Sports

Sport Sunglasses: A Comprehensive Guide to Finding the Perfect Pair for Your Sport

Sunglasses are a must-have for any outdoor game or sport. Simple precautions can avoid approximately 90% of sports-related eye injuries. But not just any pair will work. You require sunglasses specifically designed for sports. They have features to help you see better, be safer, and handle the demands of activities. This guide explains what makes sport sunglasses special. It also helps you shop for the perfect pair to improve your play!

Frames Made for Sports Performance

Great sports sunglasses start with frame designs for athletes’ needs.

1. Fits to Cover and Stay in Place

When shopping for sports sunglasses, brands like Oakley Craft Frames are customized for different activities. Their Oakley sport sunglasses range offers models designed specifically with fishing, biking, and other active pastimes in mind.

Fishing frames from the Oakley sport sunglasses line shield from overhead sunlight but let you freely watch your line. The taller bridge blocks glare without getting in the way. Partly rimless bottoms give clear downward views to spot fish below.

Curved ends, adjustable pads, and flexible yet sturdy frames on Oakley Sport sunglasses for biking complement the forward-leaning posture while riding. Oakley studies the optimal frame shapes and grip positions to ensure they stay in place during challenging rides.

2. Special Coatings Prevent Slipping

You need frames to stay on doing energetic sports in sunlight and sweat. Brands address this with rubber pads and tips that resist sliding.

Oakley takes hold further with its stick-on Unobtainium®. This high-tech rubber grip becomes stickier when wet. Top athletes and Olympians trust Oakley’s tacky grab through hours of hard play without skin irritation.

3. Shielding From Elements

Some sports like skiing, speed skating, and biking need more coverage. So brands make taller lens shields wrapping more of the face while semi-rimless types have open sections at the bottom for airflow to avoid fogging.

Full-wrap styles excel at keeping out peripheral light from all directions causing distraction and less focus. All these customized designs meet sport-specific needs – from wind protection biking to maximum glare cutting seeing underwater catches.

4. Catering to Headgear

In many sports, the need for protective helmets or hats can affect how sunglasses fit and are positioned. Brands design adjustable nose bridges, bendable arms, and padded temples to conform securely around gear while staying comfy all-day. Removable foam inserts allow customization for gap-free coverage.

5. Facilitating Communication

Communicating clearly to teammates, coaches or competitors is key in some sports. That’s why sunglass makers offer frame-mounted auditory technology to enhance hearing while shielding the eyes. Open-ear designs let ambient sound feed in from around shades while others have built-in bone conduction microphones carrying voice via cheek vibrations.

Advanced Lenses Enhance What You See

While frames provide the base, lenses transform sunglasses into must-have gear. State-of-the-art technologies improve vision for sports by controlling light and colors.

1. Sharper Contrast and Depth

Most sports require quick decisions and sharp sight. So companies like Oakley and Smith developed special sports lenses. Oakley PrizmTM lenses amplify contrast and definition to quickly spot slopes, bumps, and objects.

Smith ChromaPopTM lenses also heighten contrast through expert color control. Both these technologies sharpen depth perception to accurately judge distances – so valuable for golf, tennis, trail runs, and more.

2. Choices for Different Light

Being able to swap photochromic, polarized, and high-definition lenses lets you adapt to various environments. Oakley Prizm React lenses automatically transition from sunny mountains to cloudy ski slopes.

Polarized lenses remove glare from water and snow. Combined with Prizm color boosting, Oakley Prizm Polarized improves seeing obstacles for stand-up paddle boarding through vibrant reef and lagoon waters.

Finally, high-definition or HD lenses like UVEX Variomatic engineered for sports heighten contrast without polarization. This comes in handy on ski trails or shaded woods where polarization can get in the way.

3. Advanced Impact Protection

Protecting eyes from hazardous collisions is vital in high-speed sports with flying balls, bats, pucks or branches. Beyond shatter-resistant materials like polycarbonate, brands offer advanced impact protection technologies.

Oakley eyeshades employ High Definition Optics to maintain visual accuracy. Injected layers of resin amplify thickness in strategic zones to withstand crashes without lens distortion. XYZ Optics precisely aligns light rays even at frame edges for true accurate vision from all angles.

Smith incorporates tapered lens geometry redirecting impact force away from the eye while still optimizing light wavelengths entering at every angle. Combined with patented aperture filtering and filtering coatings, Smith shades enhance the definition for quickly reading the game.

4. Promoting Concentration

Maintaining focus amidst distracting environments separates the pros from amateurs. Innovative lenses with mind-centering tints optimize wavelengths reaching the eye to promote the state of “quiet eye” key for top performance.

Prizm Dark Golf lenses filter excess white light that triggers mental distraction while boosting green grass and red flag colors for instant shot assessment. Prizm Low Light optimizes contrast for dawn-dusk tournaments or seeing through shadows and fader lenses dim excess bright whites without losing ball visibility.

Top Picks for Sport Sunglass – Oakley Flak 2.0 XL

Oakley rules tournaments worldwide with its featherlight yet bulletproof O-MatterTM and carbon fiber frames plus visually dialed-in PrizmTM lenses. If you’re looking to buy sunglasses, living up to Oakley’s fame for unmatched sturdy function, the Flak 2.0 XL fuses ultra-tough O-Matter with a comfortably secure fit even for bigger heads or safety gear. Here are the top sports sunglasses brands:

The stretched upper lens height permits an unblocked vertical view from forehead to cheek while patented High Definition Optics keeps the entire contour of the impact-proof Polycarbonate lens crystal clear. For customization, you can easily swap out the Prizm lens options in seconds to adapt to different lighting conditions.

FAQs on Sports Sunglasses

Q: How do I pick the right lens color for my sport?

Prioritize visibility first, considering the main environments and times you play, then factor in technologies like Prizm or Chromapop for sharper color and depth. For example, grey lenses work in all light.

Q: Can transition lenses work for any sport well?

While convenient, transition lenses don’t work as well in vehicles. Also, the change in speed may not keep up with fast sports, making them better for hiking, golf, and tennis.

Q: What durable frame stands up to high-speed clash sports best?

Grilamid TR90 nylon frames strike the ideal balance between flexibility and resilience, making them capable of withstanding forceful collisions in sports like lacrosse or mountain biking. This material also allows customizing frames for a better fit.

Get Your Sports Vision Ready

Understanding frame and lens innovations targeting specific sports guides you to customized solutions. Think about the environment, movements, and vision needed to steer you toward tailor-made gear.

Now that you’re prepared with inside information on some top-performing sunglasses, it’s time to gear up for your sport and try them out!

Cheryl Henson

Cheryl Henson is a passionate blogger and digital marketing professional who loves writing, reading, and sharing blogs on various topics.

Related Articles

Back to top button