Most people don’t realize just how tough bright sunlight is on your eyes. Yes, you can get a headache and your eyes can hurt after a bike ride, drive or hike on a bright, sunny day, but just like UV exposure isn’t good for your skin long-term, it also turns out that it’s not the best thing for your eyes either. Less than 10% of people realize this, so now you know! You can experiment with the fatigue factor related to bright sunlight too: after an hour or two in the sun, put a cold rag on your eyes. Feels great, doesn’t it?
Problem is that most sunglasses you buy nowadays seem to confuse a color tint with UV protection. Turns out that they’re not the same thing, which is why I was interested when Xperio reached out and asked if I’d be interested in trying a pair of sunglasses with the Xperio UV lenses. They sent along a pair of what I’d describe as classic 70’s “Aviator” style, and I have to be candid, I feel like I’m part of The A-Team or similar with ’em on. Just need a mullet and maybe a denim jacket to go with them:
More seriously, these are some amazing lenses.
The Xperio UV polarized lenses are so well made that they put some of my other polarized lenses to shame. No “you tilted your head 2-degrees and now your car nav screen is completely black” problems of poor polarization. No worries about them scratching and the glass is super easy to clean, even with just my shirt tail (since ya can’t always have a lint-free non-scratch lens cleaning cloth, can you?).
Easy to work with, terrific to look through and see the world a bit less full of annoying glare and they look, like, totally bitchin’ too, dude.
I bet you didn’t know that up to 50% of the UV rays that reach your eye are from reflection off the back surface of the lens too. Xperio has this covered by coating both sides of the lens to protect your eyes from this problem. This makes them really comfortable for your eyes and make peering even into a bright parking lot with white cars a relaxing visual experience, rather than a squint-worthy one.
This sort of glass is something you get through your optometrist, which means you can also get these for your specific prescription. When I wore glasses, I loved having prescription sunglasses! There are also lots of options on the shape and even the base tint color (because in addition to the UV protection, these also have a color tint). In fact, there are 11 solid colors, 6 gradient colors and 3 mirrored variations available. Mine are solid gray, nice and neutral. Do I wish they had a mirrored finish so I could go full “70’s cop movie” on the world? Oh, heck yeah! But still, I’m really impressed with the glass quality and the remarkable finish and perfectly even tint of the lens, even at the edges of my vision.
Not only that, but did you know that June 27 is National Sunglasses Day? I didn’t either, but whatever day it is, if you spend time outside, it really is pretty darn important to wear good, UV-blocking sunglasses to protect your eyesight. If you’re ready to move up to solid prescription sunglasses or just want to mix and match lens, finish, size, shape and frames, I encourage you to check out Xperio UV lenses and talk with your optometrist about them as an option.