polarized/non-poralized glasses

[sherwinelioreg21]

hello!

can someone please explain to me the difference between a polarized and non-polazird sunglasses? and which do you think is much better to use while doing kitesurfing or any other kiting, surfing, sailing, activities..

thanks!

[gcdave]

Wearing polarized sunnies while kiting in the surf is tricky. Good sets of glasses let u see in through the waves and make u miss judge depths of things

Ive never bothered to try non polarized since

Dave

[jhn.holgate]

Polarized sunnys are great....until you try and read your watch/gps/speedo etc. They do an excellent job at reducing reflected glare - something to do with reflected light waves being in different orientation and the polarized lens only lets through light in one plane of orientation. Stick one polarized lens on top of another, spin them around and hey presto, everything goes dark. I've actually stopped wearing them because they also seem to make the lcd screens go dark. Next time you have a polarized lens or filter in your hands, spin it around while looking at surfaces that are reflecting light and see the difference. Also does a good job of darkening the sky when it's 90 degrees away from the sun.

[SoutherlyBuster]

I wear polarised prescription sun glasses for both land and water action. Would not go without them. Ensure you have some sort of strap attached to them in case you have a hard fall so they don't end up in Davies Locker (on the bottom of the ocean).

I kite for the water action in location where the sun can be right where you need to look/kiting direction, so sunnies for me are essential. The water there has very shallow parts which then turn into zero depth sandbars. Seeing through the glare helps to spot the sandbars and take appropriate action. I jump plenty and have never had a problem with judging distance. My water action is mostly on the flat stuff but can be choppy / small waves from the bay. The sunnies also keep out the spray from the board which translates to being able to kite longer. Once had to kite without sunnies and my eyes were hurting from the salt to the extent I had to stop kiting.

I keep a clear set of glasses with me as well, so when the sun has set and there still is a bit of twi light left, I can continue to kite.

When you try out the sunnies, take your helmet along (if you use one) and make sure it's all still comfortable.

Regards,

Norman.

[plummet]

i've tried both and really see no advantage of polorized. i'm using normal at the mo.

[Goz]

Polarized for the win when it comes to cutting out the glare. If you need to read an lcd screen you just learn to just tilt your head a bit.

[Kozzie]

getting sunburnt eyes is a very real and dangerous thing. I saw a girl up here go completely blind for 3! days!! I got my eyes sunburn here for ahwhile it fucks SUCKS stupid fucking knock off foakleys. spent weeks looking for a real pair of sunglasses.

[Prawno]

Polarised for those on land, non-polarised for on the water. I find it hard to judge the water surface with polarised glasses due to the lack of reflections. Personal preference.

[gcdave]

^^^^^

[sherwinelioreg21]

In the end, it still depends on the person who will use the gear..and of course, wearing glasses is always a must..

thanks for all the response, overwhelmed by your answers...

*cheers*