“I rarely ever buy sunglasses; my coolest ones were usually stolen from
girlfriends”
Recently I had the opportunity to have a shard of glass fly into my left eye and
lodge itself into the warm fleshly part of my eyelids. Heck, if I were a shard of
glass I would want to camp out in my warm fleshly eyelids too! Anyways, that
shard of glass cutting away at my cornea got me to thinking; I should have been
wearing eye protection before entering a dangerous situation.
When we ride, we are usually aware or like to think we are aware of our
surroundings and immediate conditions which affect the quality and comfort of
our ride. But with speeds reaching up to and in some extreme cases over 55
mph anything can happen, and quick! A fairing on a motorcycle is not eye
protection; a bit of sand or a tiny piece of glass can whip in behind it and get in
your eye leaving you disabled flying down the freeway at high speeds!! Whoa
dudes pump the brakes!!!
As we all can attest even hitting a cute Bumble-bee at 55 mph can hurt, imagine if
it smacked you in the eye. For reasons such as this we have protective
equipment, I’m not talking about your bar-hopping black fly’s, lokes or Ray
Bans…
I’m talking about protection!! UV protected, glare reducing; protect your eyes
form the elements kind of protection!!! Polycarbonate Shatter-Resistant Lenses
which are 35 times stronger than glass or crappy CR-39 lenses kind of protection.
Not everybody enjoys the warm snuggly feeling of full face helmet, because
protecting your melon and looking cool don’t mix, right? So with that in mind you
got to get you some serious eye protection or protective glasses, goggles or
transparent face shields which are shatter proof and impact resistant. Wind, sun,
rain, sand, bugs, glare, UV rays and flying glass can wreak havoc on your
eyeballs.
Don’t forget evening and night protection either, a good set of goggles will have
interchangeable clear or amber lenses for evening or night driving. You can get
all kinds of styles, sizes, colors and tints. For bright days, try a dark or Iridium
lens which reduces glare. On gray days go for amber or yellow tints.
Some basic things to look for are:
1. Shatterproof & impact resistant.
2. Foam lined eyecups to keep debris out.
3. Interchangeable lenses (dark, amber, clear, mirror).
4. Safety strap or chums.
5. Wrap-around face hugging, non-slip, cushioned temple frames.
6. Lightweight CSF, Composite Shock Frames to absorb punishment.
7. Protective carrying case with cleaning cloth.
8. Optional prescription incorporated (for you older folks).
Bottom line:
With motorcycle optic improvements realized over the past few years, protective
motorcycle glasses have made leaps and bounds from the cheap dime store
sunglasses variety. They help provide a safe environment for the eyes to relax
without the strain associated with long term riding. In my opinion protective
eyewear are a very good investment.
Technical Stuff:
Cleaning Lenses Tech Tip...Dawn dishwashing liquid works well.
• Wash lenses daily with a mild soap and warm water to remove dirt and oil
and avoid buildup.
• Dry lenses with a lens cloth or non-abrasive cotton. Avoid using paper
towels, facial tissue or camera lens cleaning paper.
Lens Materials:
• CR-39 Plastic is thinner and weighs half as much as glass it exceeds the
FDA requirements for impact-resistance.
• Polycarbonate Plastic A remarkable strong plastic, it weighs the least and is
the most impact-resistant making it a perfect choice for rugged sunglasses. They
also offer built-in ultraviolet. These are a good choice for Motorcyclists
sunglasses
Tints: The darker the tint, the more light it absorbs.
• Amber & Orange Reduces blue light (a chief component of glare), increases
contrast, brightens and enhances detail. Ideal for "high glare" sports such as
boating, fishing and skiing, and flying.
• Brown Cuts glare, works well in variable light conditions and allows
excellent contrast. Its dark color minimizes eye strain making it good for driving,
flying, cycling or running.
• Gray Neutral shade that keeps color distortion to a minimum and will let you
see most naturally while also reducing glare. Especially good for golf, running or
cycling.
• Green Enhances contrast in low light conditions and will reduce eyestrain in
bright light conditions for greatest visual detail. Best general all purpose lens.
• Rose Offers high contrast and is very soothing to the eyes while providing
excellent light and glare protection. Works well in all daytime light conditions.
• Vermilion Used to contrast objects against blue and green, they provide
excellent perception in the low light conditions of an overcast day while offering
acceptable protection in bright sunlight. Good color for driving or cycling.
• Yellow Provides depth perception and visual contrast in low light
conditions. Ideal for night riding, overcast, haze or fog conditions. Favorite of the
ski industry.
Coatings:
The darker the original tint, the more light it absorbs.
• Anti-reflective Consist of several layers of metal oxides applied to the front
and back lens surface. Because of the layering effect, AR coatings sometimes
have a hint of green or purple color, depending on the individual manufacturer’s
process. Each layer is calculated to block reflected light resulting in a reduction
in glare, annoying reflections and halos around light sources. AR coatings are
most useful on water and snow.
• Gradient Permanently shaded from top to bottom. A double-gradient lens is
dark at the top & bottom and lighter in the middle. Most often found in driving and
flying lenses so that the dashboard and instrument panels are seen clearly.
• Mirror or Flash Highly reflective and greatly reduces the amount of light that
reaches your eyes. Generally applied over a dark sunglasses lens, but can be
applied over any base color. Mirror coated lenses absorb anywhere from 10% to
60% more light than uncoated lenses. These are good for higher altitudes, sand,
water and snow. Although the most common are the silver, gold and copper
metallic coatings, you will find many colors available nowadays.
• Photochromic Will automatically darken and lighten when the light changes,
although the cheaper photochromic lenses won't get very dark and take some
time to adjust to different conditions. Will require conditioning the lens first
through several exposures to the sun in order to darken fully.
• Polarized A filter sandwiched between the front and back surface of the lens
which filters out horizontally reflected glare and allows you to see through glare
on the surface of water, snow, ice, glass etc. Ideal for water sports or winter
sports where the water and snow increase the reflected glare. Absorbs 98% of
the reflected glare.
• Scratch-Resistant No lens material is scratch-proof, although a lens that is
treated front and back with a clear, hard coating does become more resistant to
scratches. Most types of plastic lenses have built-in scratch-resistant coatings.
• Ultraviolet Treatment Blocks the sun's harmful UV rays from damaging your
eyes. Overexposure to ultraviolet light is thought to be a cause of cataracts,
retinal damage and other eye problems.
Some links to look for:
http://www.rapidracer.com/crbigo.html
http://www.selfdefensearmory.com/goggles2g.html
http://www.sportrx.com/
girlfriends”
Recently I had the opportunity to have a shard of glass fly into my left eye and
lodge itself into the warm fleshly part of my eyelids. Heck, if I were a shard of
glass I would want to camp out in my warm fleshly eyelids too! Anyways, that
shard of glass cutting away at my cornea got me to thinking; I should have been
wearing eye protection before entering a dangerous situation.
When we ride, we are usually aware or like to think we are aware of our
surroundings and immediate conditions which affect the quality and comfort of
our ride. But with speeds reaching up to and in some extreme cases over 55
mph anything can happen, and quick! A fairing on a motorcycle is not eye
protection; a bit of sand or a tiny piece of glass can whip in behind it and get in
your eye leaving you disabled flying down the freeway at high speeds!! Whoa
dudes pump the brakes!!!
As we all can attest even hitting a cute Bumble-bee at 55 mph can hurt, imagine if
it smacked you in the eye. For reasons such as this we have protective
equipment, I’m not talking about your bar-hopping black fly’s, lokes or Ray
Bans…
I’m talking about protection!! UV protected, glare reducing; protect your eyes
form the elements kind of protection!!! Polycarbonate Shatter-Resistant Lenses
which are 35 times stronger than glass or crappy CR-39 lenses kind of protection.
Not everybody enjoys the warm snuggly feeling of full face helmet, because
protecting your melon and looking cool don’t mix, right? So with that in mind you
got to get you some serious eye protection or protective glasses, goggles or
transparent face shields which are shatter proof and impact resistant. Wind, sun,
rain, sand, bugs, glare, UV rays and flying glass can wreak havoc on your
eyeballs.
Don’t forget evening and night protection either, a good set of goggles will have
interchangeable clear or amber lenses for evening or night driving. You can get
all kinds of styles, sizes, colors and tints. For bright days, try a dark or Iridium
lens which reduces glare. On gray days go for amber or yellow tints.
Some basic things to look for are:
1. Shatterproof & impact resistant.
2. Foam lined eyecups to keep debris out.
3. Interchangeable lenses (dark, amber, clear, mirror).
4. Safety strap or chums.
5. Wrap-around face hugging, non-slip, cushioned temple frames.
6. Lightweight CSF, Composite Shock Frames to absorb punishment.
7. Protective carrying case with cleaning cloth.
8. Optional prescription incorporated (for you older folks).
Bottom line:
With motorcycle optic improvements realized over the past few years, protective
motorcycle glasses have made leaps and bounds from the cheap dime store
sunglasses variety. They help provide a safe environment for the eyes to relax
without the strain associated with long term riding. In my opinion protective
eyewear are a very good investment.
Technical Stuff:
Cleaning Lenses Tech Tip...Dawn dishwashing liquid works well.
• Wash lenses daily with a mild soap and warm water to remove dirt and oil
and avoid buildup.
• Dry lenses with a lens cloth or non-abrasive cotton. Avoid using paper
towels, facial tissue or camera lens cleaning paper.
Lens Materials:
• CR-39 Plastic is thinner and weighs half as much as glass it exceeds the
FDA requirements for impact-resistance.
• Polycarbonate Plastic A remarkable strong plastic, it weighs the least and is
the most impact-resistant making it a perfect choice for rugged sunglasses. They
also offer built-in ultraviolet. These are a good choice for Motorcyclists
sunglasses
Tints: The darker the tint, the more light it absorbs.
• Amber & Orange Reduces blue light (a chief component of glare), increases
contrast, brightens and enhances detail. Ideal for "high glare" sports such as
boating, fishing and skiing, and flying.
• Brown Cuts glare, works well in variable light conditions and allows
excellent contrast. Its dark color minimizes eye strain making it good for driving,
flying, cycling or running.
• Gray Neutral shade that keeps color distortion to a minimum and will let you
see most naturally while also reducing glare. Especially good for golf, running or
cycling.
• Green Enhances contrast in low light conditions and will reduce eyestrain in
bright light conditions for greatest visual detail. Best general all purpose lens.
• Rose Offers high contrast and is very soothing to the eyes while providing
excellent light and glare protection. Works well in all daytime light conditions.
• Vermilion Used to contrast objects against blue and green, they provide
excellent perception in the low light conditions of an overcast day while offering
acceptable protection in bright sunlight. Good color for driving or cycling.
• Yellow Provides depth perception and visual contrast in low light
conditions. Ideal for night riding, overcast, haze or fog conditions. Favorite of the
ski industry.
Coatings:
The darker the original tint, the more light it absorbs.
• Anti-reflective Consist of several layers of metal oxides applied to the front
and back lens surface. Because of the layering effect, AR coatings sometimes
have a hint of green or purple color, depending on the individual manufacturer’s
process. Each layer is calculated to block reflected light resulting in a reduction
in glare, annoying reflections and halos around light sources. AR coatings are
most useful on water and snow.
• Gradient Permanently shaded from top to bottom. A double-gradient lens is
dark at the top & bottom and lighter in the middle. Most often found in driving and
flying lenses so that the dashboard and instrument panels are seen clearly.
• Mirror or Flash Highly reflective and greatly reduces the amount of light that
reaches your eyes. Generally applied over a dark sunglasses lens, but can be
applied over any base color. Mirror coated lenses absorb anywhere from 10% to
60% more light than uncoated lenses. These are good for higher altitudes, sand,
water and snow. Although the most common are the silver, gold and copper
metallic coatings, you will find many colors available nowadays.
• Photochromic Will automatically darken and lighten when the light changes,
although the cheaper photochromic lenses won't get very dark and take some
time to adjust to different conditions. Will require conditioning the lens first
through several exposures to the sun in order to darken fully.
• Polarized A filter sandwiched between the front and back surface of the lens
which filters out horizontally reflected glare and allows you to see through glare
on the surface of water, snow, ice, glass etc. Ideal for water sports or winter
sports where the water and snow increase the reflected glare. Absorbs 98% of
the reflected glare.
• Scratch-Resistant No lens material is scratch-proof, although a lens that is
treated front and back with a clear, hard coating does become more resistant to
scratches. Most types of plastic lenses have built-in scratch-resistant coatings.
• Ultraviolet Treatment Blocks the sun's harmful UV rays from damaging your
eyes. Overexposure to ultraviolet light is thought to be a cause of cataracts,
retinal damage and other eye problems.
Some links to look for:
http://www.rapidracer.com/crbigo.html
http://www.selfdefensearmory.com/goggles2g.html
http://www.sportrx.com/
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