With winter here, many outdoor enthusiasts are looking forward to spending the short daylight hours in the fresh powder. There are many outdoor sports to enjoy: Snowboarding, hiking, cross-country skiing, figure skating, sledding and building snow forts are just a few of the choices for winter sports.
But what about protecting? There is a lot of brilliance that bounces from the icy ground that can cause difficult eye pressure by twilight. There is also the concern of keeping your eyes shielded from the wintry breezes and potential specks that can leap up at any instant.
Which sunglasses are ideal for snow activities? There are a number of factors that are the most important to have in mind when choosing.
The key feature is how to help you view your environment. In the wintry outdoors, you are enveloped by two basic shades: white and gray. Furthermore, the white is tremendously reflective. The sunlight that gleams down bounces off of the ice as clearly as off of microscopic mirrors. Your grandfather told you never to gaze at the sun, but when you’re on a snowy field, you really don’t have a choice; the sunlight is all around you.
The wisest thing you can do is don sunglasses that soak up most of the reflected glare, and polarized sunglasses are by far the best purchase to make in this regard. By doing away with both the reflected sunlight from the ground and the diffused sunlight that comes directly from the low sun, correctly polarized sunglasses eliminate the strain from your eyes and provide an extremely clear view. There will be no need to squint, and whatever outdoor sport you are participating in will become more agreeable.
Polarized sunglasses work by literally chopping off the light waves at an angle perpendicular to the glare. This allows plenty of light in to view your surroundings, but the bright spots disappear. You can tell if you have true polarized lenses by turning them in a circle. If the glare returns and disappears again, the sunglasses are polarized. If you have two sets of polarized glasses and look through both of them at the same time – with one pair held at right angles to the other – you should see almost nothing. The first pair of polarized lenses will let the wavelengths through from one angle, and the second set of glasses will eliminate those waves.
The second important factor to consider when buying sunglasses for the snow is the design. Wraparound lenses offer the most protection from the cold and unexpected flying debris. Most regular sunglasses are relatively flat and allow air and particles to easily get in from the top and sides. Just because the lenses are larger doesn’t mean that the sunglasses are heavier; most glasses designed for sports are very lightweight.
The material that is used in the frames can also be considered, but this is more important for extreme sports, where the strength of the frame may come into play. Aluminum frames are very light and strong, but since aluminum is a metal, it can become cold in the winter air and some people may object to the feeling. Acetate frames are made from a very durable plastic that is used for racing helmets and other protective uses. Since plastic is an insulator, the temperature of the frames does not change much, and these sunglasses can be much more comfortable to wear, especially in extremely cold weather.
To summarize: The best sunglasses for the snow have polarized lenses, a wraparound lens design, and have frames that are made from either acetate (or some other durable plastic) or aluminum.
Happy winter!
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