Sunglass Lens Color -- Which?

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
Messages
20,804
Location
Denton, TX
Display Name
Display name:
The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
Which color lens is the better choice for aviation?

At the moment, not asking for brand or frame type, but between yellow, grey, amber, etc, which is the better lens color.

Looking for something that will help with increasing contrast while flying and still provide UV protection for ever aging eyes.
 
I flew for years with the Serengeti vermillion (sort of a reddish brown) lenses. Frankly, it's a matter of taste. The browner ones will make the clouds look more vivid. "color" is largely immaterial for UV protection. You either want something with innate UV protection (such as real glass) or an applied UV barrier.
 
Yup, color is purely preference. I prefer good 'ol grey, but the brown/amber are good if you really need some contrast in hazy or cloudy skies. Just make sure that if you go polarized, you are able to see your electronic gizmos (like radio displays, GPS screens, HSI/etc.).
 
I have 3 pair each with different color or darkness. Lighter grey for partly cloudy/brighter cloudy days, dark grey for clear skies, and amber for cloudy/overcast/darker skies. All are gradient so looking at panel is easier and non polarized.
 
I like my Julian Wilson Oakley Holbrooks. Really good contrast lens
 
The text book answer, gray lense, non polarized.

After flying for a while, it's all the same, I'm flying nowadays with some ray ban clubmasters glass neutral gray lens non polarized, I also fly with a pair of spys with gray/brown polarized lens, also a pair of oaklies with some polarized blackish blue lens, all work just fine, probably have the most hours on my spys (dirty mo, with replacment Carl Zess lense).

One great brand is garotz, really well build aluminum frames, built to fit in helmits, used often for skydiving and some millitary stuff.
 
Other than a potential problem with LCD displays, polarized will HELP with contrast rather than hinder.
 
Brown for older eyes. Polarized works well with Aspen and 430w.
 
I prefer Maui Jim brown lenses. Brown enhances colors and that helps with my depth perception. I wish I could get Maui Jim to make my regular glasses, too, because my scrip sunglasses are better than my everyday glasses. I definitely prefer Polarized and always have, even on floats. My everyday progressive lenses have Transitions automatic tinting in gray polarized and they work pretty well, too.
 
Tint gradient dark top to clear bottom allows you to look at the panel, where it is dark, through clear lens. I like it!
 
Prefer grey; find it best for wide range of conditions. Second choice is the Serengeti brown/amber, especially in haze. Have always had polarized lenses because I also use them for sailing - never had any problem with screen displays in my cockpit (430/530), but have had occasional issues with instrumentation screens on the boat.
 
Look at a sectional though them and see that features on chart don't disappear. I had a yellow or orangeish pair once that made a chart color just absolutely invisible. I got caught out on a trip without sunglasses and grabbed a pair of supermarket clip-ons so they weren't high quality. Saw something on the ground in western Kansas that should have been on the chart but wasn't - until I took my sun glasses off.
 
coloradobluesky said:
Tint gradient dark top to clear bottom allows you to look at the panel, where it is dark, through clear lens. I like it!
Click to expand...

Man those mess me up!

My girl has a few pairs that are like that, dark up top to nearly clear on the bottom, I've driven the car with them a few times because I couldnt find mine, I noticed head movements and bumps where you go from dark to light really bugs me for some reason.
 
For VFR on hazy days of summer, surface features do show a little better with lightly yellow tinted lenses.

I fly ground contact VFR with the GPS turned off most of the time. So seeing check points is more important to me than seeing the GPS.
 
coloradobluesky said:
Tint gradient dark top to clear bottom allows you to look at the panel, where it is dark, through clear lens. I like it!
Click to expand...

Same here. I got rx lenses installed into a Randolph Engineering aviator frame with bayonette bows. Don't even know I'm wearing them, even after a couple hours with a headset clamped over them. Gray gradient is the only way to go!
 
Hi.
One more thing to take into consideration is to test it and see if it affects the colors you need to see, like the fuel color.
A neutral color like Gray works for most. Too dark a lens makes it difficult to read / see your Cell Phone / Tablet screen. TV
 
Prefer grey and I've been using the auto-changers with a request that they get darker overall, which means they have a slight tint even when in clear mode, for a couple of years now.
 
Yellow for me. I think it causes less color distortion.

I know you didn't ask for brands or styles, but Oakley RadarLock.
 
I started to become a fan of flip ups. Getting a good, clear look at chart, radio, ground or traffic is just a quick flip up of the lenses. Color grey or green.
 
I bought some RayBan driving sunglasses many moons ago. They were brown. When I needed prescription, I bought polarized brown sunglasses and brown transition lenses.

The brown RayBans were so good that before I got prescription lenses, I found myself trying to drive at night with them on. Sharpens up a lot of things. No problem in my cockpit with polarized, all of my shades are.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    242.2 KB · Views: 21
Whatever is standard issue to the Thunderbirds or Blue Angles would work for me.
 
All pilot sunglasses are mirror coated on the outside so you can't the pilot's steely eyes. That's the most important part.

Color - I'd go with grey because I always have. The FAA pdf says that yellow, amber and orange tints cause color confusion while grey-green and browns might help with blue sky contrast. I'd think any colored lens will distort colors.
 
I used to work at a ski shop and we sold a LOT of sunglasses. We used to ski with them and "test" them. I think the best "wow" look comes from sunglasses that have the mirror lenses. Not sure why, but some of those mirror lenses put a real zing on the colors you see on the edge of clouds and colors everywhere really. The best way to tell if you like the sunglasses is to just go out and look on a sunny day with clouds in the sky is ideal. I don't think polarized glasses have any advantage for aviation nor do I think the ones that darken from sunlight work very well inside the airplane or car because they dont darken enough because the windshield filters the UV rays that darken.

My best results are from gradient lenses that are clear on the bottom so I can see the panel well, but I cant find those in mirror, prescription and bifocal that I need so I settle for gradient tint bifocals in tan, metal frames that can take abuse and am pretty satisfied. YMMV
 
Last edited:
Croomrider said:
https://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/sunglasses.pdf
Click to expand...

That FAA page is pretty good. Here's what it says about colors:

"The three most common tints are gray, gray-green, and brown, any of which would be an excellent choice for the aviator. Gray (neutral density lter) is recommended because it distorts color the least. Some pilots, however, report that gray-green and brown tints enhance vividness and minimize scattered (blueand violet) light, thus enhancing contrast in hazy conditions. Yellow, amber, and orange (i.e., “Blue Blockers”) tints eliminate short-wavelength light from reaching the wearer’s eyes and reportedly sharpen vision, although no scienti c studies support this claim.3 In addition, these tints are known to distort colors, making it dif cult to distinguish the color of navigation lights, signals, or color-coded maps and instrument displays. For ying, sunglass lenses should screen out only 70 - 85% of visible light and not appreciably distort color. Tints that block more than 85%of visible light are not recommended for ying due to the possibility of reduced visual acuity, resulting in dif culty seeing instruments and written material inside the cockpit."

(Sorry for the missing characters. I copied from a pdf file. For some reason the letter combination fl and fi just vanished.)
 
coloradobluesky said:
nor do I think the ones that darken from sunlight work very well inside the airplane or car because they dont darken enough because the windshield filters the UV rays that darken.
Click to expand...
Maybe for cars, but aircraft windshields are typically acrylic and will not filter out much UV. My transitions change in the plane.
 
Serengeti brown/Amber is my favorite. I did try yellow shooter glasses for a while. Kind of fun on top with those - they really let you see bright cloud detail without tiring your eyes.
 
18% percent gray is good. If you like glass lenses, have a local mom & pop/independent optician (not/not a chain store) cut a new pair of lenses for a frame you have and like, and dye them in-house for you. Or, if you have a clear pair, with lenses that are not/not scratched, have the independent option dye those lenses for you.

Skip the name brands, unless you just like the way they look, and the price doesn't bother you - no better optical quality (sometimes worse) and the prices are just silly.
 
Apparently some of the transition lenses work inside cars and airplanes. Mine didn't darken very much at all. Only way to know would be to try them. I tried transition lenses with progressive and they were a bust on the progressive also. Those things made me dizzy. I gotta have bifocals. I have astigmatism, maybe that has something to do with it.
I wish I could get what I want in Maui Jims. Those mirror finish Maui Jims jazz up the whole view!
 
coloradobluesky said:
Apparently some of the transition lenses work inside cars and airplanes. Mine didn't darken very much at all. Only way to know would be to try them. I tried transition lenses with progressive and they were a bust on the progressive also. Those things made me dizzy. I gotta have bifocals. I have astigmatism, maybe that has something to do with it.
I wish I could get what I want in Maui Jims. Those mirror finish Maui Jims jazz up the whole view!
Click to expand...
Transitions will make you dizzy if not well "fitted"; also, sometimes, you need a wek or so to adjust, even if well fitted. If you still have them, find a non-chain store optician to adjust 'em for you, maybe try again?

Any cretin who can complete a job app can work chains in some states, and simple, single vision lenses can be fitted badly and still work fine. . .not so true for complex prescriptions, like astigmatism or transition lenses.
 
Sundancer said:
Transitions will make you dizzy if not well "fitted"; also, sometimes, you need a wek or so to adjust, even if well fitted. If you still have them, find a non-chain store optician to adjust 'em for you, maybe try again?

Any cretin who can complete a job app can work chains in some states, and simple, single vision lenses can be fitted badly and still work fine. . .not so true for complex prescriptions, like astigmatism or transition lenses.
Click to expand...
Transitions(TM) is a trade name for darkening lenses, not progressives. Very few people get dizzy from their glasses going from clear to sunglasses.
 
ateamer said:
Don't they use the shades on their helmets rather than sunglasses?
Click to expand...
Because when they're standing around "looking cool" in their flight suits, the don't have their helmets on.
 
denverpilot said:
Transitions(TM) is a trade name for darkening lenses, not progressives. Very few people get dizzy from their glasses going from clear to sunglasses.
Click to expand...
Roger, roger, brain freeze on my part; I transposed progressive and transition.
 
I love the HazeBusters, have two pair, one for car and one for flying.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top