flying Fisherman - around $20 here in N.O. Great shades. I use the amber for low light situations. Best shades I've had, and they don't break the bank,.

 

[dennism]

You might take a look at www.hidalgos.com, and especially the information that is included in their printed catalog, concerning features and uses of the various sun and prescription glasses they handle.

There is a LOT of useful information there, and great prices..

I have no affiliation, I've just been a happy customer for about 20 years now.

Hope this helps.

 

[esterhazyinoz]

What I do is buy a frame I like on ebay and have optical quality UV coated lens put in and slip them into one of those neoprene straps so they stay on my head. Particularly if you require corrective lens this is a good way to get quality at a reasonable price but even if you don't need correction you won't have to be looking through the wavy lens of those cheapies.

 

[Brian D]

Transition lenses for my prescription glasses. Got tired to changing them all the time. So I put a little extra bucks in my regular glasses. These things get really dark in direct sunlight.

 

[Allan12210]

My situation is probably a mess. First, youth is wasted on the young. I have to wear one contact lens as I had a lens implanted in the other eye. Prescription glasses on the non implant eye including sunglasses results in two dramatically different size images hence the contact lens. Confusing and nausiating. Then, that means no close up vision so I have a pair of prescription progressive readers I wear around my neck on a leash. I can wear them all the time with the contact and implant as they go from no correction looking straight through to +2.5 looking down, but they are clear. So I usually wear WalMart Polarized sunglasses. You can get these nifty stick on bifocal lenses that enable close up vision with those. Amazon has them here

http://www.amazon.com/OPTX-20-Stick-Bifocals-2-00/dp/B000W7HQCQ

Now the real problem when sailing. I usually wear a wide brimmed hat. When I need to look at the chart down below or something close up with more magnification than the stick ons, the hat strap gets in the way of the readers leash, so off comes the hat, stick the sunglasses on my head and put on the readers. What a pain. The solution was to wear the readers and my hat and get clip-on flip-up polarized sunglasses. Nice...I have my full prescription range of good optical quality and I can go from clear to dark quickly.

I sure took the long road for that one.

 

[sinnettc]

Ever since I got my first pair of Serengeti's I've been convinced that you get what you pay for. $20 sunglasses give $20 worth of clarity and durability . . . $100 sunglasses generally have glass or high quality acrylic lenses, little distortion, and don't scratch as easily.

I wear bifocals and prefer wrap arounds; prescription wrap arounds ain't cheap. I had my Revo's for about 3 years until they disappeared on a fishing trip in Maine. I then made due with clip ons for about a year. I splurged this time and bought Maui Jim's - expensive as heck but oh, so clear. Probably wouldn't spend that much again but I won't buy cheap either.

 

[capejt]

Just remember what Jeff Foxworthy once said about sunglasses.... The more you pay for them, the easier it is to lose them.

 

[jibes138]

Another path for prescriptions

You can get safety glasses frames for much cheaper than normal frames
. These are rugged glasses that can take a hit from a broken drill or something flying at you like a whale or a manta ray. Since you need a pair of safety glasses when working with power tools on the boat, or when doing engine work or working with chemicals, then just get a pair of clear and another pair of polarized prescription sunglasses at the same time. They last longer and are surprisingly inexpensive. If a block blows up in your face you will be happy you have a pair of safety glasses on at the time.

 

[Joe]

I'll pay up to about $80..... but I've usually found decent quality at around $40. I love serengheti. But find the Scott type sport glasses better for sailing. I have had good luck getting serious discounts and Big 5, believe it or not... as long as you talk to the manager.

 

[Maine Sail]

Maui Jim or Costa's for me. I have measured 20/10+ vision and can not wear plastic lenses as the distortion gives me a splitting head ache. My eye doc says this is somewhat normal for people with sharp distance vision to get headaches from slightly distorted lenses. Until about 15 years ago I never knew what caused my head aches when I wore sunglasses. Sadly very few companies are left making super clear optical glass lenses. Even the Maui Jim's with polycarb lenses I can't wear without getting a head ache.

I just keep hoping that Maui & Costa don't stop making glass lenses. Good vision is a plus and a minus..

I own three pairs of Maui Jim sun glasses all with glass lenses the youngest pair is now five years old and the oldest is over 15. No scratches and the frames are still tough as nails! Sat on my driving ones about 8 years ago and totally mashed the metal frames. I carefully & slowly bent them back into shape and they are still performing perfectly to this day.


My glass lenses last for years and years and years with no scratches, something plastic lenses, no matter how expensive, have never been able to do. My wife has a pair of Maui polycarb lenses and a pair of Maui's with glass. Her Maui glass are now 9 years old and the lenses crystal clear and scratch free. Her 1 year old plastic lenses are basically totaled..

It all about the optics for me. Just like there are low quality telescopes, binoculars and camera lenses there are also poor quality sunglasses when it comes to optical clarity. Ever try a set of Leica binoculars? Next time you try on sunglasses go outside and look into a tree with a good pair of Maui's or Costa Del Mar with glass lenses vs. a less expensive pair of polycrab ones. The sharpness difference of the leaves/branches on the trees will be quite clear.

Show me a pair of cheap polarized sun glasses with the optical quality of Maui's or Costa Del Mar, and glass lenses, and I'll buy a dozen pairs today!! Has not been done, trust me I've looked, really, really hard...

All that being said I can't for the life of me understand all you guys who lose sun glasses? Do you loose your wallets too? Get a set of leashes and actually wear them on you like you do your wallet. Still have all my "expensive" sunglasses..

If you don't need the optical clarity that some of us do, in your sunglasses, then don't buy expensive..

 

[Sailm8]

I have my old prescription glasses dipped and made into sunglasses when I get a new pair. This is only a back up I keep on the boat for emergencies but gives me some more value out of the old pair. They are not polarized but do have UV protection.

Because of my eye problems I have dozens of pairs of glasses so this was a way to reuse them.