In this thread sunglasses expert** Really Not All That Bright **was kind enough to answer some questions about the relative quality and technical aspects of various brands of sunglasses. Since the thread is 4 years old I didn’t want to pull up a zombie thread cause it gives the mods a fierce case of prickly heat rash so I am starting a new one.
I was wondering if he, or another sunglasses expert, would be so kind as to give their opinion re some of the brands listed in Campmor.I am specifically interested in the Smith, Costa Del Mar, Serengeti, and Kaenon brands.
I can’t comment on most of those brands, but I can tell you, as a 20-year optician, I really love Serengeti sunglasses. The “driver” lens color provides awesome clarity, especially on hazy days. They are available with glass or polycarbonate lenses, and polarized or not. They are also photochromic, and will darken on brighter days. I actually like the glass lenses for their non-scratchiness, but active people should definitely wear the safer poly lenses. For my uses, the glass lenses were fine, as stuff rarely comes flying at my eyes. I can no longer wear them, as my tolerance for contact lenses is gone, and I’m opposed to the cost of true Serengeti Rx lenses.
Woah! I didn’t know there was another optician on the boards. Awesome!
I must also second 'CoolName’s suggestion of Serengeti sunglasses. Their photochromic and polarized coats have long been one of the best in the business. Definitely go polarized whatever you do, (unless you are a pilot), and I prefer metal frames with nose pads as opposed to plastic frames with no nose pads. The plastic ones seem to slide down a lot more, and are harder to fit. However, if you spend a lot of times wearing your glasses on the top of your head, they might get caught in your hair.
CoolName, have you checked out Younger Optics new Drivewear lens? I have several pair and like them allllllmost as much as I like my Rx Serengeti lenses, and their cost is much much cheaper. They are also photochromic (Transitions brand) and polarized. Their amber color is near that of Serengeti and they come in both CR-39 and Poly now…
Try the drivewear lenses I suggested to 'CoolName above. The cost is much less that of Serengeti’s and you can get them in a wide variety of Rx including bifocals!
(1) I’m not a “sunglass consultant” anymore - not that the industry has exactly taken a quantum leap in the last two years, of course.
(2) Photochromic lenses are great for outdoor wear, and so on, but what many people (including opticians) don’t realize is that virtually all auto glass blocks most UV, so your fancy-schmancy photochromic lenses will remain in their lightened state while you’re driving.
I’ll be back in a little while with more of a response to your actual questions.
Smith: Known for their interchangeable lens kits. They’re pretty good value for the money, but unless you have some use for a yellow or clear plano lens (shooting, riding a motorcycle, etc.) why bother?
Costa Del Mar: Great glass lenses, horrible polycarbonate ones. Their glass lenses are the most durable I’ve ever seen, and it’s not even close*. The downside is they’re quite heavy, so make sure you try a pair on and keep them on for a few minutes before buying. They only offered the glass lenses in conventional plastic frames, last I checked, so bear that in mind, because their polycarbonate lenses are awful.
Serengeti: Great sunglasses, bad marketing. As I noted above, photochromic lenses are essentially fixed-tint when you’re in a car, and Serengeti’s shtick is that they’re the sunglasses for drivers. Don’t like their polycarbonate lenses either - the 8 base and above (heavily curved) polycarbonate lenses have funky (wavy) optics.
Kaenon: I don’t know much about Kaenon - they tend to be sold in odd places like golf pro shops and outdoor equipment stores. I know some climbers who swear by them, and they offer darker tints than most manufacturers**.
*Lens materials are all about tradeoffs. You see better through glass lenses, but they’re heavy. Also, glass lenses can chip or shatter if something hits them, while polycarbonate lenses won’t under almost any circumstances, but scratch more easily. The reason I was so impressed by CDM’s glass lenses was that I actually tried breaking a pair (did this with every new brand that came in to the store - the things I do for you people) and their glass lens was the only one I ever found that I couldn’t shatter without using a hammer. I’m not a fan of CR-39 lenses under any circumstances - it scratches more easily than glass and doesn’t have the impact resistance of polycarbonate - but it’s what most prescription lenses are made of.
**Generally, the darkest sunglass lenses available from any given manufacturer offer 8-10% transmission, meaning they block 92-100% of the light striking the lens. Kaenon lenses go down to something like 5%, which is kinda useless for everday wear but very handy on snow or ice.
One last tip: even the shitty sunglasses on the counter in a gas station will block 99% or more of UVA and B. The money is in the optics, not in the UV protection. With that in mind, if you’re going to be outdoors a lot buy the biggest glasses you’re comfortable in, because no sunglass lens is going to block the UV or visible light coming in from above, below or the sides.
AquaPura**, I have indeed indulged in Drivewear, and yes, I agree with you on their awesomeness. I have (had? one is hiding) 2 pairs, one for each car. I get an amazing discount where I work, and currently have 15 functioning pairs of Rx glasses. Frame #16 will be a lilac zyl Deisel frame with funky cutout. Can’t wait til they arrive!
I highly recommend the “backside antireflective” treatment for prescription sunglasses. I hate seeing my own eyes in my lenses.
I’m also fairly educated on contact lens stuff, being the person who does all the contact lens related business for the practice. And, just to make it fun, I spend 95% of my time putting people INTO glasses and contacts, and 5% of my time talking to people about LASIK, as I was drafted into the refractive surgery team a few years ago.
Can you tell me a little bit about polarized sunglasses? Are the cheap $15 dollar one’s as good as the $200 glasses? They definitely do help you see through the glare and give good contrast the lake’s floor.
flyboy, polarized lenses are better because they act like optical venetian blinds, blocking blinding glare from surfaces. Ask an avid fisherman if his sunglasses are polarized. He should say “yes”. I like polarized lenses best after a snowstorm, when the sun is beating on the snow and making my retinas scream. If you spend any time near water, you’ll want a pair.
I’ve met a few people who don’t like polarized lenses. I’ve experienced what seemed like “hyper3D” vision with a pair once, and the ex refused to wear those lenses while on his motorcycle. Other pairs with polarized lenses were fine, but trees had an almost cartoon-like appearance through that one pair, and I can’t for the life of me remember what brand they were. He had a nice collection of sunglasses from our courtship and marriage, because I didn’t want him putting crappy lenses in front of his eyes.
I’ll be happy to check in on this thread regularly, but I think my colleagues here are well-versed, and will likely get to answer questions before I get a chance to.
Just a note on photochromics: glass photochromic lenses will get darker behind the windshield of your car, as will Drivewear lenses (but they are a whole different animal, and are never clear). Transitions (plastic or poly) will not, because as Really Not All That Bright pointed out, they require UV rays. Glass lenses do not require UV, just brightness. ALSO, all photochromic lenses are temperature sensitive, and will be darker on cold bright days than on warm days. I have a patient who lives in Israel, and he insists that his Transitions lenses are useless there most of the year.
Yep, as an avid fisherman, I can tell you they are the best thing in the world. I will never wear non-polarized sunglasses. Even when looking at scenery, the way things pop out is amazing.
As an optician, I prefer a more expensive pair of sunglasses, for optical clarity. Any sunglass is better than no sunglasses, but as everyone I’ve spoiled can tell you, once you’ve owned optical quality sunglasses, you won’t tolerate cheap ones ever again. My son got his first pair of RayBans before his 5th birthday.
There are lots of people who will tell you the cheap ones are just as good. They probably never had an expensive pair. The cost of high-end sunglasses is due to the fact that they are made to the same specs as prescription eyewear. My opinion? Worth EVERY penny! However, you will very often find that crazy-expensive brand names (like Coach, or Ed Hardy) will be good, but not Serengeti-good. I have a pair of Ed Hardy sunglasses, and if I wear them at all, it’s as a fashion statement. They are NOT my “go to” sunglasses for actually being outdoors.
Current significant other was gobsmacked when I told him the retail price of his shiny new polarized RayBans. He was offended. Then he wore them…to the lake. He likes me even better now
I’m going to subscribe to this thread, if for no other reason than I have been wearing the same pair of Ray-Ban Aviators for the last 33 years, and it may be time for a new pair.
I’ve tried Costa Del Mar, Maui Jim and H3O sunglasses. Loved the CDMs and the H3Os but the Maui Jims were a bit lame. Right now, I have two pairs of $15 dollar sunglasses. Only reason is because the booths in the Fred Hall Show (a fishing convention) stopped carrying the high end glasses for whatever reason. I haven’t figured out exactly which high end sunglass to get though.
Just a quick note on polarized versus non-polarized sunglasses.
Usually I prefer polarized but I just got an RX pair and specified non-polarized. The top of the lens is no correction (I wear them over my contacts) and the bottom allows me to see the dash board of my motor home.
Why non-polarized?
Because for some unknown reason the polarizing layers in the three LCD displays that I need to look at are not all polarized at the same angle.
So I have to keep tipping my head back and forth.
It’s one thing when the gas station displays are polarized wrong and I have to remove my sunglasses to read them but another when looking at the dash.
It would be great if everyone would use the same polarization angle.
Anyone have an opinion on Suncloud Optics? Generally I tend to research new gadgets exhaustively, but these were impulse buys at REI, the main criterion for my selection being “they felt okay.”
For much of my youth I eschewed sunglasses as uncomfortable. Finally started wearing them on long drives in my late 20’s/early 30’s and gradually have started to use them more and more. But I was always a $8.99 7-11 sunglass consumer. This is the first time I’ve spent close to 50 bucks on a pair of eyewear - I finally decided I should get something halfway decent if I was going to continue to wear them more often.
Are they considered decent? Middle-of-the-road? Overpriced crap? I’m not really getting tons of realistic feedback from the web from my so far very cursory search ( though I may be looking in the wrong places ).
And I thought my 15-year-old Serengetis might be out of style.
I used to lose sunglasses all the time. Then I decided it was worth getting a nice pair and having a place to keep them. They’re in the little cubby in the dashboard of my car.
