I know dick about how light works, but what I'm reading is consistent with what I already know to be true; My blue-tinted, polarized glasses I use while fishing suck ass when driving. There is not a lot of contrast. My amber-tinted polarized glasses were awesome for driving (I think) but I crushed them a few years ago and swore I'd never buy another $100 pair of shades.
What say ye, bretheren? These will be used on track, and I'd like to stay under that triple digit mark.
I cant keep you under the $100 mark, but my TAG sunglasses are great for driving. They have a little amber tint and more of the wrap-around style.
Amber tint FTW.
I have a set of glasses with the rather expensive Transistions DriveWear glasses and they work well, but the amber tinted glasses I had before were a little better.
Mind you, with the coke bottle bottoms I have for glasses, I usually don't get the full transistion effect anyway as the glasses end up with a noticeable base tint.
I've been wearing Serengeti Drivers for over 20 years. I can't imagine anything better. I've probably had six or seven pairs and I think I've paid less than $100 per pair for most of them.
I buy used Oakley Flakjackets (I'm on pair number 2 after 5 years) for next to nothing, then swap in a new set of lenses in whatever tint I want. My last set cost me $80 this way, while my current pair was about $100 (I went with polarized lenses).
Either way, the end result is a set of awesome sunglasses for not-so-awesome sunglasses money. You get new lenses, as well as a scratched set of spare lenses that I use when I'm at a junkyard, using the chainsaw or weedwhacker, etc. Oakley lenses are impact rated, too, so they double as safety glasses.
$12.00 safety glasses from NAPA.
Oh, as far as colors: I wore amber for dirt-bike riding and skiing for years, then decided I hated it. Now I wear dark black lenses. I like everything to look the way it would normally look, just darker. I have a black tinted face shield that I use on my helmet on bright days, as well as an amber one for rainy days (though I've never used the amber, only black or clear).
+1 on the Oakleys. I still wear wrap around style (I forget the name right now) due to my intolerance to bright light.
As I recall, Lesley's the resident expert on this stuff.
I like the brown polarized or grey polarized lenses from Oakley. Black gets too dark for me
Rec spec's "Biker" for me. They fit in my helmets bike and car racing and when worn around town the side coverage means no bright spots.
http://www.sporteyes.com/rssport.htm
Got my script built in
http://www.amazon.com/Fusion-Safety-Glasses-Smoke-Lens/dp/B0001YXIRW
they work great for driving and they fit under my helmet.
I have become a recent Oakley convert. I used to use some decent wraparounds - nothing too special, but a step up from $12.99 gas station specials. Then I borrowed a set of my wife's polarized Oakleys and I'm sold. I can see more clearly and my eyes are less tired after a 6-hour drive. Mine are one of the grey tints. I've used yellow lenses in fog and hurricanes for driving in the past, and I might pick up another pair of Oakleys in that tint.
The best part of polarized lenses is the way they screw with in-car displays.
Red-tints improve colour view.
Helps me pick out the black-and-whites.
Warning: The last sunglasses thread we had turned into the biggest canoe bait ever.
I worked outside in the sun looking at the sky for 10 years. I broke down and bought a pair of Oakley somethings. Not polarized, but still pretty good, dark shade. My eyes were less tired after those than any of the cheapo pairs I'd ever had. They were great, durable, and lasted 6 years, before they just got too worn out to wear every day. I still keep them in the Miata for people who aren't prepared for a convertible.
I replaced them with Maui Jims. Very fragile, but man they are super comfortable and the lenses are the best ever. Not good if you're going to be hard on them though. I have a pair of $40 ugly things from Bass Pro for fishing as well.
My personal favorites are Smiths. I've worked at a ski/outdoor store for 15 years that sells Smith, Oakley, Maui Jim, Revo, and various other big brands. Most of the people who work there wear Smith - more scratch resistant than Oakley, better tints too.
Plus, you can get the slider series that has multiple lenses and colors
ProTip: Look around for Hobie glasses (yes, like the catamaran). They're made in the same factory as Smiths, and are virtually identical in every way, but for like 70% the price. I have a couple sets that are "watersports" glasses (polarized) that I drive with and they're great, especially at eliminating glare. I also use them for sports, boating, and everything else. They're not super-dark, but great. And bulletproof. I've had the same 2 pairs for several years now and abuse the hell out of them, and they're still scratch-free.
My last pair of Oakleys went 12 years, still work but the style is a bit dated and lenses are scratched.
Wife bought me a pair of Oakley Whiskers before our vacation a few weeks ago, even better than my last pair which was $350 (in 2000).
She used to be cheap when it came to glasses, she wore mine for a day at the lake a few years ago and now has quite a few pairs of GOOD sunglasses. It's actually worth the difference.
Real Ray-Ban Wayfarers--sharp glass lenses and classic looks. I prefer the green lenses.
True story: A rock thrown by Monster Tajima's Suzuki chipped my old ones. I wore them that way for more than a year because he's just that cool.
Most designer glasses are made by Luxottica. They own Ray Ban and Oakley and many other brands. They probably even make some of the less expensive brands sold in big box stores. Designer eyeware is a huge business these days and every designer brand wants to sell sunglasses because the profits are huge.
Personally, I have Oakleys and Costa Del Mars. Both with plastic lenses. The Costas seem to have nicer lenses for being out in the sun. They are also polarized so LCD displays often can't be read and you get a strange blotchyness in some car windows.
If you're wearing them to do anything where they need to protect make sure they are designed to do that. My eye doctor suggested wearing something tight to the face for anywhere that you need to keep things out: like on the track with your window down (visor up) or while driving your miata with the top down, etc... Oakley (and I'm sure others too) has a line of glasses that they market for military use. They provide a good amount of protection.
There is also some "new" research out claiming that exposure to UV rays (A,B,C) and high energy visible radiation may increase the risk to macular degeneration. So wear sunglasses that block 100% of UV as well as block the blue light (which typing out reminds me of those awful late '80s blue blocker commercials where the guy raps about "gotta get me some of those blue-block-ers")
I've got a buddy who works at Oakley so I go there for the hookup :)
I wore Wayfarers long before the neckbearded hipster onslaught. 
Woody wrote: I've been wearing Serengeti Drivers for over 20 years. I can't imagine anything better. I've probably had six or seven pairs and I think I've paid less than $100 per pair for most of them.
+a bunch
I'm on my 2nd pair over 20 years or so. If & when I lose or break them, I doubt that I'll look at anything else.
I wear the Oakley Flack Jackets with the VR28 Black Iridium Polarized lenses. I can't stand bright light, it hurts. These things are tough, I've run over them with my truck before. They're also ANSI rated safety glasses, so I feel good about wearing them while on the track. I wouldn't wear a non-safety-rated lens on the track, personally.
robert
funny story with my oakleys.. I wear them all the time. If I am out of the house, they are on my head.. even if pushed up on top of it.
The other day I was working on the volvo and had to put them down to get down under the car. When I was done, I packed everything up and closed the hood.. crushing the oakleys between the hood and rain tray.
No harm done..
I also recently remembered what style I wear.. the M-Frame which I think is Mil spec
Oakley Eyepatch here...or Petrol Gulfstream. Petrol's are better optically, but the Eyepatches are better for bright (read, concrete in the summer) conditions. I've had the Oakleys for about six years---replacing the lenses once and probably will replace lenses again in a few months
Per
You'll need to log in to post.
