10. Yours are uncomfortable. There seems to be a perception that austere sunglasses frames are good frames. Look for some comfort factors: nonslip rubber inserts at the temple ends and in the nose piece; lightweight frames (big fashion pieces are absurdly heavy); adjustable nose pieces. Why should YOU have to adjust to the sunglasses? It should be the other way around.
9. Your current ones are too dark. If you bought cheapies at a discount store, they might be too dark. Your pupils are fighting to open widely enough for you to see-which is really bad if they don’t provide 100% UV protection. Because as your pupils crank open, they invite the bad rays in with the good.
8. Your current ones are too light. If you bought a delicate fashion tint as a cosmetic statement, it’s probably too light. It might transmit 50% or more of visible light, and will cause you to squint and strain in bright sunlight. That’s a situation that can lead to permanent wrinkles and hamper your night vision.
7. You’re wearing the wrong shades for the job. Example: If the “job” is outdoor sports, you shouldn’t wear nice glass fashion lenses. They don’t wrap enough to provide peripheral protection, and an impact could shatter them and damage your eyes.
6. You lost your good ones. Bummer. Two suggestions: 1.) Buy even better ones this time. Just as you’re more likely to lose a Timex than a Rolex, you’re more likely to lose bargain shades than a good pair of Maui Jims. 2.) Croakies.
5. Yours are scratched. Plastic lenses, especially cheap plastic lenses, are delicate. They scratch easily, and looking through scratchy sunglasses causes your eyes to strain. Better plastic lenses made of polycarbonate, NXT, or SR-39 (Kaenon’s proprietary material) are coated to resist scratching. But they can still get scratched. Replace your pitted shades with crisp new optics and the world will seem a better place.
4. Yours aren’t polarized. If you’re ever around glare coming off water or ice or even a long ribbon of highway, you want the soothing sensation of wearing polarized sunglasses. Polarization acts likes mini blinds within your sunglasses to cut glare and give your eyes a well-needed rest. Naturally, there’s cheap polarization (basically, glued onto the lenses where it easily scratches off) and good polarization, which uses high-quality film embedded into the lenses.
3. You’re obsessed with fashion. Nothing wrong with that. But if you’re paying $350 for sunglasses from a maker of Italian handbags, you’re paying way too much for truly awful visual acuity. Buy instead from a company that makes (duh) sunglasses, like Maui Jim, Kaenon, Costa Del Mar, Oakley, Hobie…. They all have great fashion shades that are as pleasurable to look through as to look at.
2. You look ridiculous. Still wearing slivery little shades from three years ago? Outré. Or are you wearing grotesquely oversized, cringeworthy designer (or faux-designer) shades with dipsy-doodle temples, rhinestones, and leopard-print frames with bright gold logos? A good way to end up on some snarky blog post. As with clothing, price tags and good taste don’t necessarily tango.
And the No. 1 reason why you need new sunglasses is:
1. Your current ones just plain suck. You smugly congratulated yourself on finding $20 sunglasses that look as good as $200 ones. But do you honestly think that the cheapo manufacturer does the lab work, conducts the R&D, and goes to the expense of buying the best materials to provide optical acuity in their shades? No way. Bad sunglasses are far worse than placebo medicine, because in giving you the illusion of protection, they’re actually causing strain and damage to your eyes.
Robert Earle Howells is a veteran journalist who established to become the Web’s most thorough and accurate resource for information about sunglasses. He brings an unbiased eye and an entertaining voice to the endeavor.