If you have ever heard of the brand Polaroid, and you remember the portable cameras that allowed you to instantly take a photo and develop a print (images of wafting the image in the air until it processes and dries come to mind), then you may know that Polaroid also produces sunglasses that feature a polarised lens technology. These are often mistakenly claimed to be one and the same but nothing can be further from the truth when it comes to a premium, market leading polarised eyewear lens.
Nearly all sunglasses manufacturers produce a polarised version in their range, the costs involved are higher as this technology is more expensive to produce than a standard lens with UV filtering properties but the advantages are huge. First a polarised lens actually filters a large percentage of reflective glare, this is the single most important benefit associated with a polarised lens. Reflective light, such as sunlight bouncing from the surface of water straight into your eyes, is impossible for a non-polarised lens to filter. Even expensive sunglasses that are not polarised are unable to filter reflective glare, thus meaning the wearer will squint around reflective surfaces during bright sunny days. If your sunglasses have 100% UV filters then your eyes will still be protected against all UV damage, even from reflective light, however reflective harsh light will still blast through the lens causing you to squint.
This is why it is important to consider spending more on your sunglasses and upgrading to a polarised lens. For brands such as Oakley and Ray-Ban, a polarised lens is more expensive, brands such as Maui Jim have polarised lenses as standard. Other benefits when buying quality polarised sunglasses are plentiful, a good example are Maui Jim H407-02 Hookipa sunglasses, these polarised sunglasses come with a plethora of features including anti-scratch coating, anti-reflective coating on the inside of the lens to stop light from behind blinding you and even a special waterproofing surface to repel water and oils. These benefits do not sound great on face value but image being on a beach with the sun behind you as you try and read, the anti reflective lens on the inside of the lens stops you from squinting, the special waterproofing coating means any sun-tan oil that gets on your lens will simply wipe off without the use of chemical cleaners and the polarised lens will cut all the reflective glare from the sand and sea.
Furthermore, Ho’okipa H407-02 sunglasses come with a new lens material that allows colours to be bolder and brighter, something that usually never happens with grey based lenses as typically a grey based lens flattens and dulls colours instead of lifting the light.
Think long and hard when buying sunglasses, a polarised lens will make a world of difference to your vision, cut down on headaches and increase concentration as your eyes relax more than they would behind non-polarised lenses.