Sunglasses

flyingriki said:
Airplanethings.com doesn't go to OSH that I know of.
Actually they don't advertise much at all......
Have visited ALL the sunglasses vendors at OSH and they all want to ignore the need for clear lenses at the bottom for better visibility in the shaded cockpit. Maybe, by now, some have figured it out....
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..So, maybe it wasn't Airplanethings at OSH... But

I am sure some Chinese manufacturer sells the exact same glasses to various vendors.. I have them sitting right here in front of me and sure as heck the top are tinted and the 1.5 reading section is clear at the bottom... And the invoice for 21.95 $ says I got them in 2009 at OSH...:yes:
 
tecprotb said:
Archammer said:
Flying Eyes all day long, period. That's not a pitch, I actually love them. Indestructable, very very light, and the swappable strap is the best thing ever.
Flying Eyes Aviation Sunglasses

I just ordered a pair for father's day I hope they work out, its tough finding a set that work well with a glass panel and have bifocals.
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Oh good! They'll work great! But, as always, if you don't like something you buy from me, send em back and I'll hand your money right to ya. :)
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When wearing my prescription glasses, I use the magnetic clip-on sunglasses that go with them.

When wearing my contacts, I use American Optical 'Original Pilot's Sunglasses' in True Color Grey (non-polarized) with Bayonet Temples. If they were good enough for Neil, Buzz and Mike going to the Moon they are good enough for me.

'Gimp
 
Maui Jims for me. I had also heard that polarized lenses would be a problem, and was worried until I tried them. Then I realized the Wal-Mart cheepos I had been wearing all along were polarized too...

No issues with my phone or android tablets. I don't know if they're made differently than the ipads.

I find polarized to be clearly superior, but if you are worried, you might pick up a cheap pair and try them in the cockpit before spending big bucks.
 
I have a nice pair of large dk. gray lensed aviators in stainless by American Optical. They are a bit heavier than Ray Bans. I had a nice pair of Serengeti aviators with the drivers tint, but the arms' color started lifting after a year or so and the hinge broke after two years. I'm most happy with the AO after price and quality are all factored.
 
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Lots of great info! My question is what color lens? I have a cheap set of polarized and my iPhone looks like different colors.
 
Of course the FAA document repeats a lot of tripe like it was official news. The detrimental effects on polarized lenses on see-and-avoid have been pretty well debunked.
 
superdad said:
What's everyone use when they fly? I heard polarized suck.
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I am a killer of sunglasses, and after killing (or sinking) a few expensive pairs, I use these:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-Tekk-Protection-Outdoor-Safety-Eyewear-90552-00000B/202552395

I keep a pair stashed in each vehicle as well as a few pairs around the house. Optical clarity is excellent as is the scratch resistance, and I find them very lightweight and comfortable. I can't believe a product this good is only $6.

But, you gotta not care about style and image to sport 3M sunglasses.
 
Thanks for the tip, those look like what I need. I passed the near vision FAA test and my eye doctor says I still don't need reading glasses but I'm almost there. I'm guilty of borrowing my wife's reading glasses to read the fine print on medicine bottles.

Marauder said:
If you need reading correction, I found these work great. No tinting on the lower area for internal cockpit reading: http://www.boomersintheknow.com/avbisunrewic.html


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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N801BH said:
..So, maybe it wasn't Airplanethings at OSH... But

I am sure some Chinese manufacturer sells the exact same glasses to various vendors.. I have them sitting right here in front of me and sure as heck the top are tinted and the 1.5 reading section is clear at the bottom... And the invoice for 21.95 $ says I got them in 2009 at OSH...:yes:
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MUCH better price! Will look there if I ever go again.....
 
Archammer said:
tecprotb said:
Oh good! They'll work great! But, as always, if you don't like something you buy from me, send em back and I'll hand your money right to ya. :)
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I've started looking at them a little more closely - do you have an idea of what to expect for prices on progressive RX lenses? (I see they subcontract out with an optical shop to make them.)
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In the last eight years my prescriptions have changed frequently and I spent over $1,000 on new sunglasses. This last time however, I gave up on prescription shades and tried the Haze Busters that fit over my high end regular glasses. I bought them at the last AOPA national meeting. I am happy as a clam and don't think I'll ever want to buy a pair of prescription shades again.
 
Matthew said:
I've started looking at them a little more closely - do you have an idea of what to expect for prices on progressive RX lenses? (I see they subcontract out with an optical shop to make them.)
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For the prescription lenses, yes, Sports Optical handles those setups for y'all instead of us. Call them directly, because it's varied on your prescription, but they already have everything there, so it's painless. Number is: 303-455-3369 and tell them what you need. :)

The other great thing about these glasses, is that the lenses are swappable. Ya that's right. You just order new lenses, take out the old lenses and put your new one's in. Boom, done.
 
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I just get the cheapie $20 100% UV blocking sunglasses from Wally World, with appropriate frames. I go through a lot of sunglasses.
 
I wear something like this, no polarization, different lens colors for different conditions. They block the sun from every angle and annoy the heck out of my kids because they are so clunky and ugly.
http://www.sunglasswarehouse.com/lightguard-style-540428.html?on=Grey+Frame

Anything I can do to annoy my kids is great fun.
"Hey kids! I just spent another $400.00 of your inheritance flying today."
 
+1 for the Serengetis, non-polarized. I have them in dark orange and they are just awesome on these not-quite-sunny days around Seattle, with a lot of haze-diffused light that makes things surprisingly hard to see.

I wear contact lenses too. Recently my doctor got me a new generation stuff that is better at staying moist--that makes a big difference when staying in the drier air at altitude for a couple of hours. I also carry a bottle of rewetting drops in my flight bag.
 
Prescription Sheydens, and now same prescription, and my new "distance" pair in Polaroid frames (who knew?) with the photo-chromatic stuff, same prescription. And a new pair of Oakley framed ones for reading/computer work/maybe IFR work.

Today was the first day playing glasses swap. Kept getting up from my desk where I was on the computer, walking three steps, hating the blurry stuff far away, walking back, getting the normal glasses, putting those on, walking around, coming back, swapping back to the computer lenses...

I'll either build a habit to swap as I rise, or I'll be switching to bifocals. LOL. We'll see. I'll give it at least a couple of months.
 
I looked at some prescription sunglasses today and came across this document while researching. It is also interesting to read about CR39 vs. trivex vs. polycarbonate as lens materials.

Edit: Another document.
 
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Matthew said:
heh - we sure are a bunch of stylin' pilots.
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I will try to find a photo. When it gets hazy, I have a pair of shooting glasses I wear. They are big square and bright yellow.

People think it's funny but it makes things so clear when it gets smoggy out.
 
Had Lasik done about 4 years ago - both eyes for "distance" as my other hobbies and line of work require pretty good depth perception. perfect focal point is from the glare shield out - can see instruments good enough to fly in daylight, but not perfect. Swapping between by Maui Jim's and Ray Bans, neither is perfect (and seem to be 90 degrees opposite in polarization)

Ordered these yesterday: http://www.boomersintheknow.com/avbisunrewic.html , will be curious to see how well they work for me.
 
Reglar Ray Ban aviators.

I used to buy the $20 from Wal-Mart but my experience has been that you get what you pay for. The Ray Bans are much more comfortable over hours of use and they seem to be much more scratch resistant. Where as the cheaper pairs would start to fall apart after a while, I've had this pair for three years with no issues.
 
Bonchie said:
Reglar Ray Ban aviators.

I used to buy the $20 from Wal-Mart but my experience has been that you get what you pay for. The Ray Bans are much more comfortable over hours of use and they seem to be much more scratch resistant. Where as the cheaper pairs would start to fall apart after a while, I've had this pair for three years with no issues.
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What color lens are they and are they polarized?
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I will try to find a photo. When it gets hazy, I have a pair of shooting glasses I wear. They are big square and bright yellow.

People think it's funny but it makes things so clear when it gets smoggy out.
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Not possible.
 
Like Captain Ron, I need prescription sunglasses. I buy mine from SportsRx (http://www.sportrx.com/). They use frames from all the major sunglass makers and put in prescription lenses. I need distance correction and reading glasses, so I get regular bifocal lenses with a gradient tint so they are dark at the top of the lens where I look outside of the plane, but almost clear on the bottom where the reading glass portion is. I couldn't be happier with the glasses I got from them (a Bolle frame) or with the service they provide.
 
Ray bans polarized. I should have gone with non polarized because I use an iPad, but oh well it works fine. Just hold the iPad horizontal if you have polarized, and it will work fine
 
superdad said:
What's everyone use when they fly? I heard polarized suck.
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Maui Jim Sports with Rosé tint and polarization that causes zero issues with my G-500, 430, or anything else. I wouldn't go without polarization personally.
 
I ended up ordering green tinted, filter category 2, trivex lenses, not polarized.

edit: I like them.
 
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Update

I bought a pair of these http://www.boomersintheknow.com/avbisunrewic.html with the same correction on the bottom as my readers. First flying with them was yesterday (used them in the truck for a few days first)

Worked very well going out to SBD and F70. Worked as well as anything can heading back into the sun to TOA at the end of the day - although I did miss the darker Ray Ban tint.
 
...other beef I've read with polarized is that it takes away from your peripheral vision. I've used them on VFR flights where I was familar and really didn't need the iPad (and we have all steam gauges so that's not an issue) and I've had no problem.

That said, I do have an aviator pair that's not polarized that I prefer using on longer day trips. I use a retina display iPad mini mounted to the yoke so it's always in the portrait orientation so with polarized glasses you can't see it.
 
I'm a lowly student, but I love my Oakley prescription polarized (brownish). They're optically the best lenses of any optical product I've ever used for sharpness and clarity.
I've not found any problems (yet) seeing instruments or through the windshield.
 
My wife gave me a pair of Scheydens (from Spruce, I think), and they are marvelous, especially on those bright, hazy summer days - traffic and clouds just pop out from the gloom.
 
A nice option for either polarized and/or gradient tint is Chemistrie clips. They need your frame to drill small holes in the periphery to put magnets in and then the clip is customized to match the lens shape. The material is called HiVex and has a higher Abbe value than both poly and trivex. About $125-130 retail.

They can also make clips with reading power in them for those that have single vision lenses.

website: http://eyenavision.com/
 
For those who wear readers... I paid big bucks for sunglass bifocals at the local optical shop and that seemed to work ok but then ordered a cheap sub $20 pair from readers.com that work just as well. You don't need to spend a ton of money unless you really want to.
 
As an FYI on prices, I just bought some ray ban wayfarers at Walmart. Near sighted w/ astigmatism. Progressive grey non polarized glasses were $330. $130 for the frames and about $200 for the lenses. Single vision lenses would have been ~$130 less.
 
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