You step out into the bright sunlight wearing your favorite pair of polarized sunglasses. However, the world outside of your sunglasses do not look correct. Your sunglasses may look dark in certain areas, or it may feel like the lenses of your sunglasses are hazy.
The crisp vision that you have come to expect from your high-quality pair of polarized sunglasses are not being delivered to you. While the price of your sunglasses might be the cause of the incorrect vision that you are seeing outside of your lenses, it is much more likely that the lenses was made with issues that contribute to your incorrect vision. Polarized sunglasses work by blocking the horizontal light waves from entering your eyes.
Because horizontal light waves are the ones that typically cause glare on roads and water, blocking those light waves should make it easier for you to see the world around you. With a pair of properly function polarized sunglasses, your vision should be dramatically improved. However, there are a variety of reasons that the sunglasses that you are wearing do not work as well as you have to expect from them.
Many people who wear sunglasses will experience one or more of the vision problems that follow. Understanding these vision problems and their causes will allow you to both diagnose any issues with your current sunglasses, as well as to make informed decisions about purchasing a new pair in the future. The first issue that you may notice with a pair of sunglasses is that the polarization within the lenses of the sunglasses is not even across the lenses.
Common Problems With Polarized Sunglasses
1. Uneven Polarization
As you turn your head or your eyes within the lenses, the darkness of the lenses within your sunglasses will shift in patches. This is typically caused by applying the polarizing film in an uneven manner during the manufacturing of the sunglasses, or the lenses being cut at the incorrect angle during the manufacturing process. This uneven polarization within the lenses will cause your vision to appear unsteadily when wearing these sunglasses.
After twenty minutes of wearing a pair of sunglasses with this issue, you will experience strain in your eyes. This issue is more common in lenses that are curved. When the lenses of sunglasses are curved, such as wraparound sunglasses, the polarization within the lenses can become distorted near the lenses of the sunglasses.
One means of testing for this issue is to look at a reflective surface, such as a car hood, while slowly rotating the sunglasses. If the darkness within the lenses flickers while rotating the sunglasses, then the lenses of the sunglasses were not manufactured with proper alignment of the lenses. People who try on sunglasses while in a store that is dimly lit often miss this part of sunglasses.
A solution to this problem is to purchase sunglasses from manufacturers that cut the lenses directly from sheets of pre-polarized sunglasses. The lenses of these sunglasses will then be oriented vertically for each eye rather than being mass stamped in one single manufacturing process.
2. Lenses That Are Too Dark
Another common issue with sunglasses is that their lenses are too dark for the wearer’s environment.
Polarized sunglasses are often made for those who spend time on the water or those who live at high altitudes. However, these sunglasses are often purchased and used for much more ordinary environments. For example, one may feel as if they are wearing welding goggles while shopping for products at the grocery store.
Because of the darkness of these lenses, the wearer cannot adjust their pupils’ dilation between bright and dark areas, which can create a feeling of blinding light after a period of time within sunglasses. This problem is common with cheap imports of sunglasses. The cheap sunglasses will contain a single, heavy tint to the lenses that is combined with the polarizing layer.
Because the wearer’s pupils cannot sufficiently dilate to adjust from bright light to dark areas, this can create a feeling of blinding light after only a short period of time. A better alternative is to use lenses that are of a medium gray or amber base. These lens bases will allow for the sunglasses to block the glare from reflected light while still allowing the wearer to see clearly and without the vision becoming muddy in color.
Fishing guides often prefer these sunglasses to the darkest base lenses because they allow the wearer to see fish clearly while on the water.
3. Peripheral Vision Distortion
Another problem with sunglasses is that the lenses of those sunglasses exhibit distortion in the peripheral vision of the wearer. If you look sideways while wearing a pair of sunglasses that exhibit this problem, the lines that should be straight in your vision will appear bent.
The inexpensive material of the lenses causes this distortion of the lenses. The cheap lenses were ground incorrectly during the manufacturing process of the sunglasses. This problem is caused by the polarization layer of the lenses.
If there are any slight curves to the lenses of the sunglasses, the polarization will appear to be curved to the wearer’s vision. Cheap plastic lenses are most often the cause of this issue. The lenses of sunglasses are stamped in the manufacturing facility in such a way that it allows those manufacturers to produce a low cost pair of sunglasses.
However, the plastic is curved in an inconsistent manner which can distort the wearer’s vision when looking at objects that are not directly in his or her line of sight. A better alternative to plastic lenses are lenses made of either glass or polycarbonate. The cost of these lenses is higher than plastic lenses, but individuals that wear sunglasses for more than one hour each day will find that a clear peripheral vision of the wearer is worth the additional cost of those lenses.
If your lenses have a clear periphery, you will not have to unconsciously tilt the head of your body when you are wearing these sunglasses.
4. Color Shift
Color shift in sunglasses is another issue for which many individuals complain. Individuals report that the lenses of their sunglasses can turn the world a brownish purple color.
Additionally, some individuals with these sunglasses report that all of the red colors in the world are eliminated by the lenses, making it difficult to see stop signs. The reason that these colors are eliminated by the lenses is due to the chemical compounds within the polarizing filter interacting poorly with the tint of the sunglasses. While color shift in sunglasses is not common in lenses of ordinary sunglasses, it is common in lenses of blue sunglasses.
Those who purchase sunglasses with a blue lens often have an interest in fashion. The blue tint of the lens and the polarizing filter counteract each other in such a way that certain colors of light are eliminated from the vision of the wearer. This problem becomes an issue for weekend warriors who opt for sunglasses as a fashion accessory while on vacation.
Instead of blue sunglasses, wear sunglasses with a medium gray or copper tint. These colors will exhibit the same counteraction to glare from reflected light while still allowing the wearer’s eyes to correctly interpret the scenes that are before them in their environment.
5. Fogging Lenses
Fogging within sunglasses is another issue that many people experience, and fogging is more common within polarized sunglasses than in non-polarized sunglasses.
When you exit an air-conditioned vehicle on a hot sunny day, the lenses of your sunglasses may immediately become fogged over. Fogging is not caused by the polarization of the lenses of sunglasses. However, budget sunglasses do not have proper ventilation behind the lenses that allow moisture to escape from the lenses.
Because the sunglasses do not have proper ventilation, the moisture in the lenses has no place to go. This issue is most common when the wearer is engaged in some form of physical activity while wearing the sunglasses. One solution to fogging lenses is to purchase sunglasses with adjustable nose pads or sunglasses with tiny vents near the sunglasses.
These small differences in the design of sunglasses will make a difference in the comfort of the wearer while wearing sunglasses. If you do not purchase sunglasses with these features, you will spend half of your time wiping the lenses of your sunglasses while wearing them.
6. Lens Scratches
Scratches on the lenses of sunglasses is another issue that many individuals experience after only one season of wearing their sunglasses.
The lenses of sunglasses are typically treated with a hard coating that protects the wearer from creating scratches on their lenses. However, not all sunglasses are treated with the same quality of protective lens coatings. If a wearer of sunglasses should catch a grain of sand in the microfiber cloth with which they clean their sunglasses, they could potentially scratch the lenses of their sunglasses.
Once these lenses are scratched, the glare can get through the scratch in the lens, causing the wearer to experience glare while wearing their sunglasses. To prevent this problem, wear sunglasses only when they are in your face. Store your sunglasses in a case when they are not being worn. Clean the lenses with the approved solutions by the manufacturer. Never place the lenses of your sunglasses down on a dashboard while wearing them. This small habit will double the length of time during which your sunglasses will last.
Those who do not incorporate this small habit into their routine will find themselves replacing the lenses of their sunglasses each year rather than every five years.
7. Excessively Strong Polarization
Finally, another issue with sunglasses is that the lenses often polarize too strong. For fishermen with high-end sunglasses, the screens on their fish finders often cannot be seen through the sunglasses.
The same polarization that eliminates the glare from the water also eliminates the glare from the screens on their phones or fish finders. This issue is not a problem for those who fish but is one that can cause disappointment for those who wear sunglasses for a variety of tasks each day. For those who drive or who fish, these sunglasses are perfect.
However, they are too strong for those who use their sunglasses for tasks that involve the screens of their phones, computers, and other technological devices. If strong polarization is needed for one task, such as driving, but the wearer also uses the sunglasses for tasks that involve technology, a better alternative is to wear sunglasses with switchable lenses. Understanding this issue will prevent the disappointment of purchasing a pair of expensive sunglasses that fight with the other half of your daily gear.
The right pair of polarized sunglasses will make the world around you safer, sharper and more comfortable. With sunglasses with the appropriate polarization strength and features, you will be able to focus on the things that matter to you. Whether you care most about fishing or driving, the world will be a safer place with the right pair of sunglasses for you.
When you understand the problems that many individuals experience with sunglasses, you will avoid purchasing the wrong model of sunglasses. Your next pair of sunglasses will be an upgrade to your previous model instead of another half-compromise on vision.