With my cursor hovering over “Complete Transaction,” I am unable to click. I’m undecided. Do I want brown, or gray lenses for my sunglasses?  How about silver, black, or blue mirror? Just then, thankfully, my editor Dave Reed calls about something else and when I explain my dilemma, he suggests I reach out to Steve Rosenberg. Steve, he says, has legit lens technology credibility. So, I defer my purchase, close my browser and reach out to the Master of Shades.

I have known Rosenberg for a long time, from sailing 505s and when we were both on the US Sailing Team. He was in the Flying Dutchman, I in the Tornado. Back then, he was winning national championships in high-profile boats like the 505, Laser and Snipe, but he’s best known in sailing circles as the guy that knows everything about sunglasses, with a specialty in lens technology. Rosenberg’s career started when he was sponsored as a pro sailor by Oakley in the mid 80s. By the early 1990s, he was snapped up by Oakley where he quickly rose through the ranks to senior executive. There, he helped usher their transition from a “Niche Cool Guy” brand as he calls it, into the mass-market sports sunglass behemoth they are known as today.

 Eventually, he saw a need for lens technology improvement, so he followed his passion and founded Kaenon to work on developing better polarized lens technology. Amongst us sailors and beyond, Kaenon became well known for its quality sunglasses. He eventually sold out and took a break. More recently, he and his son Jacob founded Tajima-Direct.com, a high-tech online polarized sunglasses and prescription lens company that brings his industry-leading polarized and prescription lens technology directly to the consumer. You can read all about it here. https://www.sailingworld.com/story/gear/how-to-save-your-sunglasses/

 But enough about them. What about me? I still needed to choose my sunglasses, so I got to work picking Rosenberg’s brain. From him, I was naively looking for a few key selection tips. But like all those that know their craft well, he tactfully led me down a more thoughtful path. “Everyone is different, sees things differently, and has different needs and tolerances, so there really is not one right answer, but with knowledge, you will be able to make the right decision that fits your unique needs,” he tells me.

 The knowledge path he brought me down started with lens material. Plastics like polycarbonate, CR-39, Nylon, and glass each has its own set of challenges, such as being too easily scratched, heavy, have polarization efficiency issues, and/or shatter and so on. He told me that no materials or manufacturing process at that time checked all the boxes, so he decided to base his lens businesses on Urethane.

“When fabricated correctly, it’s the first non-comprising polarized lens material featuring the superior optical clarity of glass, combined with hi-mass impact resistance and extremely light weight,” he says. Lens material is a brand choice, not typically a model choice within a brand, so you may have to dig deep to find which lens material a sunglass manufacturer uses, but it’s worth the search. It’s not the whole picture because manufacturing any lens is not easy, so it’s more than just the material that counts, but it’s a start.

Even before talking to Rosenberg, one of the few things I knew for sure was that I wanted my lenses polarized. Light waves are naturally oriented in many directions, but the reflected light waves we see as glare off the water are horizontal.  Good polarization blocks those horizontal waves removing the glare. I can read the water and surface texture so much better without the glare and I find glare tiring on my eyes and brain. “Even on a cloudy day where you would not think there would be much glare,” Steve assured me, “you will be able to see more contrast with polarized lenses on flat light days.” Check that box and move on.

Another thing I am sure of is that I want wrap-around frames and lenses.  The wrap-around style protects the side of my eyes from direct light yet allows for peripheral vision. Rosenberg added that we want an anti-reflective coating on the inside of the lenses to knock down indirect light bouncing off your skin reflecting onto the lenses then back into your eyes.  I had not thought of that one.

At the heart of my inability to complete my order, however, was lens color and finish selection.  It turns out that my difficulty in choosing was because these choices are personal. For help here, Rosenberg sent me to the Blog section of his Tajima-Direct.com website where I found case studies with top sailors. This was super helpful, here are some excerpts:

 ● America’s Cup champion and Olympic Gold Medalist Peter Burling wants one set of glasses, he wants to put them on when he is ready to go sailing without making any further choices.  For this all-around color, he likes gray polarized lenses. His eyes are not overly sensitive, so he can get away with a slightly lighter tint allowing him to use one pair in a wide range of light conditions. 

 ● Olympic Silver Medalist and multiple world champion Steve Benjamin could not be more the opposite, he wants a quiver of lenses. “My eyes have always been sensitive to sunlight, so I prefer a dark polarized lens most of the time, so I don’t squint and stay as relaxed as possible,” says Benjamin on the Blog.  “On cloudy days I tend to prefer your Copper lenses that are dark with added contrast for when changing light goes flat, and in fog there is nothing better than the Yellow-Green low light lenses.”

● Olympian and world champ Dave Hughes prefers gray with blue mirror—an all-purpose lens. But he wants a low-light option too. “The ‘Brown 15 Green Mirror’ works really well for me in foggy and low-light conditionswhere I’m looking for heightened contrast and detail in flat light.  I find I’ve been rotating in those lenses more and more lately.”

Intrigued by these case studies, I peppered Rosenberg for one more level of lens color understanding. “Our gray is neutral and natural. If you are going to get just one set, this is it,” he suggests. “Copper is great for those that want the most contrast,” he continues, “but some find that too much, that’s where brown comes in, and yellow-green is great for low light, like in fog, or overcast.”

In case you were wondering about the numbers in some of those case studies. Like the ‘15’ in ‘Brown 15’, it is the measured percentage of visible light transmission (VLT) that passes through the lens. For example, ‘Brown 15’ is 15-percent transmitted (85 percent of visible light blocked).  For sailors, the sweet spot, says Rosenberg, is 10 to 15 percent VLT.  Eight-percent VLT and under is “what you need on Mount Everest.”  You may prefer 10 percent VLT if your eyes are very light sensitive. Anything higher than 15 may be too bright except in lower light conditions.

 Any mirrors reflect light, this is why you see mirrors used on the snow in bluebird conditions. “It’s my opinion that mirrors are beneficial to sailors on the water where light reflection can be intense off the water’s surface,” says Rosenberg. “The two work very well together on the water by reflecting light (mirror) and removing glare (polarization), creating a more comfortable view with less strain for the user.”  A mirror coating will darken the lens. Black and blue mirror darkens by 2 percent, and the silver mirror by 4 percent. Black and silver are similar in that they won’t alter the base lens tint’s intention. Blue mirror “warms up the gray and adds a bit of contrast.”

That sounds good to me.

In the “no brainer” decision category, Rosenberg says to make sure the sunglasses lens you choose block harmful UVA, UVB and UVC rays. With technology today, any quality pair of sunglasses you get should do so, but it is important to your eye health, so it’s worth double checking. Wearing sunglasses first should be about overall eye protection and preserving long term eye health. The performance features we are talking about are all a bonus.

On the inside and outside of my sunglasses I want a hydrophobic (sheds water), oleophobic (sheds oil) and anti-scratch coatings. But even with all that, they won’t be indestructible. The best way to clean them is to give them a spray of fresh water after sailing.  I like to wash them before sailing again with a mild non-abrasive soap and warm water to get body oils and sunscreen out of the surface’s tiny pores.  On the water, I like to carry a few packets of lens wipes, but Rosenberg warns me that I better squirt my lens with my water bottle before wiping clean or I will just be grinding in salt and sand, the enemies of lens scratching.  Besides longevity, the coatings should help make it so I can see well again with just fresh water, that’s convenient.

My original mission was to select sunglasses and now I feel armed to make that choice. First, I chose a manufacturer that uses Urethane for their lens material. I confirm they have the basics: UVA, UVB, and UVC protection, hydro(phobic)/oleophobic treatments, scratch-resistant coatings and rear-side anti-reflection.  I do some reading to make sure they have a good reputation for a quality polarization and overall manufacturing process.  I chose a wraparound frame that is light, allows for air flow, and grips my head well.

Now for the hardest part. I need to decide on how many pairs, what colors, and what finish.  After some thought, I think my style will support two pairs, one all around and one for low light.  The first and primary pair I expect to use most of the time, and even though I will have a second pair for low light, I still want them to support a wide range of light conditions. With that, I figured I can’t go wrong with a lighter gray lens and a blue mirror tint. The second I expect to use infrequently for low-light conditions, so I choose a yellow-green. The second pair I expect to use infrequently for low-light conditions, so I choose the Yellow-Green. Since I am nearsighted, I upload my prescription, then click. Done. Shades on the way.

The post How to Buy Your Next Pair of Sunglasses appeared first on Sailing World.

As a rising star on the Olympic and professional circuits, tapped to do radio commentary in your home country of New Zealand for the America’s Cup alongside legendary Peter Montgomery, what does the new frontier of sailing look like to you? Is it all about foilers, skiffs and cats?

I would say there is a yes and a no to this question … for me personally I have done lots of sailing on the keelboats in New Zealand, whether it was match racing or doing the big boat series they have in Auckland and I really enjoy this type of sailing. It is so tactical and the skills I have learnt from sailing on big boats/match racing has really translated into how I sail the 49er in different aspects of the race. But the way the sport is going right now is really cool, too, high speeds and the adrenaline rush makes it really interesting and fun for spectators and for the sailors. But a wise person always told me that it is very important to open yourself to every kind of sailing and gather skills from different boats and I still hold myself to that.

Reigning Olympic gold medalists and America’s Cup champions Pete Burling and Blair Tuke are your main competitors in the 49er – both in New Zealand – but also at the upcoming Olympics and SailGP circuit. As you prepare to represent your birth-country of Japan at the upcoming Tokyo Games in the 49er and this month’s Bermuda SailGP, how do you beat these guys and what makes them so tough?

Many have tried and many have failed, it will really take a special team to beat them. They are the complete team, perfect in every part of the course. What makes them so good is that they make the least mistakes compared to anyone else on the course, and if they do make a mistake they can stop the snowball effect and get back on track fast. And at the end of the day you can win in any sport if you make the least mistakes on the day.

The new world of sailing that is exciting and attracting top youth like yourself is fast, athletic and wicked fun! Is it possible to prioritize speed, athleticism and tactics – or do you simply need all three to win?

It is super exciting to see where the sport is going, there definitely is priority. You need to have the athleticism without question. You need to be explosive and then have durability to last the whole event. I think speed is the highest priority because if you can have the speed edge on the fleet then the tactics will be easier. But to be the complete sailor and to have no flaws you need to have tactics and speed at the highest level to compete with the best.

One surprising element to many as they watched the America’s Cup, was the need and importance put on the human element. Great racing due to great decisions from the sailors and hardly any mistakes. Real tactics and real hand to hand combat. Breeze reading and boat positioning was paramount – from starting box to finish. Many would say the human element and breeze reading was the difference maker through the Prada Cup but also in the Match itself. How important is breeze reading in fast foiling boats and the Olympic 49er? Isn’t pressure (and angle) of paramount importance?

The technology is so advanced in the SAILGP and the Cup. All the boats have very high-tech software with speed targets and screens which tells the skipper where to put the boat to have the best angle to the mark. But sometimes the breeze is shifty or up and down and the software won’t be able keep up. That is when then human factor is important. The teams need to be able to switch on and use their own intuition to make decisions on the shifts and where the next pressure will be. We saw this in the Match when Pete Burling was able to exploit the Prada team’s weakness of dual helmsman. Since the two helmsmen do not cross sides, it makes it difficult for them to make key decisions especially when the breeze is shifty, they lose lots of vision and splits the decision making. This meant the Kiwis were able to have Glenn Ashby on either side with plenty of vision and in that way they were able to look for the breeze…the holes and the shifts much easier.

With the speeds these boats are achieving combined with the athleticism and skill required from the sailors, we’re now seeing helmets and body armor more as the norm than the exception. How important is eye protection combined with the ability to Read the Breeze? Is that one of the reasons you’ve chosen to wear Tajima Lenses?

Even with the speeds increasing the wind is still very important to read. The apparent wind increasing means that we are overtaking gusts which is so unreal to think about. Eye protection is critically important, especially growing up in NZ where the sun is harsh. It’s so important to wear eye protection to keep your eyes safe, yet remain open while reading the course at such hi speeds and spray pelting you. You can definitely underestimate the sun so I am fortunate that we have such good eye protection technology that comes along with sharp lenses that help me read the breeze better.

Are there particular lens tints or colors that you prefer for certain conditions? Do you stick with one favorite or prefer to have a small arsenal of specific performance tints for advantages in various wind and sun conditions?

For me, I rely on a few tints. Gray Blue Mirror, and Silver Mirror for brighter conditions and sharp tones. I really rate the Brown 15 Green Mirror highly due to the additional contrast and detail they provide. It’s a bit of a hybrid lens that you can use when it is sunny and overcast. When in overcast conditions it really highlights contrast, detail and outlines the gusts and wind really well. I think it is very important to have and get used to using different tints for the different wind and sun conditions, so I am really grateful that Tajima has given me the option to use so many different tints.

Interviewed brought to you by Tajima-Direct.com, delivering prescription and non-prescription polarized lens replacement for any brand, and virtually any frame style.

The post Looking Through Leo’s Lens appeared first on Sailing World.

The first full weekend in March, life was about as good as it can get for Stanford senior Jacob Rosenberg—a regional collegiate-team race-regatta victory in his rearview mirror, his coursework finished with a semester to spare, the spring college sailing season just ahead, and plans for a unique business opportunity incubating, one that sells high-quality sunglasses lenses directly to customers.

Then, it all changed. “We were at our first team race of the season, at St. Mary’s, when we heard the rest of our winter-­quarter classes were going online. At that point, we didn’t really expect it to go past spring break. The next week, things progressed, and everything shut down. It was really a bummer losing the last quarter of sailing and having the end of my senior year slip away.”

Undaunted, he regrouped and moved in the goal posts for his business timeline. The company he had soft-launched in the fall, Tajima Direct, fit perfectly with new government guidelines—it was a completely online, ­e-commerce ordering platform. All he needed to do was kick it into full gear.

The idea germinated two summers ago, on a drive back down to school. He and his father, Steve Rosenberg, a former leader at Oakley and founder of Kaenon, which he sold four years ago, were discussing the sunglasses industry. “We knew we had a lens technology superior to other lenses out there, and the question was, ‘Why are we restricting that to certain brands?’” Jacob says.

“Growing up, some of my friends liked the Kaenon lens best but really liked their other frames better.” So, the initial idea was to stop thinking of sunglasses as just one package but instead as two main ­elements—the frame and the lens. The frame is mostly adapting to your lifestyle and what you need. The lens is for functionality: giving you the best view possible, keeping your eyes protected and reducing the glare. So, why not deliver this lens technology directly to consumers, letting them use the frame they want?”

The answers led to the creation of Tajima Direct, a company that allows customers to buy replacement lenses for sunglasses, including prescription lenses, saving the expense and hassle of buying entirely new sunglasses. The lenses are Tajima Urethane polarized lenses that Steve developed through his long time partnership with a family owned Japanese lens maker, which Steve initially worked with to create the technology used while he was preparing to launch and build his brand Kaenon.

Father and son continued to noodle with the idea, and during the school year, Jacob tapped into the business resources at Stanford to fine-tune it. “I really tried to make the most of the resources and professors at Stanford, who know so much, and would give me some of the tools that would help me build the business,” Jacob says. “I’m still getting advice and help from some of the professors there.”

In August 2019, Tajima Direct, named after the Osaka prefecture that was the birthplace of the Japanese optics industry, as well as home of Talex, was launched.

The idea was to keep it ­low-key until Jacob graduated, but when everything collapsed, it was game on. Suddenly, a company that provided an inexpensive alternative and required no face-to-face ­interaction became a new-world-order poster child. The timing couldn’t have been better.

“The biggest challenge so far has been how to best and effectively get the word out,” Jacob says. “At first, it was just word of mouth and social media, and all the customers have given us great feedback. So now the biggest challenge is, how do we cast a bigger net?”

What are Jacob’s recommendations for the best lens for sailing—to allow you to easily see contrast on the water, making it easier to detect puffs, and at the same time provide plenty of eye protection? “Two main combos. For really bright conditions, like you encounter when offshore sailing, I recommend a gray tint with a blue mirror. The blue mirror [makes] it a little less true to the actual color, but it provides more contrast.” For lower-light conditions, his go-to lens is a brown tint with green mirror. “The brown tint provides more contrast than the gray tint, and matched with the green mirror, it pushes it to another level.”

Tajima Direct lenses are ­available in nine colors and five mirror tints, with a flat price of $95 for regular lenses and $295 for prescription lenses. The process is simple: Once you select a lens on the site tajima-direct.com, you’ll receive a postage-paid box to send your frames to the company for lens installation, or they will send the lenses directly to you so you can install them yourself.

The post How to Save your Sunglasses appeared first on Sailing World.

Sunglasses are often thought of as a fashion accessory. I would argue that for sailors, they are a health necessity—and my optometrist agrees. When she first marveled at the youthful look of my eyeballs (which are, apparently, still much clearer and whiter than my calendar age would suggest), I mentioned that I’d started wearing polarized sunglasses in my teens.

I’ve happily worn Maui Jims since 2004, so don’t expect this to be an unbiased comparison of different brands. Do expect to learn about their latest technology, MauiBrilliant, which manages to combine the polarized clarity and scratch resistance of glass with the lightweight, impact resistance of a polycarbonate lens.

I still use my original pair of Maui Jims as backups, so their titanium frames and glass lenses were as durable as advertised. They were also heavy, but I accepted that in exchange for their clarity and eye protection. It wasn’t until 2010, when I updated to the new MauiPure lenses, that I realized how fatiguing all that glass weight had been. Frameless MauiBrilliants take lightweight even further, weighing in at a mere .6 ounces. Maui Jim claims the new lenses are one-third the weight of their current glass, which is “20 percent lighter than standard glass.” All I know is I forget that I’m wearing them, even at the end of a long day in the bright sun.

Of course, lenses are only as good as the structure that holds them in place, and “frameless” might not sound very durable. The Kapunas I tested over a weeklong Snipe regatta in the winter tropics (with its low sun angles) were treated just as badly as my old glasses: Almost every morning they got knocked off my head onto pavement (when, forgetting they were there, I pulled a shirt off over my head). And almost every afternoon, I dropped them down into the boat while adjusting layers or rinsing salt off my face between races. On one occasion, I only narrowly missed stepping on them, but having done that to my previous pair of Maui Jims, I’m optimistic they would’ve survived that too. After several weeks of wear and one intense week of regatta abuse, they still look brand new. If only the glasses from my optometrist were this scratch resistant.

The glasses are less adjustable than previous pairs; only the bendable nosepiece can be customized. But the sidepieces grip my head well, without digging grooves into my skull when crushed beneath a hat on its heavy air setting. And a rather unscientific test proved they fit a wide range of Snipe faces. Prescription lenses will be available in early 2017, eliminating one more reason to stick with glass.

As for clarity, Maui Jim continues to impress. It was easy to see puffs on Bahamas-clear water no matter what color/depth it was, because the glare was removed without altering any of those vibrant blues. When I got off the water my eyes weren’t tired, even after a long day of staring into bright low-angle sunlight—and I also wasn’t tired of wearing them, the way I would’ve been with a heavier pair.

It’s hardly news that Maui Jims help keep eyes healthy by reducing glare, without compromising clarity. What is news is that they do this in a lens that weighs almost nothing while standing up to the rigors of dinghy racing. I’m not into fashion accessories, but I do like the idea of spotting puffs easily while protecting my vision—and I also like continuing to impress the optometrist with the whites of my aging eyeballs.

The post New MauiBrilliant Lenses appeared first on Sailing World.

When I finally broke down, agreeing to ditch my cheap, generic sunglasses for the real deal, all I knew was that they should be polarized and filter out all ultraviolet rays. I avoided the meticulous thought process that should go into buying quality eyewear and quickly selected a pair, deeming them “good enough.” Acura Key West Race Week was rapidly approaching, and so as long as my new shades protected my eyes and let me spot puffs on the water, I was a happy camper. But my eyes have since been opened to the abundance of choices available in colored lenses. It’s a choice that’s more important than you may think. Lens color is a key factor to the sunglass-wearing experience; the amount and types of details the wearer sees on the water vary with each hue.

“Color perception varies from person to person,” says Oakley’s Andy McSorley. “It is solely opinion-based.” Nonetheless, he adds, specific colored lenses do perform better in certain conditions.

Let’s start with grey, a neutral color and good, all-purpose lens tint. “Grey is the most universal,” says Steve Rosenberg, of Kaenon Polarized. “It does a great job overall.”

Grey lenses block the sun’s brightest rays without altering one’s color perception, giving the wearer a darker version of what he or she would see with the naked eye, or the most natural view. Many people, says McSorley, prefer grey lenses for days with intense sunlight because, despite identical light transmission rates, they believe grey lenses to be darker than colored lenses, which induce a color shift and make reds and greens stand out.

Of all the light waves interacting with our eyes, those at the blue end of the light spectrum are most powerful. Cones in the eye’s retina read color, and it’s the blue light that dominates our vision, washing out our perception of other colors. Minimizing this blue light and enhancing other colors, such as red and green, is said to improve visual acuity.

“Blue light can limit the eye’s ability to focus, creating chromatic aberration or blurriness, especially in aquatic and snowy environments where blue light is prevalent,” says Colin Smith, of Rēvo.

“Because light waves are at their most powerful within the visible blue portion of the spectrum, the most noticeable effects on visual contrast occur by modifying visible blue light transmission,” says McSorley. In order to knock down blue light, however, there must be a color shift. If the wearer doesn’t mind an altered view of the world, there are many different lenses that highlight specific colors and diminish others, which is extremely effective in variable- to low-light conditions.

Copper, amber, or bronze lenses are ideal for variable light conditions because the contrast created by the lens heightens visibility. “Contrast works by highlighting color and separating light from shadows,” says Rosenberg. “It defines slight details in tonal colors, such as the water’s surface, which is otherwise one color. Breeze and wave height versus little wind and flat water create darker or lighter water surfaces.”

Such contrast, adds Rosenberg, determines how sailors see breeze velocity and direction, as well as current. Because of the color shift, and the wearer’s ability to distinguish distant details easily, copper lenses work well in an environment with dark or grey water. They are also very easy on the eyes, as they don’t cause a lasting color distortion.

Yellow is another lens color used to enhance contrast and block blue light. Yellow is ideal for reading details in overcast, low-light conditions. Yellow lenses excel in a mid-range level of darkness because of the higher light transmission rate, says Rosenberg. It’s the “sweet spot” for those sailors who require and want specific and extreme contrast. Being able to cut through the atmospheric haze allows the user to better see puffs fanning across the water’s surface.

Blue lenses, too, provide many rewards. If you don’t want color shift, choose sunglasses with a neutral, grey base and blue mirror coating. Mirror coatings reduce glare and help alter out specific spectrums of light. “Because the mirror is blue,” says McSorley, “the blue light is specifically reflected away from the eye. Eyewear like this would work well in the Caribbean, which is continuously dominated by a bright blue hue.”

For variable-light conditions, a few manufacturers recommend sunglasses with a blue mirror to divert the blue light and a copper base tint to enhance contrast and augment details on the surface of the water.

Although different colors perform better in different light conditions, the experts insist that ultimately there is no right or wrong decision when it comes to colored lenses.

“Tints do have a scientific attribute, but each of us is different,” says Rosenberg. “We have different eye colors, different light sensitivity levels, and we do indeed see things differently.”

Lens tint is a personal choice based on light conditions and the type of information the user wants, adds Rosenberg. “More contrast isn’t always best; it’s a personal choice,” he says. “This is the trend we see with the best sailors: grey tends to be a favorite of the more intuitive, seat-of-the-pants sailors, and contrast-enhancing colored lenses tend to be favored by the more analytical.”

There’s no right lens tint for everyone: personal choice is the determining factor, but the manufacturers have their recommendations:

• Grey: Good all-purpose use with no color distortion
• Copper: Ideal for variable light and dark or grey water
• Yellow: Perfect for low-light, overcast conditions
• Blue: (Mirrored lens with grey base tint) Good for blue-dominant conditions, such as the Caribbean
• Red: Heightens contrast in variable conditions, causes color imbalances

How Much Light to Let In?

With polarized sunglasses comes a range of light transmission rates, meaning, how much light permeates the lens and reaches your eyes. In bright light, a lower transmission rate is desirable: this means less light is getting to your eye. In low-light conditions, a higher transmission rate is better. sunglass manufacturers categorize their light transmission rates in percentages or numbers: Intense, bright sun: 9 to 12 percent; sunny to variable light conditions: 13 to 30 percent; low-light, hazy, overcast conditions: 31 to 55.

Sunglass Care, On-the-Go

If you don’t have a proper sunglass cloth on hand, one of the best ways to clean glasses quickly is to breath on them or get them wet with water (not saltwater before wiping them gently with a soft cloth. You should not use paper products (toilet paper, napkin, or paper towel as these are highly abrasive and scratch the lens coating. also, when saltwater dries on a lens, use soap and water and before wiping to avoid scratching the lens surface and coatings. For a more thorough cleaning, you should routinely wash your glasses. Start by cleaning the nose pads and then rinsing the glasses under warm water to remove dirt and surface residue. then, apply a small amount of mild detergent to your clean fingers and gently move the soap across the lenses in a circular motion. Finally, rinse the glasses again under warm water; if they are really clean, the lenses will repel water, so all that you need to do is dry the frames with a soft cotton cloth.

The post Lens Colors Decoded appeared first on Sailing World.

The Mag Bay style from Costa is available in four different frame colors, including black, tortoise and wood, but our favorite is this cool sunset fade. This style has an extra-large fit and is available with a variety of polarized lenses in both glass and plastic.

The new Stinson frames from Kaenon feature the company’s SR-91 lens. The material is lightweight, resists impact and offers sharp clarity, and you can choose from six different tints to suit your purpose.

Do you lose (or “misplace”) your sunglasses often? If yes, you’ll like the price point of Tints sunglasses. Classic style, polarized lenses, bamboo temples.

Maui Jim‘s PureAir series, including the Seven Pools style (shown) of sunglasses combine the company’s ultralight MauiPure lens (a super-clear, non-glass material) technology with a lightweight frame – the result is a pair of sunglasses that you can wear comfortably all day.

Made for sailing, Ronstan’s Windshift sunglasses have polarized gray lenses that are self darkening — cool! Drop them in the drink? That’s OK — they float. ronstan.us

Find yourself juggling reading glasses and sunglasses? Check out the Sense Polarized Bifocals from Gill and leave the readers at home. They’re available in +1.5 and +2.5 strengths, and like all Gill sunglasses, they float!

Ocean Racing‘s Waypoint sunglasses are suitable for both men and women with a secure fit for a variety of face shapes. The polarized polycarbonate lenses are highly impact resistant, offer broad spectrum UV protection and feature saltwater proof mirror and hydrophobic coatings for superior, long lasting, on the water performance. oceanracing.com

The Wedge from Hobie is available in five frame colors, including the new satin black wood grain (shown), and three lens colors. The gray lens is recommended for everyday wear, while the copper lens enhances color contrast and is perfect for sailing.

Love aviators but need a little more coverage? Revo‘s Windspeed sunglasses are made for larger faces and with the Blue Water lens, they’re made for life on board.

The post Sailing Sunglasses for 2015 appeared first on Sailing World.

Smith ChromaPop Sunglasses

The mind is a powerful and discerning device, capable of processing a bombardment of sensory input, especially the stuff that passes through our eyeballs. What we put in front of them has everything to do with what we really see. Whatever the technical trickery is behind the new Smith Optics ChromaPop lenses, it didn’t take long for me to become a believer in what they say is “the world’s most scientifically advanced polarized lens.” That’s a big claim, one that’s impossible to validate without a lot of science, but according to Smith, the secret is in a new film-free polarization that “eliminates color confusion for the brain, ultimately recognizing true color, faster.” When light passes through a traditional lens, they say, light waves intersect at two points, and the brain has to decipher whether it’s seeing red, green, or blue. The ChromaPop lens, apparently, blocks the color intersections so the brain “immediately recognizes true vibrant color while reducing eye fatigue.”

The test pair I’ve been using for several months (shown in the Frontman frame style) are extremely comfortable, and even in the low, harsh fall light, I can see puff patterns clearly. Whenever I pass them to others to try, I get the same reaction: “Wow. Everything’s really bright and sharp.” I agree. I’ve had no headaches or eye fatigue. The lenses are lightweight, scratch resistant, and have a coating that repels moisture, grease, and grime. As with any pair of sunglasses, don’t just take someone else’s word for it. Try a pair and see if the world pops for you, too. Price starts at $209, www.smithoptics.com

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KaenonTrade960

At this point, I don’t need to tell you about the merits of Kaenon sunglasses. Because if you don’t already own a pair, you’ve had to listen to at least one racer gush about how you just can’t beat Kaenon’s polarized lenses.

And it’s true. The glare-taming, puff-defining qualities of Kaenon’s SR-91 lenses have set the standard for polarized sunglasses. While Kaenon isn’t the only source for high-performance shades—I really like the versatility of the polarchromatic Smiths I tested a few years back, and Gill’s polarized floaters are a great value—chances are if you’re looking to splurge on a nice pair of sunglasses, you’re going to end up wearing the big, scripted “K” logo on each temple.

Call it narrow minded, but for many racers, choosing a pair of shades isn’t so much a question of what brand as it is what style of Kaenons. The company now offers its signature technology—available with prescription lenses—in more styles than ever, from lightweight and edgy to large and glamorous. This summer, I tested a pair of the Trade glasses, which fall into the latter category with their oversize frames, thick plastic construction, and wide temples.

Initially, I thought the Trades would be too bulky for high-performance racing (which it would be a stretch to call the kind of racing I do, anyways). But I wore the glasses on a variety of boats in a variety of conditions, and even in the hottest, steamiest, low-side dwelling misery, I all but forgot I was wearing them. The Trades may be large, but they’re not heavy. Most importantly, the frame geometry avoids pressure points by spreading the load between the bridge of your nose, the top of your ears, and your temples. The extra wide temple tips are sweet relief, and the Variflex nose pads keep the glasses anchored in place. Despite all the contortions I put myself through in a summer’s worth of sailing, the Trades never once fell off my head, let alone into the drink, which is where I typically lose at least one pair a year.

If you’re looking for a pair of sunglasses that you’ll only wear racing, I’d suggest going with something more lightweight and sporty, like the Hard Kore. But if you want to spot the faintest of puffs while looking cooler than cool, the Trade model could be your pick.

$199, www.kaenon.com

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GillGlasses368

Have you ever lost your favorite shades overboard, watched them slip into the drink and quickly out of sight? Floating sunglasses have always made sense, but they haven’t always looked halfway decent, let alone attractive, as do the latest offerings from Gill. I’ve been wearing the Eclipse glasses for the past few events, and I’ve been impressed by how well these $80 shades compare to other pairs I’ve tested, buoyant or otherwise.

The first thing I noticed when slipping on the tortoise-shell, Grilamid TR90 frames with the smoke-colored polarized lens was how light they felt on my head. The foam floatation material lining the temples and brow of the frames has a cushy feel and provides excellent ventilation, whether you’re grinding in sheets or pedaling your bicycle.

The one-piece Polaroid S13 lens is sandwiched in a seven-layer cellulose acetate butyrate laminate that’s shatterproof and scratch resistant. On its website, Gill notes that distortion along the frame edges is possible; I didn’t notice that when spotting puffs aboard Hugh Bethell’s J/105 Jester at the Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD last week, but I did notice that the polarized lens lend a blue hue to the tamed glare. Overall, the optical quality is very good, once you get used to looking at the water in Smurf-vision.

The best thing about these sunglasses, aside from the low price, is the ergonomics. I always complain of headach-inducing pressure points at the temples, but the Eclipse’s flexible, foam-lined frames never bothered me, even after hours of activity. With their snug fit and the rubberized lining along the stems and nosepiece, these glasses aren’t likely to go sliding off your noggin. But if they do, you’ll have a a much better chance of retrieving them. Instead of sinking to Davy Jones’ Locker, they’ll wash up on the beach at Treasure Island.

www.gillna.com

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GUSoftCore368

For all the excellent polarized sunglasses available to the racing sailor, there aren’t many designed specifically for women. So when I heard about Kaenon’s new Soft Core glasses—which feature SR-91 polarized lenses, semi-rimless frames for superior ventilation, and reduced cranial geometry and shorter temples to better fit smaller heads—I knew I had to check them out.

One problem: I’m a dude with a dude-sized head. I needed a gal with gal-sized head. So I handed the Soft Cores to Lindsay Nahmias, SW‘s marketing coordinator and an avid J/24 racer. Here’s what Ms. Nahmias had to say:

Over the past few years,_ I’ve become a major Kaenon fan. I believe they make the best polarized lens for sailing, period. Until now, however, many of the frame options were either too casual or too large for female sailors._

I took the Soft Core glasses for a test run during our weekly PHRF racing on Narragansett Bay. That Tuesday was the hottest day of the year so far in Rhode Island, as the temperature reached 102 degrees. Normally, when the wind is light and the heat is on, my sunglasses tend to fog up, particularly as I begin to sweat. The Soft Cores did anything but; they stayed fog-free the whole night and allowed me to see the puffs just as well as the Kaenon UPDs I normally wear. I didn’t have to wipe them once. The frames were extremely lightweight, and had a snug fit on the head. I never once felt like they could fall off, which is last thing you want to have happen, or even have to think about, during a race. Overall, ladies, if you’re looking for a new pair of performance sailing glasses, consider the Soft Cores. They’re unlike any sunglasses I’ve ever worn—which is a good thing!

$239, www.kaenon.com

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