Cheap Sun Glasses

A Lot of good information here. I have always been a sunglass snob. My job(pilot) pretty much demands good sunglasses...as do my hobbies. To keep from never losing them, I would have a pair of Revos in the car for driving. A pair of Oakleys on the boat. And a pair of Serengettis in my flight bag.

We can't wear polarized sunglasses in the airplane since the displays are polarized and it makes it kinda tough flying around with yor head tilted simply to ingest the vast amount of fairly important information.

My first choice for flying would be Serengettis when Corning Optics used to own them. They were glass lenses and excellent optical quality along with not being overly expensive($125ish). Serengettis sold and they went plastic and cheap. My last pair were about 5 years old before I couldn't see thru them due to scratches.

Revo does not make an unpolarized model so they are out. PS...Ray Bans and my eyes have never got along well...I have always believed them to be sub par to the other top players.

I have consolidated all of my sunglass needs into the Oakley Brand. They have an infinite amount of style choices...plenty being non-polarized. Their optical quality is second to none in the plastic lens category. And they seem to have excellent longevity(aren't as easily scratched). The pair I wear are $80!!! One of the beauties of Oakley is you can customize them an way you want on their website if that is your gig. You can even have the name of your boat etched around the edge of the lenses...I have never done this but have always wanted to.

In the end, you want a pair of sunglasses to give you that "AAAAHHHHHHH" sensation the second you put them on. Kind of like Gatorade for your eyes...pure relief!!! You don't get that with cheap sunglasses....sorry!

Another thing to think about is if they do not have the proper protection, they can actually cause harm to your eyes. The darkness of the tint causes your pupils to dilate and if the protection is not there, you are exposing your eyes to more harmful energy...jus sayin'!

One last thought as I know the OP is a melanoma survivor(as am I). There is a type of melanoma that likes the retina of your eye. It is rare. But is it caused by sun damage? I don't know but I am not taking a chance. I have worn sunglasses all of my life and hats also as my hair has gone away. I hear in Australia that hats(the tilley type) are now part of the uniform in grade school now????

FWIW - Polarized sunglasses are also great for reducing the glare caused by road spray on wet highways.

BaltimoreLurker wrote:
FWIW - Polarized sunglasses are also great for reducing the glare caused by road spray on wet highways.

Click to expand...

*So true.* I use mine in rain and fog to cut glare from light reflection.* I can see tail lights at a farther distance with them on.

On sunglasses.... I have my regular glasses coated to block 100% of UV and do not wear sunglasses.* Blocking UV is critical.

On hats.... If Kathy will let me wear my boating hat in public, it's too small.* All my friends in their 60's are getting little bits removed from the tops of their ears, shoulders, etc.* My big floppy boating hat is an embarassment and*the nicer the weather, the longer my sleeves.

cheers

My SGs used to meet their end when:

a) I sat on them

b) they fell off when landing a fish

c) once blew overboard when I put them down on the cabin top

So, I now use Bella Sole - cheap, virtually unbreakable and interchangeable lenses.

I use a polarised pair for outdoors and a light-blue lensed pair* in the wheel-house which reduces the glare when looking out the windows but still*lets me to read*the plotter, sounder etc. I also have an amber pair for fog, drizzle etc but have never used them. Bella Sole come in a set of four (I think) frames and about eight pairs of lenses) all for about $100.*

Just as a note, after losing a few pair of expensive sunnies and reading specs I now crimp on a length of 80 lb mono leader material and hang them around my neck.
Not really sophisticated but cheap and handy.