Some people will buy the sunglasses that they think make them look good. Some people will buy sunglasses that are made by a popular company name, like Nike or Ray Ban. And some people will buy quality sunglasses, with layered polarization and photocromatic properties (sunglasses that get darker when the sun gets brighter, and get lighter in colour as the sun level goes down). But, how do you buy a pair of sunglasses? Do you buy the ones that you think make you look good, or the ones that are the cheapest?
How about buying a pair of sunglasses that do what sunglasses are meant to do; make driving into, or sit and face the sun, a pleasant experience. Your eyes are being bombarded with bad radiation from the sun in the form of UV (ultra-violet) rays, and a quality pair of sunglasses will block over 99.9% of these harmful rays of the sun.
When you are looking to buy a pair of sunglasses, the price will define the quality of the product. If you are only spending $20 or less, you will not be getting a quality lens that blocks all of the harmful rays of the sun from your eyes. Personally, I wear only Maui Jim, Serengeti, and Oakley sunglasses, as they all have either double or triple polarization, and the Serengeti's are photochromatic. You can look directly at the sun for hours and not have it bother your eyes with a quality pair of sunglasses. The beach never looked so good!
Polarization is great for fishermen, as it allows better viewing under the surface of the water, or for golfers who want to follow the golf balls' trajectory on a sunny day. The same is true for baseball players, beach volleyball players, tennis players, or athletes who play any sport that is played outdoors under the glare of the sun. Quality sunglasses are not just for athletes though, everyone should have a quality sunglass lens protecting their eyes from the sun.
Most sunglasses that are near, or over the $100 range will come with guarantees, meaning that if they break under normal wear and tear, they will either be fixed or replaced by the manufacturer if you call them, and then send them in. The manufacturer will even pay for the cost of the return of your sunglasses to you, meaning you only pay postage one-way. This price range will also guarantee sunglasses that block at least 60% to 85% total UV protection. Again, stay away from the designer sunglasses, unless they are fashion accessories, not eye protection.
You can check out many different websites that sell sunglasses, and buy a decent pair online. One thing to be wary of is knock-offs, sunglasses made cheaply to imitate real top-notch sunglasses. Like buying a pair of Serengetti Avaitors. Serengeti Aviators (notice the slight spelling difference - one added 't'), are a $350 pair of beautiful sunglasses that provide total eye protection. The others will give you a headache if you drive into the sun for 10 minutes.
The world is full of people looking to get rich quick, and selling knock-off merchandise is a multi-billion dollar enterprise the world over. Sunglasses can be bought for between $1.00 and $20 at many dollar stores, at the local corner store, and even online, but when you buy cheap sunglasses, as with most everything in life, you get what you pay for.
If you want quality sunglasses that wil be a joy to wear to the beach, or to sporting events (or even as an athlete), then you should be looking in the price range of $150 plus. The more you are willing to pay, the better quality of a sunglass you are going to get. Oakley, Maui Jim, Serengeti, Nike and Bolle all sell quality lenses, and you can get them on sale for half price somewhere on the internet, just beware of the knock-offs. Buying online, you should check out the brand name web sites, offered for you a little later in this article, as you will be buying not only quality lenses and durable frames, you will be getting a decent warranty; if the sunglasses break, under normal circumstances (or, if the frames break for any reason for many quality sunglass manufacturers), you can call their customer service hotline, and they will arrange quick pick-up of your sunglasses, and they will either fix or replace your broken sunglasses and mail them back to you within 4 weeks.
Many people just shrug and say a pair of sunglasses is a pair of sunglasses, and the higher priced shades are just for the name brand. This is only true for "designer sunglasses", made by fashion houses and "Italian artists". This is part true; the designer sunglasses are over-priced, and you are paying for the name. However, there are quality sunglasses that you can buy for $100 to $250 that will last the rest of your life, and never give you a headache from driving into the sun, or sitting on a beach, facing the water and the sun.
The best sunglasses, in my investigated opinion, are made by the following companies, and range from $125 to $550;
* Maui Jim
* Serengeti
* Oakley
* Nike
* Bolle
* Adidas
* Ryders (they have some high quality, and some very low quality; be careful buying these, as they do have some poor quality sunglasses made for design only (price will be the telling factor).
* Zeal optics
* Corning optics
Sticking with any of these brands, and making sure that your sunglasses are at least polarized (there are double and triple polarized sunglasses in the top three brands listed here), you can be assured of good protection from the harmful rays of the sun, and a quality workmanship in the frames and lenses. Please, do not buy sunglasses from dollar stores or corner stores, you really do get what you pay for when it comes to sunglasses, and your eyes are worth at least a hundred bucks, no?
And if you drive for a living, like a taxi driver or a truck driver, a $350 pair of sunglasses will make driving a pleasure again, and they are tax-deductible, since they are part and parcel of your livelihood. There really is no good reason to not have a quality pair of sunglasses these days.