Overglasses

[jakeroyd]

I wear varifocal photochromic glasses.
But the problem i face is that they don't go dark enough when sailing and i end up squinting in the sun.

Been thinking of getting some overglasses like these :-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Overglasses-Sunglasses-For-Glasses/dp/B005WJ1LW0/ref=pd_ybh_2

Or similar.

have any forumites experience of using these for sailing ?
Would they stop my own glasses darkening like the windows on the car do ?

TIA

 

[reeac]

Difficult to say.As the proposed over glasses are polarising they will preferentially absorb light reflected off horizontal surfaces. E.g. The water, which will be a major source of glare. The photochromic glasses will still see the rest of the light and might react sufficiently to that to give an overall additional darkening.

 

[Halo]

Tried over glasses a few years ago and could not get comfortable and had problems with steaming up. Photo chromatic lenses seriously reduce light transmission at night and I think best practice is not to use them after dark. I love polarizing lenses but cannot use them with the sat nav screen as the polarizing makes it look black. The best option I have found is to wear a wide brimmed hat and carry a clean tea towel so I can wipe them frequently. All the best. Martin

 

[Spirit of Glenans]

I haven't tried overglasses, but I feel that it would be a PIA trying to accommodate the earparts of two pairs of specs around one pair of ears.
My solution, FWIW, is a pair of Polarised clip-ons, @£20 from Boots, the ones with the horizontal spring-loading and the two discrete clips at each end. They're lightweight and with practice can be put on or taken off with one hand, when necessary. A broad-brimmed hat complements them. No connection, satisfied customer.

 

[prv]

I think best practice is not to use them after dark

True. Blamed in the MAIB report on the Ouzo as one of several reasons the OOW didn't see the yacht.

Pete

 

[lw395]

True. Blamed in the MAIB report on the Ouzo as one of several reasons the OOW didn't see the yacht.

Pete

I don't think that stands up to any great analysis though.
The absorption in most photochromics at night is at worst a few %.
The response of the eye is logarithmic, it is unlikely you will ever be able to tell the difference.
I bought a pair of non-photochromics after the Ouzo report came out, as a spare pair.
The best experiment I could come up with was to go somewhere properly dark and see if I could see more stars with the plain lenses.
A distinct failure to convince myself I hadn't wasted £30.
If anything, the plain lenses seemed worse.

Overglasses sound like too much opportunity to have four dirty/salty/steamy surfaces to be looking through instead of two, a bit like the visor when riding a bike, but with more salt.
I think you can get a permanent tint as well as polarised or photochromic?

 

[lw395]

Not that I'm bored at work or anything, but photochromics can vary from 97% transmission to about 70% for different makes.
Dark absorption varies similarly.
I can imagine losing 30% of the light is noticeable. Probably only just though, the dynamic range of the eye is about 140dB and 70% transmission is about 1.5dB.
Some people have different pairs of photochromics for indoor/outdoor apparently.

I wondered what the hell I'd done when I wore the clear pair early one morning, I've been wearing photochromics for about 25 years, apart from a brief dalliance with contact lenses. The day just kept getting brighter...

 

[rivonia]

Perhaps it just might be time to get a new pair of prescription glass's. Mine like yours took ages to darken. I have a new pair now and any sun shine they darken rapidly and go almost black. The optician said the photochromic only works proficiently for approx two years.

 

[lw395]

Perhaps it just might be time to get a new pair of prescription glass's. Mine like yours took ages to darken. I have a new pair now and any sun shine they darken rapidly and go almost black. The optician said the photochromic only works proficiently for approx two years.View attachment 47930

Can you guarantee enough sunlight to make it worthwhile next year?
Mine tend to get scratched or the frames bent within a few years, so I've never noticed the photochromic wearing out.