Category: News

Derek Redmond, the well-known athlete, had a distinguished career on the track – at his peak he held the British record for the 400m sprint, and was British and Commonwealth Champion at this distance. A two-time Olympian, he won gold medals at both the European and World Athletic Championships.

His sporting prowess after retirement from athletics has been no less impressive – he has played both rugby and basketball at professional level and played for the England Basketball Team. He further won National titles in kickboxing and motorcycle endurance racing, and in 1994 won Celebrity Gladiators.

Derek took up clay target shooting at the beginning of 2025. In the summer he accepted a challenge by Matt Stockdale, a professional shooting coach, to become an ‘A’ class shooter in the clay target discipline of Skeet (necessitating a running average score of 93%) and to achieve this very high level in just 4 months.

In taking on the challenge Derek has been supported by some key players in the shooting sector including Evolution Eyewear. We supplied Derek with our Magnex magnetic shooting eyewear, complete with optical insert and prescription lenses.

Derek comments, “I’ve tried a few different shooting eyewear makes including the best-known brand, but I absolutely love this Evolution Magnex set and genuinely prefer them. They are so comfortable to wear, and the quality is outstanding. They are now an essential part of my shooting kit”.

With Derek’s incredible work ethic there is no doubt that he will become a formidable clay shooting competitor in the years ahead.

What are polarised lenses and why are they different? It’s a question we have been asked many times so here’s the answer!

Light is made of particles called photons, which travel through the atmosphere like a wave, zig-zagging back and forth on their way to your eye. This natural, unpolarised light bounces in many directions at once. But as soon as light strikes a “hard” or reflective surface – like water, a road or snow piste, these light waves will vibrate in one direction, usually horizontally. This is what causes the intense glare that can hurt your eyes and even dazzle you when you’re driving. The polarising filters applied to sunglass lenses are designed to absorb the horizontally-vibrating waves. This means that only vertically-vibrating waves get through the filter and reach your eye. This greatly reduces the intensity of reflective glare without blocking too much of the surrounding light.

With a polarised sunglass you can see beneath the surface of water which is why they are popular with fishing enthusiasts. They are also popular with boat owners and crew, drivers and skiers.

 

We were delighted to part sponsor a clay pigeon shoot to raise funds for the charity Rugby For Heroes; organised by Featherless Days and held recently at the spectacular Ruckley Grange Estate in Shropshire. The day was hosted by the charity’s Patron and rugby legend Mike Tindall. Also in attendance was Derek Redmond, one the UK’s most successful track athletes. Derek played professional level rugby after retiring from athletics and has recently taken up clay pigeon shooting, which he will no doubt also excel at!

Rugby for Heroes does some outstanding work in the rugby community to raise funds and awareness for military personnel who are making the transition to civilian life. They are committed to providing financial and personal support, to help individuals overcome the many challenges that the transition presents.

     

Pictures show Mike Tindall and Derek Redmond on the day wearing Evolution Connect X shooting eyewear.

Click here for information about Rugby For Heroes.

Jack Malthouse, another Evolution ambassador, has just done really well at the 35^th Helice (ZZ) World Championships recently held in Italy (6-7 September). Helice is widely regarded as one of the most difficult and challenging types of target shooting. Representing Great Britain and competing in the Junior classification, he came 6^th – well done Jack!

Jack always wears Evolution Magnex whenever he competes. He’s “one to watch” and a rising star of clay target shooting in the UK.

Evolution ambassador Sean Gamblen has just come fourth in the (clay target) British Open Sporting Championship held at Eaton Hall Shooting Ground in Derbyshire over the weekend of 30-31 August. Competing against 170 other competitors including the best sporting shots in the UK, Sean made the ‘Super Final’ of the 6 highest scores over the weekend. His fourth place put him on top of the AAA Class. A top coach, Sean wears Evolution Helix shooting eyewear for coaching and competition.

Well done to Sean – a brilliant achievement.

Here are some useful tips for cleaning your sunglasses/eyewear

• Don’t use a handkerchief or corner of a shirt/blouse. These can contain particles of dust and dirt which can easily scratch your lenses when you start rubbing. Paper towels and napkins are just as bad. They’re essentially pulped wood and surprisingly abrasive whilst also leaving particles of dust on the lens. Use a  Microfibre Lens Cleaning Cloth
• Use a lens cleaning liquid for best results – condensation from your breath isn’t enough, even if you’re using a microfibre cloth. The simplest way is to rinse your eyewear in warm (not hot) water. This is especially important if they’re covered in sand and salt from the beach. Run a bowl of water and add a couple of drops of mild washing up liquid to it. Then simply give the sunglasses a good dunking to remove all the dirt, gently rub them with your fingers in the water and then dry with a clean, lint-free microfibre cloth. However, don’t apply washing up liquids – particularly citric ones – directly onto lenses as they can be abrasive, some containing salt.
• Don’t forget to clean the frame too. When you wear your sunglasses, the areas most likely to be contaminated with grease, dirt and grime are the nose pads, temples and the frame surrounding the lenses. Cleans these too or you could end up smearing skin contact residue onto the lenses.
• Avoid household glass cleaners: general purpose household glass cleaners can contain vinegar, ammonia or even bleach – making these cleaners too ‘aggressive’ as they can strip away mirror, anti-fog or anti-reflective coatings on lenses. Use a proprietary lens cleaner such as Lens & Screen Cleaning Pack – Evolution Sunglasses – see our eyewear accessories section for other options including microfibre cloths.

 

The most obvious benefit of wearing sunglasses while playing golf is to protect your eyes from harmful UV radiation. Golfers can be out on the course for hours at a time – often in the middle part of the day when the sun is strongest. Prolonged exposure to UV radiation can cause serious eye damage potentially leading to cataracts, macular degeneration and cancer of the eye lids.

Polarised sunglasses are ideal for golf – they will reduce glare from the sun, water hazards and other reflective surfaces on the course. By minimizing glare, you’ll be able to see the ball, the green, and other obstacles more clearly.

Wearing sunglasses can also have a positive impact on your performance and concentration on the course. By shielding your eyes from the sun’s glare, you’ll be able to focus more intently on your game, without distractions or discomfort. Additionally, sunglasses can help reduce eye strain and fatigue, allowing you to maintain your focus throughout your round.

Wearing sunglasses while golfing is a simple yet effective way to protect your eyes, improve your performance and enhance your overall golfing experience.

Shop golf sunglasses

The UV Index, also known as the Solar UV Index, was developed by the World Health Organisation. The UV index forecast identifies the strength of the ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun at a particular place on a particular day, allowing you to take the necessary precautions to help reduce the impact of UV on your health. We know that small amounts of UV exposure can be beneficial as it is essential in the production of vitamin D, however over exposure of UV can lead to serious health issues such as skin cancers and eye damage that could result in cataracts and macular degeneration later in life. The strength of UV varies depending on where you are in the world, the time of year and on a number of different weather factors such as the amount of cloud cover.

Here in the UK the UV index does not exceed 8 – this used to be rare but is becoming more common especially in Southern England with 7 occurring on more days too.

Any Index over 3 means you should wear protection when outdoors such as sun creams, sunglasses and hats. A good way of looking at sunglasses is sun cream for your eyes. Consider also wearing sports style wrap-around sunglasses for everyday wear as these provide greater protection for your eyes.

We have three new arrivals to our range of polarised sunglasses.

Flo – Crystal grey frame, polarised lenses with blue flash mirror. Ultra lightweight TR90 frame and stylish keyhole bridge detail.

Newly manufactured for us: two metal frame sunglasses. Metal sunglasses are a timeless style and super lightweight. Both of our new models feature polarised lenses and spring hinges to the temples for all-day comfort. And at only £19.95 they are excellent value.

Manhattan – men’s style, larger frame metal sunglass in pilot style with double bridge feature. Black & gunmetal frame with red detail on temples, and grey polarised lenses.

Monza – unisex style, metal frame in aviator style with double bridge feature.  Black & gunmetal frame with red detail on temples, and grey polarised lenses.

View our full range of polarised and leisure style sunglasses

New in! Another colour of Novara – this one having matte black temples and grey lenses. Novara is a true unisex polycarbonate polarised sunglass. It’s a cross over sport-leisure style that can be used for any sport whilst looking terrific when you’re just out and about.

With Novara the polarised film is sandwiched between two layers of the polycarbonate meaning the polarised film can never wear out. Read our post Are all polarised lenses the same? for more information about polarised lenses.

And importantly the polycarbonate lenses also provide impact protection. It’s a style and quality of sunglass that you might expect to pay upwards of £60 for, but it’s only £29.95 – including a hard case! Shop Novara Grey.

The other models we have with Polycarbonate Polarised lenses are:

• • Carmel (Blue Mirror)
  • Carmel (Brown)
  • Carmel (Amber)
  • Novara (Brown)

 

Did you know that some of the UK’s best-known shooting instructors & high profile competitors wear and endorse Evolution shooting eyewear including John Heagren, Fiona Thompson, Sean Gamblen, Chris Childerhouse, Jack Malthouse, Steve Scott, Georgina Roberts, Simon Arbuckle and Drennan Kenderdine.

This is what John Heagren, renowned clay & game shot and Shooting Manager at Bisley Shooting Ground said, “I’ve been wearing Evolution for over 10 years – they are hugely underrated – terrific quality and really comfortable to wear; I can’t praise them highly enough”.

To find out more about our range, click here for an overview of our shooting eyewear.

When looking for sunglasses and eyewear, you may have come across the terms lens class and lens category. It’s easy to get confused between these terms but they refer to two different properties of lenses.

LENS CLASS

Lens Class refers to the refractive properties of the lens – its ability to meet the required optical level and how much distortion the lens may have. In other words it’s about the quality of the visual experience the lens provides. Lenses are sub-divided into three classes.

Optical Class 1 is the best visual experience with minimal, if any distortion.

Optical Class 2 provides an ‘average’ visual experience with some level of distortion

Both Optical Classes 1 & 2 are perfectly good for every-day wear sunglasses and necessary to meet CE/UKCA standards.

Optical Class 3 is rarely seen and provides a low-quality visual experience. A cheap, poor-quality sunglass sold by a street market vendor might be an example.

LENS CATEGORY

The lens category number relates to the amount of Visible Light Transmission (VLT) a lens allows through, measured as a percentage. So the VLT indicates how much light the lens lets through to your eyes. A higher VLT means the lens is lighter and lets more light through, while a lower VLT means the lens is darker and blocks more light. The majority of sunglass and eyewear lenses fall within one of five lens categories – ranging from category 0 very light/clear lenses to category 4 very dark lenses.

• Category 0: 80-100% VLT
• Category 1: 43-80% VLT
• Category 2: 18-43% VLT
• Category 3: 8-18% VLT
• Category 4: 3-8% VLT

The lens category VLT can cover quite a wide spectrum such as Category 1 which is 43-80%. Some lens colours are right on the “border” e.g. a yellow lens can have 78% VLT which is on the border between Category 0 and Category 1. The following is a general guide to the categories that apply to different lens colours:

• Category 0 – Clear, Light Yellow, Yellow, Pale Orange
• Category 1 – Orange, Rose & Vermilion
• Category 2 – Purple, Red, Amber & Light brown
• Category 3 – ‘Standard’ Grey & Brown
• Category 4 – Dark Grey & Dark Brown

For more information on lens colours and their benefits, read our post what are different eyewear lens colours for.

It’s taken us a while to settle on a cap design we really like – it’s called ‘Vintage’: universal fitting, it really does seem to fit both men and women perfectly. Now in addition to Stone we’ve added two more colours: Green & Dark Grey. Made by cap specialists Beechfield with 100% cotton twill it also features a 6 panel design, stitched ventilation eyelets, pre-curved peak, brass buckle size adjuster and embroidered ‘e’ logo. Normal retail price is £9.95.

Here’s an offer for you – spend just £40 on anything on the website and we’ll send you one FREE of charge

To get your free cap, use one of the codes below at check out for your colour choice:

• DARKGREY
• GREEN
• STONE

And our usual free delivery on orders over £20!
Offer ends 26.02.25

 

We have a brand-new shooting eyewear model called Helix; designed and manufactured exclusively for us, we’re pretty excited about it! Helix has a big, full wrap lens and will appeal to clay target shooters of all disciplines including trap. Available in:

• 7 colours: Grey, Rose, Vermilion, Purple, Yellow, Light Yellow and Orange
• 4 Lens Interchangeable Set
• 5 Lens Interchangeable Set
• 4 Colour Bundle

Part of the design brief was to have a small adjustable nose pad (not intrusive even for shooters that close one eye), slim profile temples (for wearing under ear defenders) and a high spec, super sharp lens.

Here’s the full specification of this terrific new model:

• Black & Grey temples
• Class 1 optical grade, UV400 rated lens
• Large, full-wrap, rimless lens for totally unobscured vision and complete eye protection
• TR90 super strong temples
• Small, unobtrusive, adjustable non-slip nose piece
• Ultra-lightweight (29g) for all-day comfort
• Slim profile temples ideal for wearing under ear defenders
• Cam hinges to the temples (snap closure)
• Bhive PC lens material made with a macro-molecular structure providing enhanced clarity, improved impact protection and high chemical resistance (compared to standard polycarbonate lenses)
• High velocity impact protection exceeds the requirements of EN166F & ANZI Z87.1
• Advanced, multi-feature lens coating:
  • Oleophobic+Hydrophobic (repels rain, spray, water spots, grease, smudging and fingerprints)
  • Easy lens cleaning (no-friction surface)
  • Scratch resistance

Professional Coach and Top Sporting, AAA shot, Sean Gamblen said:

“Evolution Helix is a revelation – the lenses provide crystal clear vision and they’re incredibly light – easily the most comfortable shooting glasses I’ve ever tried. I’ll be wearing Helix for both coaching and competition. Top performance shooting eyewear at a genuinely affordable price”.

See Helix here