sailing sunglasses

Birdseye

Birdseye

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Dismal visit to the opticians this morning - I have some dry macular degeneration and early stage cataracts in one eye. Strong recommendation to use sunglasses with a UV 400 filter when out sailing and the young man dealing with me, sniffing commission maybe, got out the Maui Jim brochure. £200 a pop to sit on / lose / break! And to a Yorkshireman used to buying sunglasses for £5 at the local market ............

So what do others do? What make of serious sunglasses , optically serious that is not a fashion statement, do you use? Where do I get them cheap. And how do you avoid sitting on them / losing them overboard etc?
 
birdseye said:
And how do you avoid sitting on them / losing them overboard etc?
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That bit's easy. You pay £200 for them. Then you're so paranoid about them that they never come off.

Personally I wear Oakleys. Polarized for sailing. Not cheap (though not £200) but I only have one pair of eyes so I intend to look after them.
 
Most recent extravagance are my 'Costa' sunnys. American from the internet, very robust and perfect for on-water use. I've had loads of Mauis but I actually find them a little too lightweight. Now here's where it gets exciting - I have about a dozen pairs of 'girls' fashion glasses, all dirt cheap but they have really big old fashioned/classic round 1970's lenses. Cool. These are my Sophia Loren's glasses, I love 'em.
 
I paid about £40 for my current polarisers. They are by Gill and float, which is of little use to an owner that usually leaves his glasses in shops, by the roadside, anywhere he stops to take a photo or anywhere else he is unlikely to revisit. They are supposed to be U/V protective, but I don't know to what extent.
 
I wholeheartedly support your optician; buy MJ's.

I'm a tightwad too, but when it comes to eye protection, no expense spared. £200 or even £2,000 is nowt when it comes to protecting your eyes. I have three pairs of MJ's on board; worth every penny.

I am sure that other quality brand sunnies are just as good as MJ's - my message is - this is no place to skimp; buy the best you can possibly afford.

Rob
 
I've been very happy with Gill Classic sunglasses - polarised, UV400 protection, lightweight, and they float. Good wrapround frames give reasonable wind protection too. I have another pair in the car for driving.

http://www.gillmarine.com/gb/sailing-accessories/sailing-sunglasses/classic-sunglasses.html

Gill-9473-Classic-Silver-A2.jpg
 
Robih said:
I'm a tightwad too, but when it comes to eye protection, no expense spared. £200 or even £2,000 is nowt when it comes to protecting your eyes.
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But the polarised lenses in my £40 Gill glasses are made by Polaroid and block 100% of UVA and UVB light. What extra "protection" do Maui Jims offer?
 
I have been very happy with my last couple of pairs of Gill sailing sunglasses, the lenses are great and for the money (£35-40) they are cheap enough that if they do get lost it's not the end of the world.

I expect there are more fashionable (and expensive) options but I find the gills are excellent. I'll admit I do have a more expensive pair of sunnies for ashore and driving.
 
pvb said:
But the polarised lenses in my £40 Gill glasses are made by Polaroid and block 100% of UVA and UVB light. What extra "protection" do Maui Jims offer?
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Exactly. Have had Oakleys, now have £40 polarised and don't see the difference. Polarised lenses are easy to test...hold one lens at a rightangle to t'other and everything should go black.
 
pvb said:
But the polarised lenses in my £40 Gill glasses are made by Polaroid and block 100% of UVA and UVB light. What extra "protection" do Maui Jims offer?
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I have absolutely no idea; I am not an optician. As I said, I am sure that other quality sunnies are just as good as MJ's - however having now spent too many days in the eye clinic in various hospitals (Iritis) I have observed that since I binned the £5 cheapies and started buying quality sunnies the incidence and severity of my Iritis attacks are much lessened. Personally I have found MJ's to be excellent and therefore I commonly recommend the product, its as simple as that.

Also, just for interest, I am now convinced after twenty years with Iritis that it is the very intense light conditions of spring/early summer boating that trigger an Iritis incidence. And once one has suffered Iritis if its only a matter of spending £200 to mitigate the effects then £200 is quickly spent.
 
I wear Oakleys with prescription lenses, and always with a neck strap. I used to have a neck strap that had floats on it that I got in Florida, but these days I make do with a Musto one.
 
Dirty Dog from Australia are good value and do polarised lenses. My wife has a perscription set as well.
 
Quiddle said:
Exactly. Have had Oakleys, now have £40 polarised and don't see the difference. Polarised lenses are easy to test...hold one lens at a rightangle to t'other and everything should go black.
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I suspect there will be the fashion mark up ('natch) but I also suspect the MJ's will have better quality lenses (ie.not scratch so easily etc), perhaps better frames..... I had a pair of RayBan's once and you could tell the difference between them and the cheap(er) ones I normally wear, even when the UV coverage was the same... bottom line, a Fiat 500 will get you from A to B, so will a Ferrari, but people rarely ask why there is a difference in price..... :D
 
Georgio said:
I have been very happy with my last couple of pairs of Gill sailing sunglasses, the lenses are great and for the money (£35-40) they are cheap enough that if they do get lost it's not the end of the world.

I expect there are more fashionable (and expensive) options but I find the gills are excellent. I'll admit I do have a more expensive pair of sunnies for ashore and driving.
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+1 for Gill. I have worn them for years and will happily swim in them and they also stay on my head despite some spectacular wipe-outs when dinghy sailing. The only downside is when looking at LCD displays.
 
Robih said:
I wholeheartedly support your optician; buy MJ's.

I'm a tightwad too, but when it comes to eye protection, no expense spared. £200 or even £2,000 is nowt when it comes to protecting your eyes. I have three pairs of MJ's on board; worth every penny.

I am sure that other quality brand sunnies are just as good as MJ's - my message is - this is no place to skimp; buy the best you can possibly afford.

Rob
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Have to agree 100% there. Perhaps the OP should think about how much his eyesight is worth rather than worrying about conforming to the Yorkshire stereotype! :cool:
 
pvb said:
But the polarised lenses in my £40 Gill glasses are made by Polaroid and block 100% of UVA and UVB light. What extra "protection" do Maui Jims offer?
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Very little by way of protection but the quality of the lense is likely to be better with less distortion especially around the peripheries. If you're not inclined to notice things like that then you needn't worry.
 
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