The popularity in outdoor sports activities such as mountain
biking, rock climbing, snowshoeing,
kayaking, golfing and in-line skating, to
name just a few, has created a niche for sport and
performance-oriented
sunglasses. There are many sunglass options to select as eyewear.
To meet the needs of the demanding sportsperson, eyewear
manufacturers have invested much time
and resources into technology research
and investigated ways of providing the best possible
sunglasses for all the different
environments and conditions for which people need eye protection
from the sun. From
these efforts have come fantastic advances in durable and flexible materials for
sunglasses which never fail to give the utmost performance to the casual
sportsman or the
professional outdoorsman.
Unquestionably the most significant feature to be developed
in recent years of sports eye wear has
been the optical clarity, panoramic field
of view, and visual acuity of the lenses. There are many lens
colors to choose
from, each designed to be effective in some specific outdoor condition. The
available choices range from brown, to green,
gray, yellow, pink and, can you believe it, orange. Even more phenomenal are the advances in polarized lenses. These lenses are in high demand
because of
their ability to lessen glare produced from flat surfaces such as standing water
or a snow
covered field. There are those who will argue that polarized lenses
are not for everyone. For
instance,
downhill skiers need to see contrast and definition of the terrain to avoid
holes and
depressions to prevent falls and injuries.
Although glass lenses are still available they are rarely used
in sports eyewear. The exception is
sunglasses used for golfing which provide superior optical excellence. However,
many sportsmen
involved in outdoor recreation avoid glass because of the inability
of glass to really resist impact from
hard objects or debris. There are numerous sports-related eye injuries each year.
Many could have been avoided if the
athlete used protective eyewear such as
goggles with polycarbonate lenses. Skiers know that goggles
are a necessity. So
too are baseball or softball catchers,
hockey, football players and even paint
ballers learning that
polycarbonate face shields can prevent eye damage. Ultraviolet light and glare
bounce off snow and ice even on overcast days making it necessary for skiers to
always wear tinted
goggles or sports sunglasses.
Fishermen and boaters also require protection from UV light reflected
off the water. You might even
find some contact lenses that also provide extra
UV blocking. If you plan on using contact lenses also
wear sunglasses since the
contacts only provide protection for the center part of your eye and may
not provide
the necessary full eye coverage.
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