Sunglasses for sailing

Hi all,
I've noticed that the sunglasses I wear when sailing begin to deteriorate quite quickly, the inside of the lenses begin to peel and blister reducing vision. (Not to mention the cost of replacing them regularly.)
I sail in ocean water, so salty, but I always rinse them in fresh water immediately afterwards.
I've been wearing oaklies. Is there something else I should be doing to look after them or should I be using another brand, is there a brand that is good for saltwater?
.....

I seem to recall Oaklies have a very good warranty on them, or at least they did. You may try returning them as defective. Having the lense coating peel off seems like a defect they would stand behind. I know Oaklies and others make lenses that repel water, so it beads up and runs off. Like rain-x for your glasses. That is a nice feature.
Scott
Hobie 18M in Chicago

I use oakley water jackets. They have lasted me the past 3 years. I just wipe them down with the solution that comes with them to repel water. I put it all over them. http://www.oakley.com/pd/2044
David Felty
Prindle 18
Hobie Bravo
Irving, Tx

Buy a lot of 20 really cheap sunglasses on ebay and chuck as needed. Or get a nice pair of rudy projects if the lenses peel or get scratched you send them back and they replace them no questions asked. I just sent my 5 year old rudy frames back after I sat on them and they replaced them with brand new ones for 1/2 retail.
Dave
edited by: Wolfman, Oct 11, 2010 - 05:14 PM
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2


I use to wear some Polarized glasses,
I had the same problem as you....
Plus, after i took them off...my eye's hurt.
MN3 wrote: there are several high end glasses available.
BARZ are highly recommended...
Spex, Bolle's also have a good followingi personally have avoided polarized as they make reading an LCD gps, and cell phones VERY hard to see.
Tyler
Panama City, FL


http://www.gill-gear.com/Sunglasses/c7/p6479/GILL-PRO-RACING-GOGGLES-%289637%29/product_info.html
Work for me. They replaced a black pair of the same ones for me under warranty. The black ones sucked, the red ones are great. I'm old so I couldn't care less what they look like, but I am concerned with what the see like π
Cheers!
Austin, TX






Sorry guys- eye doctor's perspective here=
I can't believe that on a sailing forum nobody would mention Maui Jim. I've owned several pairs without complaints. Best optics available in a sun lens. Salt water resistant- never had any rust. MJ will fix sunglasses forever for small fee. I stepped on mine (= major squish) once and sent them in for new lenses. Received a brand new pair for the $60 I sent for the lenses.
It is true about polarized lenses and LCD's as all LCD's have polarizing filters which can block all light when angled wrong to another filter (i.e. sunglasses). However, I don't keep a GPS on my NACRA and find it fairly easy to remove them when I am using the phone (not on the boat). IMO, the ability of a GOOD polarized lens to cut the glare off of the water far outweighs the inconvenience of not being able to text while sailing. π
Eric C.
1980 Nacra 5.2

I like my Maui Jim's also, but the Oakley's I have provide better coverage while sailing. They also have a good warranty program which I have had to use. Make sure what ever glasses you use they are UV protection rated. I seem to recall some cheap sunglasses didn't use to be, and being on the water with tinted glasses that don't block UV rays could be a very bad combination.
Just something to look at when getting cheap sunglasses, since non UV blocking glasses are worse on your eyes then no sunglasses. At least that is the urban myth I currently believe....
Scott
Hobie 18M in Chicago

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