What are Polarized Lenses?

All sunglasses lenses block some of the sun's light from reaching you eyes. Good sunglasses will also block damaging UV light too (read about UV here). Polarized sunglass lenses go one step further by only allowing the light coming from the right sources to pass through the lenses to your eyes. They do this by blocking reflected or "polarized" light.

Reflected light hits the lens at a different angle to the light we want to allow through the lens so the lens acts as a filter, only allowing light from the desired angles through while blocking the rest.

We usually experience reflected light as glare from a wet road or large body of water. Polarized lenses will reduce glare drastically.

Of course some polarized lenses are better than others so it's best to invest in a quality pair or lenses. The filters in a polarized pair of sunglasses (like Ray-Ban or Maui Jim) will reduce glare to nearly nothing. They will also enhance colour contrast and vibrancy of what you see and help reduce eye strain.

Other uses

Polarized sunglasses are not only helpful on bright sunny days, in fact they are often most usefull when the sun is low in the sky and refecting off a wet surface, like on a winter's day. They drastically reduce glare from the snow if you are skiing too.

Polarized lenses have also long been used for fishing by anglers wanting to see through the surface of the water to the fish below.

Can I have prescription Polarized lenses?

Yes. If you wear glasses you can probably have sunglasses made with prescription polarized lenses. Some of the highest prescriptions might be unavailable.

Some sunglass makers like Maui Jim offer a complete service where they will supply their own lenses. With other brands we will happily swap the existing non-prescription lenses for our own high quality Polarized prescription lenses.