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Polarized sunglasses - a bad thing

knary

looking for a coal mine
I saw the prettiest colors today.

I'd heard enough warnings about how oddly polarized sunglasses interact with faceshields. I also tend to buy cheap sunglasses because I'm very good at leaving them on the rear seat as I pull out of the parking lot.

I bought a new pair of -gasp- $20 sunglasses. I made sure they weren't marked "polarized". But they were. Looking through the new glasses and the faceshield revealed a distracting world of rainbows and spacial ambiguity.

The glasses go back tomorrow (REI).

Just another data point and warning.
 
Remember

"So many fantastic colors,
I see in a wonderland,
So many fantastic colors,
make me feel so....."

Cream

so, colors and riding ain't so good. and this from a painter.
 
knary said:
Looking through the new glasses and the faceshield revealed a distracting world of rainbows and spacial ambiguity.

In my brief riding career, I've noticed the same thing. My biggest distraction has been the patterns in the windshield that polarized sunglasses reveal. I've also been told that polarization can reduce or eliminate reflections that might indicate oil, glass or other reflective surfaces on the road - not a good thing for a 2 wheeler.
 
Yep, if you like psychedelics, all you need are polarized glasses, tinted visors or windows like in a cage:evil , chemical enhancers and off you go:rofl :rofl :rofl
All kidding aside, polarized glasses will hide oil spots on the road too so be carefull what you wear.
 
Hello; I was talking to a friend recently who told me about his detached retina experiences. He said when it was all over he ended up with double vision because the retina was re-attached at a different place. His specialist said for him not to worry about it, that his brain would make the correction for him. Now when you look at him you can see that one eye is lower then the other and off to the right. That is how the brain adjusts to the new retina position. The point is that the brain rapidly adjusts to changes in our vision, sometimes without our even noticing the difference.

I have polarized sunglasses that magnetically clip onto my eye glasses, at first I thought that the colours were a little weird, with some trees glowing brightly, and with spots on the road that only one eye could see. After a month of use, I could barely see the difference, I guess my brain filtered out the importance of the colour change.

I suppose that some people can adapt and some others cannot, or will not.
 
Donkey,

It's fascinating how we adapt. One of the more notable experiments is the fitting of a visor with a mirror that flips the view of everything. At first simple tasks like pouring water into a glass is nearly impossible. At some point, it's as though a switch is flipped and everything, through the new view, is 'natural'. The return to normal vision is just as challenging.

I won't use the polarized glasses because 1. it makes crazy lighting effects. being able to see everything as they are is very important to me (see profile). 2. the RID display on my GS is unreadable when seen through the glasses and faceshield. 3. A wet manhole cover looked oddly gray and blended even more into the road surface.!!!
 
Yup the human ability to adapt is pretty amazing.

I however use polarized suunglasses, and find my vision improved over non polarized, once I got used to them. They are an improvement over the squinting effects from the contacts.

Might have something to do with the fact one eye is 20/450 uncorrected. Needless to say that contact has some power to it. The trade off for me was worth it, but I knew I was making the trade off.

What works for some might not work for all. Just be aware of the risks and changes that polarization can make.
 
Hard to see

I have a pair of the magnetic clip-on sunglasses also, and I get all the psychedelic color moires with my visor down (makes car windshields look gold and/or purple), PLUS the polarization interferes with my GPS and XM screens. Sometimes, I have to twist my head 40 degrees to be able to make the GPS seem anything other than black.

Obviously, not a safe situation.

I'm thinking of asking the local eyewear shop to grind a set of plain tinted lenses for my clip-on frames.
 
I used to relay entirely on cheap sunglasses too, Knary, but not anymore (although I have a few pairs as emergency spares). You see, a few years ago I underwent LASIK and during the healing time, I needed to have sunglasses that kind of wrapped around (which I did not have) to keep debris out and I was cautioned by the doctor to buy high quality ones since I would have to wear them a lot and so forth (cant recall the other reasons). Anyhow, off to a big mall I went and bought a set of Revo "Mad Wrap" sunglasses. These glasses absolutely ROCK. I'm not kidding. The visual clarity is unbelievable - kind of like the difference between cheap binoculars and really expensive ones, if you have had that experience. I think Revo had something to do with the coatings used on our astronaut faceshields(?).

Now I am completely ruined for cheap sunglasses because as soon as I put them on I can see how crappy my vision becomes. I used to be unable to imagine that expensive sunglasses could be worth the money, but at least some of them can. I was totally surprised by this.
 
Revos are better for your eye's health as well. They not only block ultraviolet rays but also IR. Cheap sunglasses don't do that. Worse, since they're likely dark, your eyes open up and then they take in more UV and IR than they would if you weren't wearing the sunglasses at all.

Rob
 
Now that you say that, I think those were some of the things my eye doctor said to me as well.
 
I wear a pair of Revo prescription sunglasses and never have the polarizing problems described above. A little rainbow pattern on my windshield but thats about it.. The clarity of Revos is truly eye opening.
 
"...Once in a while
you get shown the light
in the strangest of places
if you look at it right..."


:rocker
 
Emoto said:
I used to relay entirely on cheap sunglasses too, Knary, but not anymore (although I have a few pairs as emergency spares). You see, a few years ago I underwent LASIK and during the healing time, I needed to have sunglasses that kind of wrapped around (which I did not have) to keep debris out and I was cautioned by the doctor to buy high quality ones since I would have to wear them a lot and so forth (cant recall the other reasons). Anyhow, off to a big mall I went and bought a set of Revo "Mad Wrap" sunglasses. These glasses absolutely ROCK. I'm not kidding. The visual clarity is unbelievable - kind of like the difference between cheap binoculars and really expensive ones, if you have had that experience. I think Revo had something to do with the coatings used on our astronaut faceshields(?).

Now I am completely ruined for cheap sunglasses because as soon as I put them on I can see how crappy my vision becomes. I used to be unable to imagine that expensive sunglasses could be worth the money, but at least some of them can. I was totally surprised by this.

I've noted a definite difference in quality between the truly cheap and other sunglasses. I think you are right. I think I should just bite the bullet and buy something of some level of quality. The optics are better and the level of tint is often more appropriate for driving/riding. I *hate* how most cheap sunglasses are incredibly dark, making them unusable for me in all but the darkest situations.

p.s. the polarized lenses made my bike's RID completely unreadable.
 
I use prescription polarized sunglasses and find them to be excellent. They do a great job at their primary purpose, and I have not experienced (luckily I suppose) any of the problems others have encountered. I recently purchased polarized sunglass bi-focals (yes thats another age milestone!) and they are tremendous. I should have made that switch a few years ago.
 
Emoto is right

Like Emoto, I underwent Lasik several years ago. I purchased a top of the line set of Maui Jims. I only use a clear shield on my helmet. I come home in the evening as the sun is setting. Have to be able to easily remove the sunglasses. I haven't really noticed the color effect other than on some of the cages tinted windows and this is only from the outside. The road etc are not adversely affected and I find I don't need to squint at all. Makes for more relaxed driving. Just my 2 cents.
 
knary said:
I'd bet the wild card isn't the user, but the helmet windshield.

I am not sure in your case. :stick

Now taht you guys have mentioned it, I started comparing my sunglasses. Bright light bothers me so much that I have a couple of pairs. The cheapies make it dimmer, but I still squint. Yup they are polarized. The mid price are okay. The Oakley's do real good, no squinting or nothing. The only thing to compare them to is the prescription aspherical lens sunglasses that are not quite as dark but better image quality and wre $100 more.
 
knary said:
I've noted a definite difference in quality between the truly cheap and other sunglasses. I think you are right. I think I should just bite the bullet and buy something of some level of quality. The optics are better and the level of tint is often more appropriate for driving/riding. I *hate* how most cheap sunglasses are incredibly dark, making them unusable for me in all but the darkest situations.

If you google for Revo Mad Wrap you can find them for around 100 bucks. A lot for sunglasses, but less than I paid a few years ago. Revos also have those nice spring loaded hinges. Try the "blue mirror" lenses. From the wearer's perspective they look almost like an amber that isn't terribly dark (but dark enough) but really help with contrast and clarity.
 
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