BoatU.S. - March/April 2010

ANN DERMODY producttest

Cool Shades

We test the best sunglasses on the market to find out how they
compare on all the important attributes boaters need

nyone who’s ever taken a boat ride on a sunny day with the water ref lecting straight into their eyes will know sunglasses play a crucial (and opthalmologists would argue, critical) role in enjoying the boating experience. Yet it’s one piece of equipment where most boaters are probably led by their hearts or their vanity rather than by which might be the most suitable pair for them.

So what makes a great pair of sunglasses? Sun and reflected light on water are harsh on eyes and all the sunglasses we tested had polarized lenses, the minimum “must have” considered by experts for eye protection from the sun. We tested eight pairs, all from different manufacturers, and were pleasantly surprised that when it comes to doing their job, namely protecting your eyes, they all did an admirable job.

All of our testers are avid boaters. Among them: a marine surveyor, a long-distance cruiser, a sailor, a fishing

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enthusiast, and a water skier (although he didn’t try them out waterskiing). We had our testers take the sunglasses for a weekend, using them to do everything from their regular water-based activities to driving. For some this was a weekend cruise in the sunshine on the Chesapeake Bay, for others an overcast weekend spent dockside. A third took the sunglasses for a bright, crisp fall day spin around a freshwater lake in Pennsylvania.

The criteria were simple; discover how well the sunglasses performed under the following headings: visibility through the water; physical fit; removing glare off the water; how well you could see indoors with them on; and aesthetic appeal. Some brands were geared towards different water-based activities. For example, the ONOs are one of the few sunglasses brands aimed at those who need glasses for reading charts. SeaSpecs have a tightening band attached that can’t be removed that keeps them in place under extreme watersports

or when that wayward wind or engine thrust that’s stolen many a pair of favorite glasses looms. The Wiley X Jake have a removable, vented foam that locks into the frames on the insides of the rims to keep out salty seawater, wind and insects.

Bear in mind that no test is foolproof and a certain degree of subjectivity from one tester to another is at play. Some of our testers admitted to developing a soft spot for the sunglasses they thought looked good on them! Head sizes, eyes, and even boat speeds could render a great pair on one reader non-functional on another. The good news is that, while opinions varied wildly, none of the sunglasses we tested were terrible at the job they set out to do, namely protect your eyes from the harsh glare of the sun, but some did fare much better on the water than others.