Polarized sunglasses........yeah or neah???

[redgtxdi]

So I saw this little demo thing that they had at Costco where you look into this box & you see the diff between "polarized" & "non" & I could actually see a pretty big difference.

Now, the shades at Costco like *STARTED* at about $80 & I've always been a $20/pair guy, but I have another buddy who urges me to quit buyin' cheap SG's & get some descent shades.

Is this polarized stuff worth it or not so much??

EDIT: A couple of polls added for flava'

 

[hypn0tik]

Add a poll.

Polarized is better IMO.

 

[fleshconsumed]

You can buy polarized sunglasses for cheap <$10, but the quality of course isn't good. I use such $10 cheapos for driving, really helps when riding against the sun or at high noon. Whether you want to pay such a $70 premium is up to you.

 

[trmiv]

Yes, get polarized. After I got lasik surgery I was able to buy store bought sunglasses for the first time. Since I usually got prescription sunglasses with insurance, I always got the best, polarized always. Well since I had to fund these new sunglasses out of pocket, I went cheap and got a set of unpolarized Fossil sunglasses. After wearing them for a day, I couldn't stand it, they did nothing for my eyes. So I bit the bullet and dropped a good chunk of change on a set of good polarized Bolle sunglasses, and haven't regretted it. Shortly after that, my wife got jealous at my new shades since she always has the cheap sunglasses. So I took her to try on some polarized and she was amazed at the difference. So we got her a nice pair of Bolle women's sunglasses.

 

[Viper0329]

I got a pair of Bolle's for high school graduation. $100 swishers I think. I'll never own another pair of non-polarized sunglasses again. It's worth the investment. When spending long times driving during the day or outside, you're eyes get really fatigued from glare. You won't realize how much glare does until it's cut down.

 

[Mermaidman]

Does your wife lose her glasses? Expensive sunglasses are made to be lost . . .

 

[Heckler 5th]

...or sat upon.

 

[zoiks]

I have polarized Revo's and love em.

 

[Grey]

Walmart has several brands of Polarized for under $20 bucks. They work fairly decent, I compared them to my friends Bolle. Besides a little optical distortion and less glare reduction it isn't that bad of a comparison.

 

[Bryophyte]

Only get polarized. If she loses them a lot, breaks them a lot, or doesn't wear them often, go with less expensive ones. If she's going to wear them a lot and they won't get lost or broken, get more expensive ones.

 

[Beller0ph1]

Polarized FTW! It really cuts down on glare and such from reflected surfaces. Should help in the snow, now that winter is upon us.

 

[TheAdvocate]

Originally posted by: Beller0ph1
Polarized FTW! It really cuts down on glare and such from reflected surfaces. Should help in the snow, now that winter is upon us.

I wear my polarized RX sunglasses while driving on cloudier days, just to cut down on the less obvious glare. My eyes experience so much less strain, it's amazing (at first). It's as addictive as crack.

 

[Buck Naked]

I am good at losing, or breaking sunglasses. In the past I bought cheap pairs.
I went to HI last year and I wanted something somewhat nice. I got a nice pair of polarized Bolles. Now, I will not go back to the cheap ones. I have even managed to not break, or lose them.

 

[George P Burdell]

The expensive ones are free of optical abberations. A cheap one will have some distortions, which will make them uncomfortable for long term wear, and might be bad for your eyes.

I picked up a pair in the UK, made by Polaroid and marketed under their bankd name. Frameless titanium and Polaroid lenses. You can sit on it but it won't break. About $100, but totally worth it.

 

[trmiv]

Originally posted by: George P Burdell
The expensive ones are free of optical abberations. A cheap one will have some distortions, which will make them uncomfortable for long term wear, and might be bad for your eyes.

Exactly, that's the big thing. Coming from always wear prescription sunglasses which have great optics, I could instantly pick out the distortions when I started wearing regular cheap sunglasses after my lasik. The Bolle's I have don't have that problem.

 

[JS80]

After wearing polarized Ray Ban's for a few years, I cannot even look through non-polarized sunglasses.

 

[Night201]

I have Maui Jim's. They're great!

 

[Kelemvor]

If you mean that they take away a lot of the glare and such, they do work. But my wife got some $10 ones frmo KMart or Target or something and they had the exact same effect. No reason to spend lots of cash on funky ones.

 

[glugglug]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
So I saw this little demo thing that they had at Costco where you look into this box & you see the diff between "polarized" & "non" & I could actually see a pretty big difference.

Now, the shades at Costco like *STARTED* at about $80 & I've always been a $20/pair guy, but I have another buddy who urges me to quit buyin' cheap SG's & get some descent shades.

Is this polarized stuff worth it or not so much??

EDIT: A couple of polls added for flava'

It is definately worth the extra money to get good ones. I can EASILY see the difference in visual clarity between my $125 Ray-bans and $195 Oakleys (Don't get me started on how bad the clarity is on the cheap ones from the drugstore picked up when I forgot the real ones). However, I usually wear the ray-bans, except for biking, because they look better stylistically.

 

[Conky]

Polarized is the only way to go. :thumbsup:

You can get some pretty good deals on sunglasses at campmor.com in their "Hot Deals" sunglasses section.

 

[LtPage1]

I got some awesome polarized $20 sunglasses at REI, and theyve lasted me a long time.

 

[redgtxdi]

OK.........sounds like polarized is the way to go.

And just to clarify***************

I gave this to HER as an idea for ME (Note: I always get in trouble for never giving ideas so I figured this would shut her up w/ plenty of options.)

What I might do (assuming it's kinda' hard to pick out the *perfect* style for someone else) is let her pick something and possibly exchange to a different style if she doesn't pick too close to what I would. I've pretty much bought a similar shape/size all my life w/ the exception of the frames getting a little thinner in profile so she knows, but if she buys $80 ones, I'd probably be more apt to exchange if they weren't *my* style vs. $20 ones which I'd just use as yet another pair of shades.

Heck, after reading the replies, now, I almost can't wait to start wearin' *polarized*!!!

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: zoiks
I have polarized Revo's and love em.

Agreed completely. I also bought polarized lenses for my Rudy Project's. Definitley worth the money.

Of course, Revos run $200+

 

[spaceman]

polarized is the only wtg.

spend what you can afford to forget, they are sunglasses afterall.

 

[spidey07]

You only have one set of eyes..

Spend over 200 and get polarized.

I've had my revos for 8 years, still like brand new.