With skiing and snowboarding activities in full swing around the U.S., what better gift to give a winter sports lover than a pair of vision improving sunglasses. The right pair of sunglasses or tinted goggles helps improve depth perception, giving athletes and weekend winter warriors the ability to improve their skills and conquer mountainous slopes.
One of the significant benefits of sports sunglasses is that they help reduce glare, while simultaneously contrasting terrains. This gives sports enthusiasts the edge, with greater comfort, speed, accuracy and clarity. In fact, for professional athletes it can give them the winning edge over competitors.
Sports sunglasses have a scientific approach to improving vision. Light rays, such as blue, violet, green, orange, yellow and red, all have different wavelengths. When they are combined together they form a type of white light. These contrasts allow sports sunglasses to better distinguish patterns and depths.
To allow sports enthusiasts' maximum performance, the following highlights the different sports sunglasses tints and features, as well as their intended uses.
- Gray – Reducing overall brightness, gray helps preserve all normal color recognition. It is best for outdoor sports that feature bright light conditions.
- Green – These have a mild contrast and are best for golf and baseball.
- Copper, Brown or Dark Amber – Blocking blue light, these colors help heighten contrast against green grasses and blue skies. They are best for cycling, baseball, fishing, hunting, golf, water sports and skiing.
- Rose, Amber or Red – Allowing high contrast for sunny and party cloudy conditions, these hues are best for fishing, cycling, shooting, hunting, snowboarding, skiing, snowmobiling and water sports.
- Orange or Yellow – Offering heightened contrast to low-light, hazy conditions, these help filter blue light, which ultimately allows for sharper images. These types of lenses are ideal for both indoor and outdoor sports, including cycling, shooting, hunting, basketball, tennis, handball, racquetball, skiing, snowmobiling and snowboarding.
- AR Coatings – This is applied to the back of sunglasses and helps reduce sunlight glare. This works best with tight fitting wrap-around sports styles.
- Mirror Coatings – Designed to help reduce glare in bright conditions, these are ideal for snowshoeing, hiking or skiing, and help block between 10- to 60-percent of rays.
- Polarized – These help block bright lights and eliminate "hot spot" glare. These are perfect for reducing glare on concrete, water, snow and sand.
