The sunglass thread got me thinking that an actual post on sunglasses and what the heck the options are would be beneficial. So, here we go.

In order of importance:

Polarization
Lens Material (poly, trivex, or something else uv protectact)
Lens Color
Back Side AR
Front side mirror

Polarized lenses filter out non-parallel light. This reduces glare from non-metallic sources. The two places where it shows the most improvement is on the water and behind the windshield of a car. Also makes skies and clouds more "intense." Not best for all applications, however. For outdoor board use, most likely polarized lenses are what you want. However, golfers benefit from non-polarized lenses as they make it harder to follow the ball through the shot since the glare off the ball is the easiest way to find it and makes reading the greens a little harder. Baseball players and many sports do better with non-polarized for some of the same reasons. Snow skiing is harder to read moguls with polarized and pilots can have issues with polarized lenses and their instrumentation.

There are way too many materials to discuss. The cheapest lenses are made of acetate and are complete junk. Polycarbonate are the minimum in sun protection that most ECPs recomment, as it is fully UV protectant. The optics suck, though. Trivex, high index, CR39, and glass all have their own benefits and drawbacks but are considered to be better lens options.

There are four basic polarized lens colors out there, and simple tints can be done in whatever the heck you want:

Grey - least amount of color distortion, also appears darkest. Best for driving in bright sun and offshore fishing
Brown/Amber - high contrast while still dark. Brown enhances yellows, reds, and greens. This is my favorite outdoor lens.
Green/G-15 - Rayban's signature color. Green base was developed for the air force and has a higher contrast than grey while still giving truer colors than Brown.
Rose - variation of brown that has pink added to the base color. Used for increasing color contrast in driving in lower brightness light conditions. Wonderful for morning and evening driving. Also the best golfing lens, as the color really lets greens show through.

Backside AR finishes the job that polarized lenses start. As light passes through a lens, it is filtered by the polarized filter, but still has to pass through the back surface of the lens. This back surface can produce extra glare so the no-glare coating here does provide a benefit. Anyone that ever espouses doing a front glare coating on a polarized lens is probably an idiot. I have a set of hunting lenses with front and back Anti reflective coating but that's just so I don't spook anything with an errant reflection, and the odds of anyone actually thinking that way for setting a pair of glasses up is very rare. Plus, they look weird for everyday use.

The mirror coating does change the color of the lens, but it's not going to be the primary mechanism of sun protection. Maui Jim has a unique mirror coating they refer to as a "squint" mirror, it helps reduce upper and lower level light without interfering with the vision through the center of the lens. Honestly, mirrors are MOSTLY for aesthetics, but they do have some benefits. They do tend to scratch more, as well.

If anyone ever has any questions on glasses or sunglasses, you can always PM me here or email me at eyeguytex@gmail.com

Oh, and if someone can add it to the FAQ, that might not be a bad idea.

interesting

Answers a ton of questions. Thanks.

So I have costa wave killers which have their 580 G lenses and have a blue mirror. What type of lense base color do hey have out of the brown, green, grey, and rose options? I looked on costas website and they probably say it somewhere but Iist have missed it.

EyeGuy does good work


[This message has been edited by EagleFordEarl (edited 1/9/2013 3:36p).]

580G w/ Blue = Grey base
580G w/ Green = Copper base (I guess that's a variation of Amber)
580G w/ Silver - Copper base

then you have 580G Copper & Grey w/out mirror...

I've had both glass and CR39 and glass is hands down the better material for exactly what jayelbee said. I even dropped a pair of the signature green lenses Ray-bans on a tile floor and they came up w/ no crack, chip or scratch. It can certainly happen, but they are still a solidly robust option. Don't even notice the weight difference between the 400G and the CR39 in my Costas.

Appreciate the help fellas. Love these costas.

I had a pair of Wavekillers with the 580P in amber (tortoise shell frame). They were a great pair of glasses but my biggest beef with the style was the little rubber pieces on the earpieces were always sliding off.

I'm looking at either the Zane, Fisch, or Brine styles.

I have the Harpoons and love them. Have had the green lenses for 3 years so recently rewarded myself with another pair with amber lenses...

Great info. Getting Rx Costas in a couple weeks.

Blue star for you, sir!

Kyle, if you will wait until January, I can do those costas. After complaining for the last year, we finally have an account being set up.

Oh, and eagleford, thanks for the compliment. Those are honestly one of the coolest pairs of aviators I've ever made.

They are the tits, thanks again for the hook up and quality work.

I've scratched my pair of blue mirror Berkleys. What would be a ballpark figure for lense replacement?

they're not prescription

Anytime, eagleford.

As to the blue mirror berkleys... It would probably be cheaper just to get a new pair. For what it would cost me to get the lens, edge it, and mail it, the cost would be more than they were new, if what I'm looking at price wise for new berkleys is correct.