One of the questions we’re often asked is “what makes a polarised lens different?” Light waves from the sun travel in all directions but when they strike a surface like a road or water they begin vibrating in one direction, usually horizontally. This is called polarised light and it’s this harsh concentrated light – glare – that make it difficult to see and uncomfortable for your eyes. Polarised lenses are different to standard sunglass lenses; they have a special filter film either sandwiched between two other layers of the lens or applied to the front of a lens. The polarising filters used in polarised sunglasses absorb the horizontally-vibrating waves that reflect off a surface. That means that only vertically-vibrating waves get through the filter and reach your eye. This greatly reduces the intensity of reflective glare. Non-polarised sunglass lenses only reduce the amount of light entering the eye; they don’t block glare.
Glare not only makes it difficult and uncomfortable to see and can cause eye strain it also distorts the true colour of objects and makes them harder to distinguish. With polarised sunglasses you get glare-free vision, clear contrasts, more natural colours and reduced eye strain or fatigue. Glare also causes a mirror-effect on water. As a polarised lens will eliminate glare on the water it means you will be able to see down below the water surface which is why they are so popular with fishing enthusiasts.
It’s worth noting that whilst there are many benefits to wearing polarised sunglasses, virtually all polarised sunglasses under £50 (including all Evolution models) use a multi-layered lens material called TAC (Triacetate) with the front layer being the polarised film. A TAC lens is quite thin, usually no more than 1.2mm and does not provide impact protection, so for sports like shooting where impact protection is required, a TAC polarised lens is not recommended.
Shop our range of Polarised Sunglasses, with glare blocking lenses making them suitable for fishing, boating, sailing & watersports, skiing and driving.