While many people will happily buy lower priced sunglasses from the High Street, there are a large percentage of those who prefer to buy quality designer sunglasses that they may wish to use for longer. There are several designer brands that you can look for including Oakley, Dolce and Gabbana, Bloc, Bolle, Armani, Quiksilver, Spy and Electric sunglasses to name a few! However, you should also consider the principal reason you are buying your new glasses.

Firstly, bear in mind that sunglasses, cheap or expensive, should comply with certain standards with regard to eye safety. These standards carry different labels depending on the country. In Europe you need to check for EN 1836:2005, in the US the standard is ANSI Z80.3-1972 and Australia AS1067. Basically, go by the amount of UV protection the glasses give you rather than he price.

Sunglasses should protect against 100% of UV rays and also filter out UVA, UVB and UVC as well. You should also remember that irrespective of the colour or darkness of the lens, it is actually the clear outer coating that filters the rays and not the colour.

Why are you considering buying your new sunglasses? Is it because you need them for driving, for fishing, for golf, water sports, cycling or perhaps mountaineering? Many people don’t even consider the reason and incorrectly use the same glasses for everything. However, the colour of the lens and the construction of the glasses can affect your vision in different ways. The range of uses for which people require their sunglasses is probably why some come with interchangeable lenses such as the Birdz Hawk sunglasses kits.

Some tints can cause colour distortion that may affect your driving performance. Driving glasses should help keep you alert and your eyes comfortable without causing eye-strain or headaches. Look for polarised lenses and, if possible these should have a grey tint as this is more neutral and should not affect visual contrast or distort colour.

If you are a golfer, yellow is the colour of choice as it enhances contrast and depth perception. For cycling, you really need a tougher lens as you should consider the increased airflow to the face, you will also need to protect the peripheral vision and consider the fit of the cycling helmet with the glasses.

There are a few sports that demand additional basic elements for sunglasses or goggles. For example, for mountaineering and other altitude sports, one needs to consider extremely bright conditions as well as the high altitudes. Altitude sports essentially require category 4 lenses that take such conditions into account. Glasses or goggles required for water sports such as surfing or kayaking etc., should be shatter-proof, resistant to misting, have a nose cushion, be buoyant and also have some form of fixing such as a strap. For example, Oakley and Electric have a good range of suitable goggles.

In summary, get the best UV protection and consider the colour of the lenses and other properties in relation to the use you are buying your sunglasses for.

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