Sunglasses

[badabing43]

What are some good sunglass brands to look at?
Obviously you want to go polarized and I'm looking for something of decent quality that won't get absolutely destroyed in the river.
And as much as the glacier-goggle-esque sunglasses can be ideal, I'm not hardcore enough to drop $100+ on something that I wouldn't want to wear out of the water.

[thatguy]

I've always worn Smith's or Spy's. They make all kinds of models with and without removable lenses depending on what you want. The nice thing about Smith's is they have a lifetime warranty with pretty much no questions asked. So if you sit on them in 2 years and they break, they'll replace them. However, rivers tend to steal sunglasses rather than merely break them, in that case, you're outta luck with whatever brand you go with. Also, the retail price isn't cheap, but you can usually find deals, use "Froogle" or eBay.

[JRC]

optic nerve: nerveusa.com

sick polarized shades $40-50... they have em at Neptune's in Boulder too.

[ExtremeWater32]

I've worn Spy's and Smith's.
What ever brand u pick, both are
very good qaulity glasses.

[rhm]

Originally Posted by badabing43

Obviously you want to go polarized

i never really liked wearing sunglasses on the river, but i tried out several pairs at different times over the years. i really can't stand to look through dirty sunglass lenses, and the water droplets were way too annoying.

polarized glasses might be good if you want to go fishing, but i thought that it was really hard to read water with polarized glasses on. the glare on the water actually helps you to see differences in current and small eddylines. when the glare is gone, it is much harder to tell what is going on. i would not recommend polarized glasses for kayaking.

i also wouldn't recommend anything expensive. i've seen the river take, or break lots of expensive glasses at different times over the years. save your expensive polarized glasses for driving on a sunny day, buy the cheapest pair possible for boating.

[stumpster]

Really? Is there anyone else who thinks polarized glasses are bad for kayaking? I'm asking because I just ordered a pair of water jackets(since I wear contacts) and I got the polarized because I thought it would be better. They are on back order though so I can still change the lenses style.

[tboner]

no, i say wear them polarized or not, just wear them. gives so much more eye protection from sticks and branches it far outways any kind of con you can come up with. but if you've convinced yourself you can't read the water when you're wearing them by all means take them off.

i always get cheap polarized and they last a month or two. make sure you use crookies or whatever so when the schmagg builds too thick you just pull them down on your neck. gas station glasses usually happen far more often then online b/c you gotta try them on. there's a few things you can't buy easy online and shades are one of them. my 2c

i'm sitting here writing this only b/c i got poked in the eye on friday night on bear. had to take the weekend off...totall shitter... PROTECT YOUR EYES!!!!

[deepsouthpaddler]

RHM is the exception with polarized, and to each his own. Polarized is definitely the way to go, though. I find that you can see more features in the water that the glare was "hiding" due to the overpowering reflections of the sun. Never had any problem with not seeing features. Polarized really cuts down on the sun abuse on the eyes for long trips like middle fork or the grand where your eyes can actually get almost sunburned.

I get cheap ($20) polarized glasses because they invariably get lost.

[kayakArkansas]

I'm a raft guide/safety kayaker for a commercial rafting company and I wear my polarized glasses (cheapo $15.00 ones) somewhere upwards of 100 days a year on the river.....I've never had any problem figuring out lines with them on.....That being said I rarely ever wear them when I'm out creeking but I can't say that I've ever purposely thought to leave them in the truck for any reason.....I just don't usually figure I need sunglasses when I'm in tighter gorges where the sun isn't shining directly in my face half the run or more......

That's an interesting point about being poked in the eye....I can't say I've even given that the first thought when choosing gear but it does make sense that that could happen at times.....

--zach

[stumpster]

Polarized is definitely the way to go, though

That's what I thought but since I've never worn sunglasses kayaking I thought I would ask. Thanks for the replies. Ill let you know how they do!