What features should you look for in sports sunglasses?

Whether you are an amateur sports enthusiast or the town marathon champ, the right kind of sports sunglasses could give you an edge over your competition. Sports people are quite used to being flooded with a variety of new offers, like the latest in sports gear and equipment. They are also in the habit of taking quick decisions on lapping up the latest items in the market. If you belong to this category, remember that there are certain key features you must keep in mind while buying the latest sports sunglasses.

For a sportsperson, vision is the most important consideration, followed by comfort. Any eyewear they use should work to optimize their sports performance. Good vision and quick responses are the key to a winning performance.

Vision, as you know, is all about processing light to clarify the images we see. The white light that you see is made of a number of different colors, each having a different wavelength. When you use sunglasses, you are effectively reducing certain wavelengths of light. High performance tinted sports sunglasses can thus reduce glare and increase contrast. This in turn increases your ability to see with greater clarity and comfort.

Sportsmen who use good quality sports sunglasses confirm that sunglasses, when chosen properly, can greatly enhance their performance. For instance, golfers who wear good sunglasses are able to perceive deeper contrasts in the dark and light patterns in grass. This enables them to decipher their greens better for more precise putting. Suppose you like to play tennis or baseball, sports sunglasses can help you see the turn of the ball more clearly, thus enabling you to make more precise contact with the ball. Bikers wearing appropriate lenses can see the trail properly and this makes for a safer and quicker ride.

So, while purchasing sports sunglasses, it is important to look for certain key features:

Tint: These days, you get all sorts of tinted glasses. The number of shades available is quite amazing and many sunglasses look dramatic too. However, if performance is your aim, then it is better to stick with a neutral grey tint. This tint offers absolute color perfection. On the other hand, if you are involved in a sport that requires greater contrast sensitivity, copper and brown tints are helpful. These are particularly useful on ski slopes or for viewing a ball against the glare of the sun. Contrast enhancement depends a lot on the prevailing light conditions, but colors such as yellow, orange, amber and red also help to deepen contrasts.

Protection: Sports sunglasses have to offer 100% UV protection. This is because sportsmen are almost always under the direct glare of the sun. Overexposure to the harmful UV rays of the sun can cause a lot of damage to your eyes. Make sure that your sports sunglasses have the necessary protective coating and additives to give you 100% protection. Sports persons often prefer to enhance the protection offered by their sunglasses by going for mirror coatings and anti-reflective coatings. Polarized sunglasses too have a special filter to block glare reflecting from surfaces like snow and water.

Comfort: Weight and comfort are important qualities to consider while buying sports sunglasses. Lightweight, shatter-resistant material is easy to wear. Besides, many of these materials block the sun’s harmful rays even though there are no additives or coatings on them.