The Top Factors to Consider When Buying Sunglasses

A quality pair of sunglasses does more than just add a cool factor to your look. Sunglasses play a vital role in preserving your eye health and ensuring clear vision. In this blog we explore the essential factors to consider when choosing your next pair of sunglasses.

Sunglasses for Different Activities

First things first: not all sunglasses are created equal. Different shades are designed for various activities. Consider your lifestyle and pick a pair designed for your favourite activities.

• Casual Activities: Choose a comfortable, stylish pair with good UV protection and glare reduction for everyday wear.
  

• Fashionable Sunglasses: Make a statement! Bigger, bolder frames can add flair to your outfit, but ensure they still offer UV protection.
  

• Sports Sunglasses: For activities like running, cycling, or playing beach volleyball, wraparound sunglasses with secure fit and shatterproof lenses are ideal. They'll stay put during movement and protect your eyes from wind, dust, and debris.
  

• Driving Sunglasses: Opt for polarized lenses to minimize glare from the road and oncoming headlights. Yellow or amber-tinted lenses can also enhance contrast and improve visibility in low-light conditions.

For those who wear corrective lenses, sunglasses with prescription lenses are a must. Don't squint through your summer adventures! Sunglasses with prescription lenses are available with UV protection and customizable features.

Sunglasses Frame and Lens Materials

Weight, durability, and style are all influenced by the frame material. Here are some popular choices:

• Metal frames are lightweight and strong but may be more costly and unsuitable for high-impact activities.
  

• Plastic frames are affordable, lightweight, and available in various colours and styles. However, they can be less durable than other materials.
  

• Nylon frames are strong, flexible, and lightweight, making them a good choice for active individuals.
  

• While glass lenses offer the highest level of optical clarity, they also the heaviest and most susceptible to shattering so are not advisable for high impact sports or activities.

UV Protection

When choosing sunglasses, UV protection is non-negotiable, as the sun’s ultraviolet rays can permanently damage your eyes. Look for sunglasses that have 100% UVA and UVB protection and will block UV wavelengths of up to 400 nanometres.

Don’t be fooled by dark or mirrored lenses; they don’t necessarily provide UV protection. Dark lenses without UV protection are even more dangerous than wearing no sunglasses at all because the low light will cause your pupils to dilate, allowing more UV rays to enter your eyes. The darkness of the tint does not indicate how much UV protection a lens has. In fact, clear lenses can have 100% UVA and UVB protection if they are the right material and/or have the right coating. 

Finding the Right Fit for Sunglasses

Your sunglasses should fit properly - not too loose or too tight. The lenses should not touch your eyelashes. You want to minimize the amount of UV light entering your eyes, so choose sunglasses that are the right size to shield them from the sun. Oversized shades will cover your face more, providing better skin and eye protection. The most beneficial option is a wrap-around pair, which will protect your eyes from the front and sides.

Lens Coatings

Multiple lens coatings can enhance your sunglasses.

• An anti-reflective coating minimizes glare from the lens back, enhancing clarity and reducing eye strain.

• Your lenses are protected against everyday wear and tear with a scratch-resistant coating.

• A hydrophobic coating repels water and sweat from your lenses, ensuring clear vision during activities or wet conditions.

Lens Materials

The most common lens materials are:

• Polycarbonate: Lightweight, impact-resistant, and affordable. An excellent choice for active lifestyles.
  

• Trivex: Featuring excellent optical clarity, it is even lighter and more impact-resistant than polycarbonate.
  

• CR-39 (plastic): A plastic lens material that offers great clarity and UV protection at a reasonable cost.
  

• High-index plastic: a lighter, thinner plastic that has better scratch resistance than polycarbonate but is not as impact resistant.

Colour and Tint

Different lens colours and tints can also affect your vision. Grey-tinted glasses will reduce overall brightness with little colour distortion, while amber-tinted glasses can enhance depth perception in low-light situations. Mirrored lenses work well to decrease the amount of light that enters your eyes. Gradient lenses are darker on the top than the bottom, and can be advantageous for driving and everyday use, but won’t work well at the beach, on a boat or while skiing.

Quality

Check the quality of the lenses by holding them at arm’s length. Look through the lenses at something straight in the distance, such as a door or window frame. Then, move the glasses horizontally and vertically. If the straight edge of the door frame distorts, curves or sways, the lenses are of poor quality.

Polarization

Polarization is different from UV protection. Polarized lenses offer increased protection from the glare off surfaces such as water or snow. Polarized lenses are beneficial for driving, boating, fishing, and winter activities.  However they can affect your ability to see digital displays so they are not indicated for certain things such as piloting an airplane.  

Get Designer Sunglasses and Prescription Sunglasses in Edmonton

At Optometrists Clinic Inc., your family’s eye health is our number one priority. In addition to regular and prescription sunglasses, we sell a wide array of eye-care products to keep your eyes healthy and vision clear. Contact us today to schedule an eye exam, or visit one of locations in Edmonton, Leduc or Westlock to try on your next pair of shades.