Nike Prescription Sunglasses for Sailing

For those unfamiliar with the activity, sailing seems idyllic. However, this viewpoint will quickly change for the unprepared. First of all, for those who are complete landlubbers, the boat motions in the water can be unsettling. On heavy seas, the rolling, pitching, and yawing motions combined with the constant sun glare can give you headaches or even worse. Motion sickness pills will certainly help with seasickness problems, but your choice of eyewear will also have a decisive effect on your comfort. Eyewear is also important if you are experienced in sailing, because your choice affects both your comfort and ability to sail.

Here are three Eyewear considerations:

Protects Against UV

With light coming from the sky, reflected off the water, and bouncing off the deck of your boat, UV is coming in from all directions. Although quality prescription sunglasses should do this, make sure that your pair blocks all (100% of) ultraviolet, both UVA and UVB. If the label states otherwise or states nothing at all about UV protection, don’t buy the eyewear unless there is an option for a UV blocking coating. Tinted glasses without UV protection cause greater eye damage than not wearing sunglasses at all.

Stays Put on Your Face

Walking on a pitching deck, blowing wind, and looking down into the water at your hull or anchor line will put your glasses to the test. If they tend to move around or slide down the nose, you will eventually, if not immediately, lose them. There is also a very good chance they will go overboard.

A good pair of Nike prescription sunglasses should be lightweight and have an excellent fit. They should have a good amount of contact area with your head to provide plenty of grip. However, this shouldn’t cause pain. Nylon is a good frame material because it’s lightweight, strong, and flexible. It bends and snaps back to its original shape without breaking.

Avoid heavy frames and especially heavy lenses. If your lenses are heavy, use a lens material with a higher index of refraction. Polycarbonate has a higher index than standard CR-39, and high index plastic lenses have the highest of all. The higher the index level, the thinner and lighter the lens. Your doctor can tell you which material is optimal for your prescription level.

Blocks Glare

It’s hard to imagine what sailing and general boating was like before the invention of polarized lenses. Polarized lenses are universally used by boaters because they strip away water glare. This prevents eye strain as well as a general feeling of fatigue and discomfort.

are necessary for many situations. For example, glare interferes with your ability to see landmarks, other boats, underwater hazards, wave patterns, and marker buoys. Polarized lenses make life easier when inspecting your hull and keel, and they are very useful for spotting fish.

Lens tint reduces the overall brightness level. While gray tint doesn’t distort colors, brown increases contrast. Enhanced contrast can do wonders once polarization has stripped away the glare. The enhanced contrast of brown tint causes landmarks, other boats, wave patterns, and underwater obstacles to stand out better. Polarized lenses with a brown tint are a great combination.

You can further reduce glare by adding an anti-reflective (AR) coating. This prevents the “bounce-back” effect of light reflecting off the inside of the lens back into your eyes. Still more glare reduction is possible by using a wrap-around frame style, which curves around the face and eyes to prevent light from entering around the edges of the lenses. This style also keeps the wind out of your eyes. Both the AR coating and wraparound frame also work to prevent UV radiation from bypassing the lenses into your eyes.

Use Nike prescription sunglasses to protect your eyes and increase your comfort, sailing skill, and enjoyment this summer. If you need further help in prescription sunglasses selection, contact us today for more information.