Driving glasses - Where to buy and what to look for..?
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mr47 said:
Polaroid lenses do not always block all of these uv's.
UV400 blocks out all harmful UV up to ... wait for it..... 400 nanometers and generally blocks UVA too.
This is mostly all you will need in terms of good protection from harmful UV light as it is the most damaging and can be put in clear as well as Sunglass lenses.
UVB is mostly related to glare but if you are blocked up to 400 nanometers you are still safe from harmful UV.
UVB is also related to the color of the lenses.. .maybe if you are old enough... you will remember those extremely fugly looking Blue Blocker lenses that were popular in the 80's. Blue blocker lenses blocked out all UVB and also helped cut glare... at the expense of a horrid ugly orange brown colored lense.
These days you do not need blue blockers to get UVB protection, but it is not the norm to find Sunglasses that block this spectrum of UV light as it is not generally necessary... but lenses will still likely be in tones of brownish.
Polaroid lenses are laminated lenses that block glare coming in at a horizontal angle.
Polarized lenses are great for driving and especially good for anything related to the water... ie fishing boating surfing etc.. they have the uncanny ability to allow you to see straight into the water without any of the light glinting off the waves.. it is truly weird if you have not experienced it before.
I would highly recommend Polarized lenses they are great, but tend to be a little pricier. RayBan makes many of their models available with polarized lenses and are probably one of the most reasonably priced for the quality that you can find.
FYI the company that makes RayBan is also the same company that makes Prada, Versace and so many other high end brands too. If you look at the newer RayBans you will very likely be able to see the influence from some of the Prada line that has been incorporated into some of the newer RayBan styles.
Forget about all the UVA UVB crap... if you are buying a good quality name brand Sunglass it will have all the UV protection you are likely to need.
Anti-glare is designed to cut out glare from a directed/artificial light source or reflected light. This is mostly useful for situations like night driving or computers or working under heavy florescent lighting. Basically this is useless outside since the Sun is diffuse lighting and does not bounce off the lenses from a direct source causing halo's like car headlights do. The ONLY time that they are useful outside is on the back surface of sunglasses....because...... when you have a dark sunglass lens you are essentially creating a reflective surface and often from the back side people will see their eyes reflecting off the back of the lenses. This can obviously be quite annoying but is not always noticeable as it depends on the curve/wrap of your lenses too.
Again this is not necessary for a good pair of lenses... but is often paired with polarized lenses as the back surface of polarized lenses are more likely to create a reflective surface. RayBan also puts out many of their polaroid lenses with this backside AR (anti-reflective) coating But of course all of these additio0ns can add to the cost.
What is the best place to buy sunglasses / driving glasses in Mumbai ? I want to buy a pair of riding glasses(preferably anti - glare and suitable for night riding), and another pair of sunglasses. As the discussion has pointed out, the brands that I need to look at are Poloroid, Ray Ban and Titan Fastrack.
Please suggest places to look up these brands, where I can get them at reasonable rates.
Thanks,
~M
Please suggest places to look up these brands, where I can get them at reasonable rates.
Thanks,
~M
Thanks guys for the great response.. I think I'll try to find polarized lenses locally.. There are quite a few big name optical showrooms here in Indore, and I guess paying a personal visit to these will help me decide better.. 
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