Any - Polarised lenses

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Sat 18 Aug 2012 18:15
Any - Polarised lenses - hillman

I have the practice of wearing sunglasses while driving in strong light, and find that it rests my eyes. Often I’ve seen drivers peering into the sun in the afternoon and not seeming to know what the visors are for. That seems to me to be quite hazardous.

Because my old sunglasses are nearing the end of life I have at last bought a new pair to replace them. The new pair are the real thing, polarised, something that I thought the old pair were, but the effects show that the old pair, although good, were not polarised.

With the polarisation effect the reflected light from the windscreens on approaching cars is filtered out, and the lenses show up which cars have tinted windscreens. Some of the windscreens are quite strongly tinted and it shows up as a bloom similar to what you sometimes see on camera lenses. Others are just tinted, but quite darkly.

I would be foolish to wear my sunglasses at night, though. How about the strongly tinted windscreens that I see ?.

Edited by Avant on 18/08/2012 at 22:06

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Sat 18 Aug 2012 18:49
Any - Poarised lenses - 2.0Tsi
I always wear polarised lenses as they make a significant difference. However they do have downsides, as an example I couldn't see some of the screens in cars with satnav/touchscreen media systems etc as it filers them !
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Sat 18 Aug 2012 19:16
Any - Poarised lenses - thunderbird

The tint in windscrens and front side windows is limited to 25%. If you are stopped by the police and you have more than that you will be prosecuted.

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Sat 18 Aug 2012 21:14
Any - Poarised lenses - RT

I wear varifocals normally but I have a pair of polycarbonate driving glasses, made to my distance prescription, with clip-on polarised darkened add-on lenses - these are brilliant for driving long distance in daylight but I can't see the text on the satnav - I also can't see the radio or heating LCD panels as they seem to be polarised as well.

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Sat 18 Aug 2012 21:27
Any - Poarised lenses - focussed

I have pair of Revex night driving glasses-I bought them in Belgium about ten years ago. The description is a bit of a misnomer, they are very good to wear in poor light conditions,low cloud, heavy rain, fog etc but I don't wear them at night, the effect on what you see is like the sun coming out as soon as you put them on, they are a yellow filter lense.

I have found also that the iridium coated lenses that you can get on sunglasses are very good at deflecting glare, and don't have the distraction of the polaroid lenses making the stress marks in windscreens visible, and as RT says you can't see electronic screens with polaroids.

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Sun 19 Aug 2012 14:09
Any - Poarised lenses - Bobbin Threadbare

I have to wear glasses all the time and I had that anti-glare coating on the last pair. I can't say I noticed a huge amount of different glare-wise and I will never have them again because the amount of dust that stuck to them was very annoying. They were really difficult to get smudges off too. I am thinking about those Reactolite lenses next time, because I have to do a bit of a speedy swap to sunglasses if I'm starting to squint.

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Sun 19 Aug 2012 15:44
Any - Poarised lenses - galileo

I have polarised prescription glasses in the car; they cut out the reflection of the dashboard in the windscreen when its sunny and also let you see through the windscreen of following cars as reflections are cut off - sometimes useful to see who is tailgating you!

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Sun 19 Aug 2012 19:52
Any - Poarised lenses - Roly93

I have to wear glasses all the time and I had that anti-glare coating on the last pair. I can't say I noticed a huge amount of different glare-wise and I will never have them again because the amount of dust that stuck to them was very annoying. They were really difficult to get smudges off too. I am thinking about those Reactolite lenses next time, because I have to do a bit of a speedy swap to sunglasses if I'm starting to squint.

Quite agree here, I would avoid anti glare coatings as after a while it makes the lenses pick up dirt and also harder to get truly clean again. I have prescription aviator sunglasses with a nice dark brown tint lovely and clear on sunny days. Polarisation is good especially when there is sun on a wet road surface, or for float fishing on sunny days but there are a few other minor drawbacks as others have suggested.

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Sun 19 Aug 2012 20:36
Any - Poarised lenses - unthrottled

I'm following this thread with interest because I'm also a speccie four eyes. I bought the anti-glare coating and still find glare to be a problem. Like others, I've noticed that dust has an affinity for the lenses.

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Mon 20 Aug 2012 09:30
Any - Polarised lenses - hillman

I went from place to place to look for a reasonably priced pair of polarised sunglasses but found that sunglasses are regarded as a fashion accessory and sometimes ridiculously high in price. I ended up buying in the biggest main street chemist where they are having a half price sale. ( Boots the Chemist - for Avant if he needs to filter it out )

Can anyone give an opinion on the practicality for driving purposesof the yellow lenses that are supposed to filter out the blue wavelengths ?

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Mon 20 Aug 2012 14:19
Any - Polarised lenses - Bobbin Threadbare

My F-i-L flies small aircraft and he wears the yellow lenses; he has a fancy pair of specs that he can change the colour of lens (they click in and out). He spent quite a bit and then we found the same specs in Aldi of all places! He says they're really useful and they reduce eye strain.

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Mon 20 Aug 2012 23:27
Any - Polarised lenses - focussed

Can anyone give an opinion on the practicality for driving purposesof the yellow lenses that are supposed to filter out the blue wavelengths ?"

Please see my previous post-yes they are good in low light conditions-and yes you can get perfectly serviceable and TUV approved and E marked etc sunglasses, usually marketed as suitable for skiing, in Aldi and Lidl.

I also have a pair of Dewalt safety glasses that have iridium coated anti glare lenses and look just like fashionable sunglasses-wear them on the bike to be on the safe side (motorbike not treadle bike).

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Tue 21 Aug 2012 00:27
Any - Polarised lenses - jamie745

Does hillman.....sell these lenses?

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Tue 21 Aug 2012 16:26
Any - Polarised lenses - MrEckerslikefromRamsbottom

A few months ago, Aldi were selling polarised sunglasses for just four quid with the 'fishing accessories'. There were Pilot type with grey lenses and with brown lenses and black-plastic framed ones. I bought the brown Pilot ones and I love 'em! never thought I'd get proper (well- they're plastic lenses, not glass) polarised sunglasses for less than a fiver! I went back for another pair, and all the brown ones had gone! I went round all the Aldi branches I know before finding one last pair at Ewood, Blackburn. I find these brown ones to be excellent for driving and, really, the best sunglasses I've ever had. Just four quid! I hope Aldi get 'em in again next year... (Won't be using them today, at least not until this thunder storm has passed. It's still Summer in Ramsbottom..)

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Tue 21 Aug 2012 20:38
Any - Polarised lenses - hillman

"I have pair of Revex night driving glasses-I bought them in Belgium about ten years ago. The description is a bit of a misnomer, they are very good to wear in poor light conditions,low cloud, heavy rain, fog etc but I don't wear them at night, the effect on what you see is like the sun coming out as soon as you put them on, they are a yellow filter lense. "

Thank you Focussed. I hadn't paid enough attention. I wouldn't have tried "night vision" spectacles, having a mental block brought about by seeing 'film star' wearing dark glasses while at the wheel.

"Does hillman.....sell these lenses?"

No Jamie745, but I've been looking for a good pair for some time. I went into Boots Stockport branch yesterday to buy another pair, this time for my wife who suffers from cataracts. The Stockport branch has an optician department with fashion sunglasses at enormous prices and a separate sunglasses display in the shop with the half price displays.

Mreckerslikefromramsbottom.

I don't go UpValley usually, being south of Manchester, but there is a branch of Aldi in Macclesfield. I'll look into there occasionally and see if there is a fishing equipment display with them. I prefer the brown lenses because the render colours so well.



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Wed 22 Aug 2012 09:48
Any - Poarised lenses - balleballe

I'm following this thread with interest because I'm also a speccie four eyes. I bought the anti-glare coating and still find glare to be a problem. Like others, I've noticed that dust has an affinity for the lenses.

It's more an anti-reflection coating than an 'anti glare' but most 'optical assistants' dont know the difference.

They are indeed harder to clean and smear easier too. A lot of this depends on the quality of the coating though. Some labs are much better than others.

If glare is still a problem chances are you have light coloured irides, cataracts or uncorrected astigmatism in your specs.

Purely from a driving point on view - the 'drivewear' lens cannot be beaten; but it is expensive and not everyone offers it. They have five layers (transitions, photochromic to visible light, polarising filter and two anti reflection coatings). Dont confuse this with the cheap 'drive' lens from specsavers which is totally rubbish

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Wed 22 Aug 2012 05:39
Any - Polarised lenses - 1litregolfeater

Sunglasses, how youth is wasted on the young

The best sunglasses are pink. Rose tinted. They really work.

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Sat 25 Aug 2012 23:22
Any - Polarised lenses - fredthefifth

Never been one for fashion accessories but my 407 is the worst car I have owned for getting a reflection of the dash on the screen. In certain conditions visibility is very poor and I find the polarised lens really help.

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Sun 26 Aug 2012 00:58
Any - Polarised lenses - Avant

I agree - this sort of thing can be infuriating and is down to thoughtlessness on the part of the manufacturer, and presumably failure to carry out proper test drives of the final version.

The worst offender for me was a Saab 9.3 I test drove a few years ago, which had a chrome surround to the dash, reflected in the windscreen as a curving diagonal line. There were other reasons not to like the Saab, but if I'd wanted to order one I'd have asked for this to be taken off.

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Sun 26 Aug 2012 01:07
Any - Polarised lenses - unthrottled

Is it the steeply raked windscreen of the 407 that causes the excessive dashboard reflection? presumably, this will be more apparent in new cars as they try to reduce aerodynamic drag. Unintended consequences and all that...

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Mon 27 Aug 2012 18:59
Any - Polarised lenses - fredthefifth

Yes, I think it is the rack of the screen.

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Mon 27 Aug 2012 16:23
Any - Polarised lenses - TeeCee

Ray-Bans. Generations of pilots cannot be wrong and I have to say that they're the best things for driving in. Their standard G15 lenses seem to have the miraculous capability of cutting out glare completely in strong light while not stuffing your vision in lower light levels and all while preserving colour balance to boot.

They also don't seem to produce the odd visual effects that polarised lenses can. Ever driven a car with an old, toughened, windscreen with polarised glasses on? Presumably this is the reason they were/are de rigeur in aviation circles.

The sellout from Bausch and Lomb to Luxoticaa doesn't seem to have done 'em any damage. The only change I have detected on the newer lenses is the change of the minute "B/L" logo on each lens, adjacent to the arms, to a "R/B" one.

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Mon 27 Aug 2012 18:39
Any - Polarised lenses - balleballe

Ray-Bans. Generations of pilots cannot be wrong and I have to say that they're the best things for driving in. Their standard G15 lenses seem to have the miraculous capability of cutting out glare completely in strong light while not stuffing your vision in lower light levels and all while preserving colour balance to boot.

They also don't seem to produce the odd visual effects that polarised lenses can. Ever driven a car with an old, toughened, windscreen with polarised glasses on? Presumably this is the reason they were/are de rigeur in aviation circles.

The sellout from Bausch and Lomb to Luxoticaa doesn't seem to have done 'em any damage. The only change I have detected on the newer lenses is the change of the minute "B/L" logo on each lens, adjacent to the arms, to a "R/B" one.

A decent polarising filter should not induce any odd visual effects, the only way it would is if the lenses were very curved (high base curve). Aviators are very flat at the front so the peripheral aberrations will be minimised

The only damage it's done to the brand is that they are not as readily available to smaller optical stores

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