Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Polarized vs. Non-Polarized?

I've used Oakley (non-polarized) sunglasses for years and never felt like my eyes were getting sunburned or anything when up on Whitney.

(Strangely, once or twice when doing climbs local to me - like Mt. Baldy - I have though, go figure.)

Anyway, recently I had an opportunity to pick up a new pair of Oakley sunglasses in the "polarized" version. But, I couldn't seem to get a straight answer from anyone as to what the difference was, and what effect it would have on my vision through the sunglasses.

Used them for the first time today, and did notice a distinct difference. The road surface in front of me while driving seemed darker - almost as if it were drying out from a rain, and "crisper". Maybe just me, but I popped the former sunglasses back on and the street went back to being brighter, with glare in the sunlight. And, some funny effects of the light on the car windows too.

So, what's the deal? Just thought I'd ask y'all.

Of course, I could have just searched on the web and probably found the answer in short order, but I thought it might be a subject of interest to others in the forum since everyone should be protecting their eyes up on the mountain, so here goes.

Thanks!

I think the sunburn protection comes from the percent of UV that is blocked. You probably had some sun glasses that didn't have the proper UV blocking. (and you probably were around lots of snow -- I can't imagine sunburned eyes from just normal sun without snow or water reflections to intensify it).

I particularly like my polarized sun glasses -- they cut out all that horizontally reflected glare -- off of road and water surfaces, and even leaves of trees. Gives everything a softer look.

You WILL sometimes see a cris-cross pattern looking at car windows (the laminated anti-shatter safety glass kind) -- something to do with the laminating process and the way the laminating substance is applied, I would guess.

I got a sunburn or welders burn in my eyes once when I accidentally touched a wire to two 220 volt electrical contacts. At first made everything have an odd halo or glow, then some hours later it felt like I had sand in my eyes.

If turn your sunglasses, or bend over and look at the road sideways, <img src='http://www.quest-pipelines.com/pipelines/pipepub.gif' border='0'> you will see the glare you are missing.

Also,if you are a fisherman,your visibility into the water is amazingly clear.I fly fish the Sierra often and the clarity spotting fish is awesome.

All sunglasses in the United States in the last 10 years require 100% UV protection....some Anzi standard stuff. That is not the issue. UV A, B & C is mostly invisible short wavelength light. UV is not so much for comfort as protection from Cataracts, Macular degeneration, pinqueculas and the like. As it turns out most of the glare comes from short wavelength light, so UV protection (helpful) and polaroids (the best) work the best for cutting out glare.

Some of the sunglass lenses are darker then others, allowing less light to come in. So on a very bright day a pair of medium darkness Oakley (or any other good quality sunglasses) might allow enough light to come in that we can feel it is too bright. That light includes all visible colors.

With sunglasses larger frames block more light because they wrap better. A small frame might have 100% UV, but lots of light comes around the edges. So with a small frame you can still get the harmful effects from the sun.

As has been mentioned, polarized glasses are very good for light that is bounced off things. For example water, cars, other metal objects. That is were polaroids work the best. They also have better glare protection then just UV alone.

Glacier glasses for the snow have actually three things....a darker tint....UV protection...and Infrared. They also have the leather on the side so light doesn't come around the side of the glasses.

So the best all around sunglasses are lenses that have no distortion, UV 400 protection, polaroid lenses and are dark enough to be comfortable. Dark enough is a personal preference.

But since there can be 500 times as much UV at the beach or in the mountains as you get sitting out on the grass, do yourself a favor and wear good sunglasses.

Sunglasses are just as relevant as many other things one considers taking to Mt. Whitney. Picking the right one is not always that easy. I often wear cheap ones on the mountain because they come home all beat up. It is nice to know even $10 sunglasses have UV protection.

I save my nice ones for looking cool, driving around in the city.

Don’t ask me the science behind the Polarized thing, but my new Polarized shades are way cool! I have a buddy who makes scrip lenses and he suggested I go Polarized. Since I was getting them at cost I just went with what he suggested. I love them! I’ve been wearing scrip sunglasses for 20+ years and the Polarized lenses blow the others away. Bad news, they were pricey at cost. If you have bad peepers like me I strongly suggest you make you make the investment. You will not regret it.

Even the cris-cross pattern looking at car windows is kind of cool.

Hey everyone,

I have owned a pair of Oakley Minute sunglasses for about six years and they work get at high altitudes. They are polorized with the whole UV protection thing. The lenses are those kind that you can see yourself in and they just reflect the light away. Plus the lenses are really dark and cut the glare by 50%. I was up on Cucamonga Peak about a year and a half ago when there was still a fair amount of snow on the trail. My dad forgot his sunglasses and we had to turn around because the snow was blinding him. I told him to try on my Oakley's and he said that they do a great job at stopping the snow blindness.
That is just my experience with Oakley's.

Matt