UVEX melanin
Great clarity, pretty cheap at discounters like campmor.
not trying to be a smart&#$ but
If you’re hitting submerged rocks “especially in riffles and rapids”, you’re better off learning to read the water than relying on polarized glasses. Any rock in a riffle or rapid that’s close enough to the surface to bottom out on is going to leave a telltale surface feature.
Now rocks in flatwater are a different story - I was really glad to have my polarized lenses on a low water Chattooga trip. Made it much easier to find the channels in the many shallow, slackwater sections. Good polarized glasses are worth the money.
Hydrophobic solution
Yes, the Water Jackets came with a small bottle of hydrophobic solution to put on the lenses. I have not used them because I always wash my sunglasses after every use and figured it would be a waste.
I should try it, though. Despite the vent holes, if I’m overheating my sunglasses fog up. Maybe it would help prevent that. Then again, washing the lenses with gel toothpaste (NO abrasives!) does, too–for a short while.
I have a pair of Natives and like them.
I didn’t know about the warranty. I’ll have to look into that as I’ve worn right through the screw mounts on the temples.
Defense
The issue posed was one where you are looking downstream directly into a low hanging, winter sun. The glare off the water is almost blinding and it is difficult to read the water sometimes, even to accomplished river readers. Others in this thread have obviously had the same experience thus the interest shown. And if you have to buy yourself a nice Christmas present…
Reading Water
The problem was that the low sun angle and lots of glare made it impossible to see where I was going. The cheap glasses I did zip to reduce glare. As for reading moving water…I’ve been paddling for over 30 years & pretty much have it figured out as long as I can see where I’m going.
These
glasses from Hydro Optix are fantastic, especially around salt water.
http://h3opolarized.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
aha - now I understand
Didn’t mean to patronize you - I thought you were trying to look into the water rather than deal with late sun bouncing off a shoal. I basically assumed yours was another one of those ‘looking for a techno crutch’ posts that pop up on here so often. That’s what I get for assuming…
I know exactly the conditions you’re talking about and can personally vouch for Natives with polarized lenses. They cut enough of the glare to make water reading possible when paddling into the sunset, and they’re also quite durable. I have dropped them off my head onto concrete, rocks, and gravel numerous times with no scratches so far.
there are these as well
http://www.boatertalk.com/forum/BoaterTalk/1163669
rx…made for ww…no pix of them yet…i would love to see them…
hmmm…anyone seen these?
Polarized YES!
While I’ve had few on water problems with the poly carbonate polarized prescriptions (with me it’s the need for depth perception corection and mild near sightedness)but they drive me nuts cycling. The pavement goes into this 3D illusion (like everything is comming up to meet you)
I did have a similar incident with sea grass just below the surface …Problem wasn’t there with glasses off but with em on it was…unsettling to say the least.
Maui Jim Sport
http://www.framesdirect.com/framesfp/Maui_Jim_Sport-tbtgnb/lb.html
You can find a better price closer to $100.00 great glasses. Have had mine for about 5 years now. Love 'em, only complaint is the nose piece will eventually come loose. Hot glue works to reattach but I’ve since lost one side, still comfortable though and wear daily. Also like Hobie Ulta Lite but can’t find another pair, haven’t tried hard either, the bottom of lenses (film) eventually chipped but still good glasses. Have had theses for several years, but the Maui Jims are better.
Careful
Read some where that you should get the good sunglasses. Reason being that the cheaper ones don’t filter out the harmful rays, and with sunglasses your pupils open up to allow more light in and therefore more of the rays.
Could be wrong, but maybe worth thinking about and checking on.
Thanks
I understand, and no offense was taken. Sometimes threads come across different that what was intended…an inherent problem with email in general. Anyway, quite a few folks have recommended the Native glasses. I’ve seen them in REI, but never tried them on. They’re on my short list. Thanks again and Happy Holidays.
I have Native. I love them and their
warranty. Last year the nose cushion cracked partway through. I sent them a email and it cost me $20 for a brand new pair. Not to bad if you ask me. But as I posted before the different colored lens work in different lighting. So it would not hurt to get the extra lens.