Polarized vs Non Polarized Sunglasses: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing The Right Sunglasses For You

While most of us look at style, trend, shape and beauty when choosing the type of sunglasses to buy, it is important to note that those are not the only things to consider when shopping for sunglasses. It is necessary to consider how protective the lenses of the glasses are before we commit to buying them

In this article, we’ll be doing a comparison of the two type of lenses in sunglasses, and which one offers the best protection for our eyes. After all, who doesn’t love the best things?

Polarized Sunglasses vs UV400 Sunglasses

Polarized sunglasses and non-polarized sunglasses both serve to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays and reduce overall brightness, but they function differently in specific conditions. Polarized lenses are designed with a special filter that blocks horizontally oriented light waves, which significantly reduces glare from reflective surfaces such as water, snow, and roads. This makes polarized sunglasses ideal for activities like driving, fishing, and water sports where glare can be particularly intense and distracting. On the other hand, non-polarized sunglasses primarily reduce the intensity of light by darkening the field of vision without the added benefit of glare reduction. UV 400 sunglasses are often preferred in situations where detecting surface details, such as icy patches while skiing, is crucial, as polarized lenses can sometimes obscure these subtle variations. Ultimately, the choice between polarized and non-polarized sunglasses depends on your specific needs and the environments in which you will be using them.

What’s The Difference Between Polarized and Non Polarized Sunglasses

Polarized lenses have a special chemical applied to them to filter bright, reflected light. Sunglasses with polarized lenses are specialized eyewear designed to reduce ‘glare’ from surfaces such as water, snow and glass. While non-polarized sunglasses are unable to assist in reducing glare.

What is Glare?

Glare is what happens when the sun hits a flat surface and the light is reflected back into your eyes at a greater magnitude. It is basically the bright reflection of light from smooth surfaces such as calm water or a flat piece of sheet metal. We’ve all experienced glare in our daily lives; perhaps spending the day at the beach, driving in a car with the sun reflecting off the dashboard or on a boat with the sun illuminating the surface of the water.

What Are Polarized Sunglasses

Polarized sunglasses are designed to reduce glare from surfaces such as water, snow, and glass. They feature a special polarized filter that blocks horizontally oriented light waves, which are typically the cause of glare. This filter allows only vertically oriented light to pass through, significantly reducing the blinding effect of reflected light and enhancing visual clarity and comfort.

Polarized sunglasses are particularly beneficial for outdoor activities such as driving, fishing, and water sports, where glare can be especially intense. They not only reduce eye strain but also improve contrast and color perception, making the visual experience more comfortable and less tiring on bright, sunny days.

While polarized lenses offer many advantages, they might not be suitable for every situation. For instance, they can make it harder to see LCD screens clearly and may not be ideal for certain sports where depth perception is critical. Despite these limitations, the benefits of polarized sunglasses in reducing glare and enhancing visual comfort make them a popular choice for many users.

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What Are Non-Polarized and UV400 Lenses?

‘UV400’ refers to UV rays at the top end of the UV spectrum which blocks all light rays with wavelength up to 400 nanometers.

Unlike wrinkles and sunburns, we can’t see the damage the sun is doing to our eyes. The sunlight that reaches us consists of two harmful rays: UVA and UVB. Both are harmful to our eyes, which is why uv400 sunglasses are essential. Although, the glasses are non-polarized they provide the necessary UV protection from sunlight. Short-term overexposure can lead to ‘photokeratitis’- a type of sunburn to the outer layer of the cornea that can happen after spending too much time at high altitudes with limited sun protection (like during snow sports). Long term exposure could also increase the risk of specific eye conditions such as cataracts, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other types of eyelid cancer.

The designation UV400 lenses with guaranteed UV protection protects against these harmful UVA and UVB radiation. Therefore, investing in sunglasses that are labeled UV400 blocks 99 to 100% of UV light.

It’s important to note that the darkness of your sunglasses has nothing to do with UV protection. It’s entirely possible to buy a pair of dark tinted shades that do not provide adequate UV protection.

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What Are Non Polarized Sunglasses?

Non-polarized sunglasses are a type of sunglasses that do not have a specialized filter to reduce glare. Unlike polarized sunglasses, which are designed to block horizontally polarized light waves and minimize glare from reflective surfaces, non-polarized sunglasses have a more basic construction. They typically feature tinted lenses made of plastic or glass to provide shade and reduce overall brightness. While they can still offer some level of sun protection and comfort in bright conditions, non-polarized sunglasses lack the specific glare-reducing properties of polarized sunglasses. They are commonly used as fashion accessories or for general sun protection in various everyday situations.

Which Sunglasses is Right For You?

Polarized Sunglasses are good for:

• Improving contrast and visual clarity
• Improving visual comfort
• Allowing for true perception of colors
• Reducing eye strain
• Reducing reflection and eliminating glare

They’re however not good for:

• Looking at LCD screens
• Flying
• Low-light situations and driving at night
• People whose sight may be sensitive to how the lenses change lighting

UV400 lenses, on the other hand:

• Is an effective blocker of harmful UV rays
• Helps with protection against skin cancer. The delicate skin around your eyes is more likely to be at risk for carcinoma.
• Decreases possibility of eye conditions such as macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, pterygium and photokeratitis.
• Reduces headaches and migraines.

Summarily, sunglasses are to the eyes what sunscreen is to the skin. In this context, UV400 protection is like SPF 45 while polarized sunglasses are SPF 15. That being said, the more protection you have, the better care you are taking of your eyesight.

While UV protection is absolutely necessary in your sunglasses in order to protect your eyes, polarized sunglasses are optional and a matter of personal preference.

These days, polarized lenses and UV protection are paired in most sunglasses. So the good news is that you don’t have to choose! Plenty of the sunglasses on Shari Dionne offer full UV protection with polarized lenses- so you can eat your cake and have it, too.