sailing sunglasses

Walmart sell fishing polarised sunglasses $9.99 a pair. Aviator style and perfect for the boat.
I buy 4 pairs every time I go to the States. Dont know if Asda sell them now.
 
Robih said:
Went straight down to the optician this morning and bought a pair of Maui Jim. No dithering on eye care! Very impressive when compared to my £50 Boots jobbies. Good wraparound protection. Excellent colour contrast and I'm told first class UV protection. Second mortgage terrirtory though so strapped around the neck.

Rob
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I am told that there is a limit to the amount of curvature in a prescription lens .Does this mean that distance glasses can not be as far round as one might like.
Did Robih get "ordinary " sunglasses .I say ordinary but as I priced them today there is nothing ordinary about them.
Can any one comment on using varyfocals sunglasses.
I was quoted today around euro 300 for single lens prescription Maui Jim and 400 euro for varifocals.very comfortable
with costs like that I like to do a bit more research.
I have a pair of Bolle but really need the presription lens now
 
DownWest said:
Riojasailor,
Not to question your professional expertice, but I seem to remember Richard Feynman deciding to look at the Los Alamos test blast through a glass windscreen in a truck because it would protect him from the blinding U-V that everbody was either wearing strong goggles or facing away to avoid.
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I think I read that, in that instance, it was the Alpha particles emitted by the blast that the screen stopped.

Tom
 
I've been using these Adidas ones for several years & am very pleased with them - ultra-light, complete wrap-around protection, never fall off (fingers crossed) & the contrast is fantastic so you can keep them on in low light.

Plus, when the lens does eventually get manky you can snap it out & get a new one for £34. (And you can get prescription lenses to clip into them.)

http://www.vision3k.com/brands/adidas-sunglasses/supernova-l-a150.asp
 
if it's wind protection as well, then you can't beat safety specs with side pieces, or much closer fitted wrapround ones. Any decent High st store will put in either prescription lenses, or tinted ones, and because they are designated safety ones, you get a good basic price and no VAT !

http://www.safetyspecs.co.uk/
 
I dnt like to risk cheap glasses. I always use Oakley. The army use them as well, so they is a reason for this. Sometimes cheap is not best.

My eyes are vital to me. You need to look after them.
 
nonitoo said:
I think I read that, in that instance, it was the Alpha particles emitted by the blast that the screen stopped.

Tom
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You'd have to be pretty close for the screen to make a difference to alpha particles. They only have a range of a couple of inches in air......
 
djbreeze said:
For those on a budget, there's a selection of "fishing" sunnies here for £10 to £30 odd. All polarised and including a floating pair. No doubt if they were rebranded "sailing" glasses the price would be higher...:)
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Thanks for that link, just bought a couple of pairs, (if you have a spare you never drop the first pair) good choice of brands and styles, bown or stronger grey lens options, all polarized, with lanyards, good value, reasonable postage, fast delivery,style and quality comparable with Gill at less than half the price.
They are now on the boat and the sun is due out again tomorrow.
 
drawkins said:
I
Did Robih get "ordinary " sunglasses .I say ordinary but as I priced them today there is nothing ordinary about them.
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Yes I did get "ordinary" sunglasses and as you say there is very little that is ordinary about the price. However I operate by different parameters with regard to eye protection as I suffer from a rather unpleasant eye condition which (after many years of suffering) the evidence seems to point to exposure to very bright light in the early summer each year being, at least prime facie, a potential cause of the onset of the problem. Frankly whether they are £100 OR £1,000 is largely irrelevant to me if they prevent another attack of the condition from which I suffer.

I've been sailing with the Maui Jim's today in very bright sun and the performance is certainly very good. Very little light leakage around the lenses and I've noticed a reduction in squinting and tonight my eyes do not feel tired/dry/stressed after five hours in the sun, that is unusual for me. I paid £143 for a pair of "ordinary" sunglasses and at this moment they seem like good value. Prior to the Maui Jim's I've used Gill £40 jobbies; I believe them to be good also but the MJ's certainly offer better "intense light" protection and today delievered reduced "sea sparkle". (I call the billions of light reflections which one receives from the water "sea sparkle"). Colour contrast is excellent and also, for information, there is no difficulty in seeing Raymarine ST60's and Chartplotters whilst wearing the MJ's. I've worn other sunglasses which have made viewing instruments difficult. Finally I should say that the optical clarity (the image which I see with my eyes if that makes sense) is significantly better with the MJ's than with the Gills and the Boots jobbies.

I've no axe to grind on this subject;just a desire to protect my eyes!

rob
 
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Robih said:
I've been sailing with the Maui Jim's today in very bright sun and the performance is certainly very good. Very little light leakage around the lenses and I've noticed a reduction in squinting and tonight my eyes do not feel tired/dry/stressed after five hours in the sun, that is unusual for me. I paid £143 for a pair of "ordinary" sunglasses and at this moment they seem like good value. Prior to the Maui Jim's I've used Gill £40 jobbies; I believe them to be good also but the MJ's certainly offer better "intense light" protection and today delievered reduced "sea sparkle". (I call the billions of light reflections which one receives from the water "sea sparkle"). Colour contrast is excellent and also, for information, there is no difficulty in seeing Raymarine ST60's and Chartplotters whilst wearing the MJ's. I've worn other sunglasses which have made viewing instruments difficult. Finally I should say that the optical clarity (the image which I see with my eyes if that makes sense) is significantly better with the MJ's than with the Gills and the Boots jobbies.

I've no axe to grind on this subject;just a desire to protect my eyes!

rob
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I agree with the desire to protect your eyes.

They also seem very reasonable.

Are they comfortable for all day wearing?
 
riojasailer said:
No no no no no.....

Glass does not automatically block UV. . . .
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How wrong can you be!

If ever you find anyone in the world who had been able to get a sun tan (UV) whilst standing, working or sleeping in a green house, then I will eat my hat.

Reddening of the skin, blisters on the skin but never a tan caused by UV radiation. :p

Oh, and by the way, sunglasses . . . . polarised every time. Tesco's do a good range for £12 and semi wrap-around to boot. :)
 
Maui Jims

Robih said:
Yes I did get "ordinary" sunglasses and as you say there is very little that is ordinary about the price. However I operate by different parameters with regard to eye protection as I suffer from a rather unpleasant eye condition which (after many years of suffering) the evidence seems to point to exposure to very bright light in the early summer each year being, at least prime facie, a potential cause of the onset of the problem. Frankly whether they are £100 OR £1,000 is largely irrelevant to me if they prevent another attack of the condition from which I suffer.

I've been sailing with the Maui Jim's today in very bright sun and the performance is certainly very good. Very little light leakage around the lenses and I've noticed a reduction in squinting and tonight my eyes do not feel tired/dry/stressed after five hours in the sun, that is unusual for me. I paid £143 for a pair of "ordinary" sunglasses and at this moment they seem like good value. Prior to the Maui Jim's I've used Gill £40 jobbies; I believe them to be good also but the MJ's certainly offer better "intense light" protection and today delievered reduced "sea sparkle". (I call the billions of light reflections which one receives from the water "sea sparkle"). Colour contrast is excellent and also, for information, there is no difficulty in seeing Raymarine ST60's and Chartplotters whilst wearing the MJ's. I've worn other sunglasses which have made viewing instruments difficult. Finally I should say that the optical clarity (the image which I see with my eyes if that makes sense) is significantly better with the MJ's than with the Gills and the Boots jobbies.

I've no axe to grind on this subject;just a desire to protect my eyes!

rob
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I once had a booth next to a Maui jims booth at Oakland Boat Show one year, I was truly astonished at the level he was selling, very American in his approach but nearly everyone who tried a pair on walked away with a pair....after I flogged them a Yachting Word as well..
 
Don't misunderstand me Rob I was just differentiating between straight sun glasses and prescription sunglasses.I completely agree that no price is too high for eye protection.I thought the Maui Jims great but I rather liked a pair of Boss as well

Maui Jim make a big play on superior polarization.if thats the right word
the biggest problem is deciding which one to get
.No body has commented on the advantages/disadvantages of varifocal sunglasses.
 
Can we stop this silly conversation about whether or not glass blocks UV please? Go and have a look at a few decent UV light sources, such as the tubes in a tanning bed or some scientific or industrial strength devices. They're made of glass.

Do not, under any circumstances, rely on glass to protect your eyes, skin, or even varnished woodwork form UV light unless it has been specifically treated to reduce or block it. That is advice given to me by the doctor who used to check my eyesight every six months because I worked with lasers, UV and such devices. He also said the Sun was at least as dangerous as "those fancy gadgets you work with" because of the length of time we were exposed to it - and some of the UV sources were very powerful.

Don't confuse tinting with UV blocking either - it's possible to block almost all UV without any apparent reduction in light, so clear glass can effectively almost completely block UV with the right treatment. Conversely, tinted glass that's almost opaque can allow a hell of a lot of UV through.

The laminated glass in a car will absorb most of the UV - actually the plastic between the two sheets of glass will, and I think that safety glass blocks a lot as well - if it doesn't it would be treated as there are standards for this.

Just about any UV will give you a sun-tan or worse - the real risk of cancer is believed to be caused by UV-B and the absorption factor of glass for the short-wave UV-B is much higher. You'll be safer behind untreated glass but not 100% safe, especially where the eyes are concerned. In fact you'd probably be safer behind most plastics than untreated glass.


(UV-A is the long wave UV, B is shorter and UV-C is the shortest wavelength of light classed as UV).
 
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