Sunglasses

[redbird]

Over the weekend, adrian_turtle, rysmiel, and I were wandering around bookstores. It was a hot, bright day, and we were all wearing our SolarShield sunglasses, the ones that go over the prescription glasses, block all the UV, and make me suspect that I look like a low-rent imitation of a stormtrooper. Someone backed up and stepped on Adrian's foot, started to apologize, saw her glasses, and then noticed that we were a matched set. She followed up the apology with wanting to know where we'd gotten the glasses, and I think was disappointed to be told "Boston" (mine and Rysmiel's were bought in New York, but that's not useful either if someone is hoping for the name of an optician in Montreal).

A few hours later, I broke mine on our way back from getting ice cream at Maple Delight, in the Old Port. The usual-for-me failure mode, which is the left hinge breaking. (I seem to put them on, take them off, or both in an asymmetrical fashion.) When we got home, Rysmiel looked through previously-damaged pairs of these glasses, found an extra left earpiece with a still-intact hinge, and handed me a perfectly usable pair of glasses. (These glasses run $15-20 a pair, so it's not surprising that they aren't that sturdy; I'd pay a bit more for sturdier ones if they had the virtues of these, namely being large enough to go over prescription eyeglasses and protect my eyes almost entirely from bright sunlight--I really don't want to pay for prescription bifocals, and I like not having bright light slide in around the edges of a pair of sunglasses.) That was a nice surprise: I'd expected to borrow one of the spares I'd brought Rysmiel for a day or two, then hope for the best on the trip home and get out my spare pair. I'll need it sooner or later, but later is better in this case.

Comments

[deor.livejournal.com]

I use a pair like that for driving but find wearing two pairs of glasses too cumbersome for regular wear, especially in the summer, when I'm likely to be sweating. So I have another pair of clip-on sunglasses I got at my optometrists. They're not quite as all-concealing, but they are a lot lighter on the nose.

(FWIW, I found my pair of SolarShields at a drugstore.)

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

http://www.fitovers.com/
(My friend who has a pair (and loves them) got them through http://www.technical-gear.com/ who she feels are better organized and have more info than the actual manufacturers.)

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Most sunglasses designed to fit over prescription glasses only provide sun protection in front. This is fine for reducing glare to improve vision, but not very useful if one is trying to reduce the overall light reaching migraine-stressed eyes. The shades you reference seem to have some side protection, but at the cost of blocking peripheral vision altogether. That might be ok for me, if it becomes harder to find my SolarShields, but Rysmiel really seems to value shaded peripheral vision.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

but at the cost of blocking peripheral vision altogether.

Nope. Reducing some, but not blocking altogether. The transparent side panels aren't just for show.

Sunglasses

[nwl.livejournal.com]

These glasses run $15-20 a pair, so it's not surprising that they aren't that sturdy;...

Wow, if I paid that much for sunglasses they had better be sturdy! I have a cheap wrap around insert I put under my glasses and it's just fine. I also wear a baseball cap when it's sunny to cut the glare. rwl never wears sunglasses and I don't know how he does it. It must be the cap he wears.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

Are these (http://www.brucemedical.com/soshuvprsu.html) the ones you mean? They look to ding you pretty hard for shipping, but I imagine that gets more sensible (on a per-pair basis, at least) if you order multiple sets at a time.