| Because polarized lenses have become quite popular | | | | vertically polarized, polarized lenses are able to |
| during recent years, many sunglasses retailers today | | | | intercept reflected glare, glare that can be dangerous |
| carry most common styles in both polarized and | | | | as well as incredibly annoying. When driving for long |
| non-polarized versions. The price tag on polarized | | | | stretches of road during the day, for example, road |
| sunglasses is usually 20 to 40 dollars higher than their | | | | glare and glare from other car hoods can impair the |
| non-polarized counterparts. But are polarized lenses | | | | driver’s vision. Polarized lenses can eliminate this |
| worth the money? And what exactly do they do | | | | hazard and result in safer, more comfortable driving. |
| different? | | | | What are the cons of polarized lenses? |
| Background | | | | When looking at LCD screens through polarized |
| Polarized lenses were first popularized by boaters and | | | | sunglasses, it might be difficult to make out the images |
| fishermen, who benefited from the glare-blocking | | | | on screen, or else the LCD screen might disappear |
| quality of polarized sunglasses. By using polarized | | | | altogether. This can be easily remedied of course by |
| lenses, they were able to see well despite the light | | | | simply removing your polarized sunglasses when using |
| reflection from the water around them. Outdoors | | | | your GPS, cell phone, an ATM machine or your laptop. |
| enthusiasts and drivers soon picked up on the trend. | | | | A more serious issue is whether polarized lenses are |
| What’s different about polarized sunglasses? | | | | safe to use when doing snow sports, like skiing or |
| Non-polarized sunglasses used simple, shaded lenses | | | | snowboarding. Some people say it’s perfectly fine, |
| to block intense light. But glare from light refracted off | | | | but others disagree. This is because, aside from |
| of flat surfaces can get past regular shades. Polarized | | | | reducing glare, when worn in the snow, polarized |
| sunglasses, on the other hand, are built specifically to | | | | lenses also tend to reduce contrast, which can impair a |
| fend off reflected glare. | | | | skier’s ability to detect hazardous snow patches |
| Polarized sunglasses accomplish this through a rather | | | | ahead. The level of contrast reduction, however, |
| simple mechanism. Light that’s reflected off flat | | | | depends also the color of the lenses being used. |
| surfaces becomes horizontally polarized. By being | | | | |