Glare is caused by a difference in brightness between whatever you want to look at and the bright sunlight reflected off the surfaces around you. If you enjoy water activities like fishing, surfing, or boating, you know how tiring glare from the water’s surface can be on your eyes.
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Glare also reduces visibility by causing pupils to constrict and by cutting contrast due to scattered light. Indoor glare from computer screens can be reduced with anti-reflective lens treatment. Outdoor glare, however, can be effectively combated with polarized lenses. Polarized lenses may be lightly or darkly tinted, because polarization is a separate phenomenon from lens tinting. That means that several types of glare-reducing polarized sunglasses are available to suit different needs.
Gray Lenses for Deep Blue Water and Long Hours of Usage
If you’re going to be out on the water all day, your best bet is polarized gray lenses. This type of lens is also perfect for deep blue water, blocking glare, and allowing you to see into the water better. If you have a beach vacation coming up or enjoy spending Saturdays on the lake, you can’t go wrong with a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers in a Matte Black frame with Grey polarized lenses. Rihanna’s wearing a pair in the picture above. They do the job and look great on just about everyone, plus they’re perfect for driving to and from work in the sunny summer months.
Amber, Copper, and Brown Lenses for Shallow Water
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The great thing about the amber-copper-brown spectrum of lenses is that they provide excellent contrast with minimal color distortion. They’re also just right if you spend time on or in shallow water. This color lens is important when you need to block high intensity UV and blue light, and they’re great for filtering out the bright haze that many regions experience in summer. Choose amber, copper, or brown lenses when you need good acuity and contrast, like when you plan to take your kayak out on a shallow wetlands or streams. A terrific style to consider would be Oakley Frogskins Polished Root Beer frames with Bronze polarized lenses, like those seen on Zac Efron, above.
Rose and Yellow for Low Light Conditions
For the most part, rose or yellow colored lenses are best for low light conditions, such as early morning light. They tend to make everything seem brighter, so they’re not great in full sunlight. But if you go fishing at daybreak, rose or yellow polarized lenses are great at cutting glare without darkening your field of vision overall. Costa Del Mar makes a terrific style called Blackfin that’s available in a black frame with “Sunrise” yellow polarized lenses that are perfect for being on the water early or late in the day.
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