Article by Bob Pino
Picking the right pair of sunglasses can be very difficult. There are so many brands, styles, shapes, lenses and materials to choose from, priced from a low of $5.00 to upwards of $500.00. It’s enough to make your head spin.
Let me simply state the truth from the start. Save your five bucks on the cheap ones, and here’s why. Most of them are basically tinted, meaning that once you put that tinted lens over your eyes your pupils react like you have walked into a dark or dimly lit room. They get larger. They change dramatically in size from about a half a millimeter up to 5-6 millimeters. This naturally happens to let more light in. However, now that you’re letting in more light, you are also increasing the amount of UV rays that your eyes are being exposed to. In time, this can actually be more harmful to your sight. That additional exposure to UVA and UVB rays (the two most harmful types of UV light) may increase the risk for cataracts, macular degeneration and even development of ocular melanoma — a very rare type of cancer. So let’s just count them out. Plus, tinted lenses do not reduce glare like polarized lenses do.
Now since that’s out of the way the options to choose from can be overwhelming. Frames come in all types of metals and zyl; in styles such as rimless, aviator and wrapped along with a magnitude of lens materials and colors. So how do you choose the right pair for you?
You know yourself better than anyone. If you drop your keys in the parking lot and bend over to pick them up, your phone falls out of your pocket and once everything is gathered up, you stand up and whack your head. That pair of sunglasses you were resting on your hat goes flying and crash right onto the pavement. Well if that was a pair with Costa glass 580 lens, they would have shattered and you would be out of luck. If this sounds familiar, you might want to think about a more durable shatterproof polycarbonate lens for your next pair because those glass lenses are not looking pretty at the moment.
Brands and Styles
Being an optician for 37 years, I’ve found that Costa Del Mar, Wiley X and Silhouette have been my consistent brand winners in frame durability. Costa Del Mar has the best warranty program available. Wiley-X sunglasses are made for and distributed to our military and Silhouette is a titanium frame that’s won Rob Report’s “Best of” for many years. You can’t go wrong with any of these.
If you are super sensitive to anything on your nose you should consider a lightweight titanium or a rimless style like Silhouette. These are lightweight, minimalist titanium frames that can be customized with any shape lens. They can weigh as little as half an ounce.
If you make a living on the water find a frame that is as tough as you and your working conditions, consider Costa Del Mar, Wiley X or even REVO (yes, they are back and some are being made here in the USA). If you prefer a wrap around style, make sure it fits properly and most importantly is comfortable. It should rest on your nose, not on your cheeks and wrap as close to the side of your face WITHOUT squeezing your head and leaving indentation marks. A few benefits to wearing a wrapped sunglass style are that it will cut down the amount of light coming in the backside of the frame and will provide you with better peripheral vision. Here’s a tip - the least amount of rubber on a plastic frame means less to become unglued.
If you like to cruise and bar hop in style, go for that big, cool aviator look with stylish mirror finish lens, but when doing so choose a lightweight polycarbonate lens. Big frames get very heavy with glass lenses. Once you start sweating they’ll slide down your nose. It’s important to have any sunglasses that you buy adjusted properly, no matter where you buy them.
Costa Del Mar, Izod and Police have nice quality aviators. Some of the other designer brands offer polarized lenses but most over-the-counter ones are available with only tinted lens, so be careful. If you choose these make sure they have a good UV protection treated lens.
When selecting any frame, either sunglasses or your prescription glasses, look at the frame inside and out. If you see five screws holding on a cute plate design on the outside of the temple put it back. Keep it simple stupid (KISS)—means —less to fail in my optical world!
Material, Material, Material
There are three commonly used materials for lenses. They are all good but different. The question is, “Which is best for you?” Glass, plastic CR-39 or polycarbonate?
Considering Glass? If you wipe your sunglasses with your T-shirt many times a day then glass lenses will be the most durable. It provides the best level of crisp, clear vision. It also is the most scratch resistant of the three. However, it is the heaviest and although sunglass lenses have to have a certain level of impact resistance the glass is the first to shatter.
How about Plastic CR-39? Plastic CR-39 is lighter than glass and provides a clear, crisp vision very close to what you find with glass lenses. It is more impact resistant than glass, but not shatterproof. Plastic is more forgiving when dropped or sat on, but is less scratch resistant than glass.
Last but not least is Polycarbonate. This is the lightest and most impact resistant of the three materials. I always go above and beyond what anyone tells me when I do my own testing of products that I sell. I’ve shot polycarbonate lenses with a shotgun, ran over them with a truck and driven a nail through them and I have never seen a polycarbonate lens shatter. In fact, a veteran showed me scars on his face from an exploding IED in Iraq, and thank God, his eyes were saved because he was wearing a Wiley X frame with polycarbonate lenses. He will never wear anything else and I am thankful for his safety and services. Even though your vision with polycarbonate lenses will not be quite as crisp and clear as a glass or plastic lens, for safety reasons, it is often worth the trade off. No matter what, please do not let your kids wear anything but poly.
Polarized - It’s a Must!
Water is highly reflective, as most of you fishermen already know, so basically what polarized lenses do is reduce glare from surfaces such as water, snow and/or glass.
Light is made up of waves traveling in different directions. Vertical light is actually helpful to the human eye; it helps us see. Horizontal light, not so much. It simply creates glare.
Glare is caused when light from the sun is reflected off of water and other horizontal shiny surfaces so when a ray hits that surface, the reflection shines back at your eye and is magnified. That’s when you really squint. It bites but it’s not the kind of bite you want. No one likes glare. It distorts your view, your depth and color perception. It can even cause temporarily blindness. It makes objects like crab traps, logs, turtles, jet skies and even other boats difficult to see.
Polarization neutralizes glare. That is why it is so important. It helps you see objects more clearly, lets you see color more truly and also helps to reduce the harmful effects of UV light. Reducing that glare helps you see the fish in the water, the baits your trolling and maybe even that marlin trailing your baits; if you’re paying attention. Having an extra split second of reaction time can actually give your team an advantage if you’re fishing a tournament. That extra time to see that fish under the water can be the difference between a hook-up or a swing and a miss. If you are in a tournament that could mean a money fish. Even better, a prescription pair of polarized sunglasses may even help you see what you do not know you’re missing. No matter what, it’s important to wear protection. Sunglasses protect your eyes like sunscreen protects your skin by eliminating the harmful ultra violent rays.
So What Color Lens?
There are many variables and many different options and a lot depends on your personal preference. I’ll try to sum it up in a nutshell.
Yellow lenses are good for first thing in the morning, hazy or foggy conditions and on rainy days. With more light transmission and higher contrast this lens is made to cut through the haze and brighten images while still being polarized and cutting glare.
Ruby or copper lenses are good for partly cloudy days with variable light. This lens gives high contrast while allowing 12 to 20 percent light transmission.
Brown lenses are better for overcast or partly sunny days. They allow 12 to 18 percent light transmission and provide a good contrast. Brown or copper lenses are both very good for site fishing. The enhanced contrast lets you see the movement of a fish on the flats, although some captains do prefer it while trolling bluewater offshore as well.
Gray lenses are best for bright sunny days. They allow 10 to 15 percent light transmission and less color distortion. On the ocean, the gray lens provides the most natural colors. It is also the best for sighting color change of the water.
Grey-green lenses are good on bright days as they also enhance contrast while making color more vibrant.
Rose lenses are now available in polarized as well, which is better for hunters, skiers and target shooters, but not the best for on the water.
Most off-the-shelf polarized sunglasses come in darker shades of grey, grey- green, brown, amber or copper. In prescription or custom-made sunglasses from an optician the grey and brown lenses are an option in what’s called an “A shade” which is lighter and allows more light transmission for semi-cloudy days.
There are many specialty lenses available such as the Costa Del Mar 580 lens. Costas 580 lens filters out yellow light, reducing haze and blur while enhancing blue, green and red colors. When you try a 580 lens it feels as if the colors pop and everything appears super sharp.
A lot is based on personal preferences. Make sure when you are shopping for sunglasses to try color lenses and step outside in natural light to see which color your most prefer. More than one pair of sunglasses may be needed for different conditions. This may seem extravagant but you don't use the same rod to catch a flounder as you do to catch a marlin do you? Lenses do matter.
Mirror-coated lenses and other treatments are options to consider as well. Again, you know yourself better than anybody. If you burn easily don't get a mirror finish on your lens. The mirror finish reflects the suns rays off the front surface of the lens and your nose is the closest thing to that surface. Your nose will cook. However, the finish does give an added layer of glare reduction while enhancing colors. The mirror coating also reduces light transmission by 2 percent; which is very good on bright, full-sun days. The mirror finish on a Costa Del Mar 580 lens is under a layer of glass making it very scratch resistant, which I like very much.
Another lens treatment is the hydrophobic or oliophobic finish. This treatment makes the lenses easier to clean and water literally beads up and runs off the lens just like when you wax your car. It can cut down the number of times you need to clean your sunglasses during the day.
There is also an option for a backside, anti-reflective coating that provides even clearer vision by reducing any light that bounces off the backside of the lens into the eye which can be very distracting.
Can’t See the Little Things?
If you need a little help seeing up close, Costa Del Mar offers a ready-made bi-focal lens called the C-Mate. This lens has a reading segment in the lens and is available in +1.50, +2.00 and +2.50 powers.
Prescription eyeglass wearers can get all lenses mentioned above made in your exact prescription. There are some limitations on higher RX powers but an educated optician should be able to fit you in the proper frame style and educate you on your options. Costa Del Mar glass 580 polarized mirror lens are now available in a progressive prescription. This lens gradually goes from distance vision to near vision so there is no jump of the lined bifocal and lets you clearly see objects at the intermediate distance like your charts and GPS.
Lens Care
Not matter what you wet your lens with, fresh water or a lens cleaner, prior to rubbing them we prefer you use a lens cleaning cloth, but since that not always available, we know you use your T-shirts. Just remember, when saltwater dries you’re left with that salt residue which is very abrasive and will even scratch a glass lens.
Bob Pino of An Optical Galleria has been an optician for 37 years. He and his son, Chris, both fisherman, own and operate stores in West Ocean City, MD and Centreville, MD.
