Sunglasses lens color?

C

colababy

New User
I know there are a bunch of sunglasses threads, and they were really helpful. I was wondering what color lens is best for tennis? Grey? Bronze? Rose? I'm mostly wondering for maui jim but I guess it's similar for all brands.

I heard that bronze is better for contrast, but was wondering if it would let too much light through. Thanks.
 
Il Mostro

Il Mostro

Banned
I tried the Bolle Competivision lenses, which filter/mute all colors except optic yellow (tennis ball). It actually does work exactly as advertised -- the ball really pops visually. Competivision is different than regular polarized lenses. Unfortunately for me, I just do not like play with any type of sunglasses.
 
pmacino

pmacino

Semi-Pro
I occasionally use rose colored lenses in my oakleys while playing. The rose color doesn't necessarily filter out any colors, rather it enhances contrast and depth perception pertaining to both greens and yellows.

If you can, find a light weight sport pair that comes with interchangeable lenses to experiment with. They'll be multi-use too...

My current sport pair are Oakley Flak Jacket XLJs. I chose them for the following reasons.
  1. Lightweight/don't slip at all
  2. Interchangable lenses
  3. The XLJ lens gives more coverage close to the cheek, which eliminates optical distortionwhen looking back over your shoulder/facing 90 degrees to approaching ball. These lenses were delveloped for the MLB players during batting.
  4. If you go throught the custom shop, in addition to building your own pair for a $15 upcharge, you can buy addiditonal lenses at time of purchase at a deep discount. Think of it as buying a "kit" rather than a pair of sunglasses. They come with a hard case this way too that holds the frames with lenses, plus two additional sets of lenses.
1591.jpg


I'm kind of a sunglass fan in general and have many pair's including 4 pairs of Maui Jim's...while great for everyday use and "lite" activity, they just aren't perfect for sports.
 
C

colababy

New User
I wanted to get those interchangeable lens sunglasses, but it's so expensive to get extra lenses so I just wanted to buy 1 pair. (The cheaper sunglasses are always too small for me, since I have a wide head). I was getting it for the really sunny days for running and tennis, so I figured gray...but didn't want it to be too dark for playing.
 
Il Mostro

Il Mostro

Banned
The Bolle's come with two pairs of lenses -- Competivision (tennis specific/teal color) and grey lenses. The Vigilante model is the larger one; the Parole is the smaller one. Check them out at TW.
 
J

jim e

Legend
Il Mostro said:
The Bolle's come with two pairs of lenses -- Competivision (tennis specific/teal color) and grey lenses. The Vigilante model is the larger one; the Parole is the smaller one. Check them out at TW.
Click to expand...

I have this one,(vigilante), and the teal color lens, will not filter out enough light for me. I only will wear them (sunglasses), when it is so bright, that the light hurts the eyes, and the teal ones will not do the job for me. But as you said it comes with 2 sets of lenses, and the grey ones are great!!
 
Il Mostro

Il Mostro

Banned
^^^^^^

We are polar opposites, I do not like any of my sunglasses too dark. On the court I use the hat & hand light filtering system :) I don't know why I am not comfortable playing with shades. You are right about the teal lenses not blocking a lot of light, though.
 
C

charliefedererer

Legend
In my opinion, the best lens color by far is the polarized sandstone lens that is available on many Bolle and Serengeti model sunglasses.
This "sandstone" color is a shade of brown. Brown lenses increase contrast more than grey lenses. I find this lens color really provides more contrast than grey or green shades, and is even superior to the "competivision" blue shade that is promoted by Bolle. (The other trouble with the competivision lens is that it makes everything looked so washed out, that it ruins my otherwise enjoyable time at the tennis courts).
Since there is a lot of glare off the tennis courts on a sunny day, the polarization in the lens is a definite help.
Interestingly, I have a brother who lives two thousand miles away in the Southwest. He bought a pair of Bolle Parole sunglasses with interchangeable competivision and polarized sandstone lenses. And he totally agrees that the sandstone lenses are better for tennis than the competivision lenses.
An advantage of "wraparound" models (like the Bolle Parole) is that they prevent so much of the sun that gets in from the sides of "traditional" looking sunglasses. Also, it is better if the bottom of the sunglasses fit close to your cheeks, so as to prevent reflected light from coming up from the court. Finally, wearing a tennis hat even further cuts out glare hitting your lenses, and helps keep sweat out of your eyes.
(In case you couldn't have guessed it from the above, I regularly play on courts with intense sun shining in, and absolutely no shade.)
These polarized sandstone lenses are also great "driving" lenses, and really make for a good all purpose pair of sunglasses.
 
athiker

athiker

Hall of Fame
I found this thread looking for something else, but since I wrestled over this question when I was looking for sunglasses for tennis I thought I'd post.

I bought the Oakley VR28 Black Iridium in December and am very pleased. I did not get the polarized b/c I also boat and polarized glasses do funny things reading electronics and seeing through some windshield glass. Though ironically polarized glasses are great for fishing and glare off the water.

On the brightest days some may find they don't filter enough light (18%), but that was intentional on my part b/c I mainly wanted UV protection and clarity, not overall dimming of the light. They do definitely help when having to serve facing the sun, but do not completely eliminate the issue.

Oakley says they filter blue light to increase contrast and improve depth perception and I think that is pretty accurate. After a few minutes of wearing them you forget you have glasses on at all. I actually pulled over in the car this weekend to turn around b/c I thought I had left my sunglasses behind...only to realize I was wearing them.

The tint from the outside looks primarily brown with a hint of rose to them. I paired them with root beer colored frames and the larger XLJ lens size in the Half-Jacket frame style. I like the look of the Flak-Jacket frames better but they fit me a little too loose. There is a bit of rose tint when you first put them on but it fades. I sweat pretty freely and haven't had fogging issues while playing except once in a while during the changeover break if I leave them on. I usually remove them and towel off during changeovers and don't have any issues then.

Here are a few links:

Lens color reviews: http://www.o-review.com/lensdetail.asp?ID=1152

Oakley site: http://www.oakley.com/pd/2003/14083

*Note mine are the VR28 w/ Black Iridium...there are a few varieties of VR28. I'm not sure which will pop up with the above link. You may have to select from the drop-down box. BTW...don't put a lot of stock in their website "Lens Tints" simulation pictures.
 
eagle

eagle

Hall of Fame
I like the idea of sunglasses made specificially for tennis.

Owner reviews however are mixed at amazon for the Bolle glasses.

Apparently, the nose pads are quick to disintegrate and of course not cheap to replace.

:(

r,
eagle
 
S

Slim Pickens

Rookie
I have the Bolle Competivision lenses in the Vigilante model. On really sunny days they don't filter as much light as I would like, but they really do work as advertised in terms of enhancing the contrast of the ball and lines with the background.

Bolle also offers a mirrored Competivision lense, Competivision Gun I think, that filters out about 17-18% more light. I have tried them and they are much better on sunny, cloudless days.
 
A

Austinthecity

Rookie
athiker said:
I found this thread looking for something else, but since I wrestled over this question when I was looking for sunglasses for tennis I thought I'd post.

I bought the Oakley VR28 Black Iridium in December and am very pleased. I did not get the polarized b/c I also boat and polarized glasses do funny things reading electronics and seeing through some windshield glass. Though ironically polarized glasses are great for fishing and glare off the water.

On the brightest days some may find they don't filter enough light (18%), but that was intentional on my part b/c I mainly wanted UV protection and clarity, not overall dimming of the light. They do definitely help when having to serve facing the sun, but do not completely eliminate the issue.

Oakley says they filter blue light to increase contrast and improve depth perception and I think that is pretty accurate. After a few minutes of wearing them you forget you have glasses on at all. I actually pulled over in the car this weekend to turn around b/c I thought I had left my sunglasses behind...only to realize I was wearing them.

The tint from the outside looks primarily brown with a hint of rose to them. I paired them with root beer colored frames and the larger XLJ lens size in the Half-Jacket frame style. I like the look of the Flak-Jacket frames better but they fit me a little too loose. There is a bit of rose tint when you first put them on but it fades. I sweat pretty freely and haven't had fogging issues while playing except once in a while during the changeover break if I leave them on. I usually remove them and towel off during changeovers and don't have any issues then.

Here are a few links:

Lens color reviews: http://www.o-review.com/lensdetail.asp?ID=1152

Oakley site: http://www.oakley.com/pd/2003/14083

*Note mine are the VR28 w/ Black Iridium...there are a few varieties of VR28. I'm not sure which will pop up with the above link. You may have to select from the drop-down box. BTW...don't put a lot of stock in their website "Lens Tints" simulation pictures.
Click to expand...

I also swear by the VR28 lenses. I have some flak jackets and they are fantastic.

Since they're so expensive though, I use these sunglasses for mostly everything (driving, beach, etc..). However, if you choose to get the teal lenses that some companies make for tennis, you cannot drive in them. It's not legal to drive in most of the novelty colors because they change the color of red lights.

In fact, I was looking into the golf version Oakley lenses (G-30s) but you can't drive in them.

The VR28s are great though.
 
ace18

ace18

Professional
I use the Solar Bat Leverage NZ glasses which are designed for the tennis player in mind. They are awesome and worth checking out. Solarbatleverage dot com. Call JR, great service and very knowledgeable
 
AmericanTemplar

AmericanTemplar

Professional
Has anyone tried the Rudy Project sunglasses with the lenses that are designed for Golf & Tennis? Actually has anyone tried any of their lenses for tennis for that matter? I have the Rudy Project Ekynox for cycling but unfortunately they don't make the tennis lenses for that model, but I now that the Golf/tennis specific models also come with the Racing Red lenses that are available for the glasses that I own. I was considering giving them a shot.
 
S

SFeigl

New User
I have some Oakley Flak Jacket Sunglasses with the Polarised Black Iridium lens. They work fantastically well, keep my eyes on the ball even after looking directly at the sun, and unlike most sunglasses I've tried and worn, I don't feel any particular curvature of the lens, so the feel is constant, just like a tinted version of my eyes.

I felt that I needed the best, and there's gotta be a reason why most sports people use Oakley sunglasses. Sam Stosur wears Oakley's like all the time. The Australian Cricketers wear them all the time. There's gotta be a reason why. I felt the difference too. :)
 
G

Grover Sparkman

Rookie
I have a pair of Flak Jackets as well and love them for tennis and golf. I've also found them to be the best for physical activity, as they stay on the nose, don't pinch or rub when you're running, and after a while, I tend to forget I have them on. I'd recommend these if you're looking for good sports sunglasses.

In general, I'm a fan of Oakleys for athletics.
 
FedHammer

FedHammer

New User
Been using the Bolle Competivison blue lenses in my Kicker model. Very lightweight & excellent if tossing right into the sun. Had them for about a year, & while I wear Oakley for all other activities, I wouldn't change these.
 
innoVAShaun

innoVAShaun

Legend
It has to be super bright out for me to wear sunglasses when playing. If I do, it's always Oakley's polarized Iridium lenses.

I got the hookup on Oakley's if you want.
 
neverstopplaying

neverstopplaying

Professional
AmericanTemplar said:
Has anyone tried the Rudy Project sunglasses with the lenses that are designed for Golf & Tennis? Actually has anyone tried any of their lenses for tennis for that matter? I have the Rudy Project Ekynox for cycling but unfortunately they don't make the tennis lenses for that model, but I now that the Golf/tennis specific models also come with the Racing Red lenses that are available for the glasses that I own. I was considering giving them a shot.
Click to expand...

I've been using the Rudy Project golf/tennis glasses for over a year. They work really well - great sun filtering and ball definitaion. I forget the frame name, but I think it is Ryder. High quality throughout.
 
AmericanTemplar

AmericanTemplar

Professional
The Rydon? I have the Ekynox with the Laser Black lenses. Unfortunately, they don't offer the tennis lenses for those, but I have the clear & the red photochromic lenses coming in the mail & I was thinking the red lenses might be good for tennis. I know that if you buy any RP glasses with the tennis lenses, they also come the the Racing Red lenses. Have you tried those by chance?
 
neverstopplaying

neverstopplaying

Professional
I did get other lenses with my Rydon golf/tennis, but not racing red. I bought mine about 18 months ago.

I would not think that red would be good for tennis, but you never know.
 
E

elfat

New User
Lenses

I personally use the Oakley G30, they are great for golf, and tennis too, can't go wrong with this.
 
K

kern

New User
I've been testing out the Switch Sunglasses using their recommended green lenses which, in my case, are prescription. So far, I am very pleased with the results. In bright sun, they do their job quite well. The yellow ball pops out a little more than without glasses and greens are enhanced a little too. It's not overly radical like the competivision lenses and the overall view is not washed out at all. Even serving and looking almost directly at the Sun, is great. My overall game has improved about 20% with these new glasses. The prescription lenses are of the highest quality and don't fog even in high heat.
I highly recommend the Switch system to anyone needing prescription sunglasses that are tailored for Tennis.
 
sphinx780

sphinx780

Hall of Fame
I haven't tried many but the Zeal ZB-13 lens, which is amber-ish, has been a rockstar on the court. They were built for outdoor sports like mountain biking, and other multiple light conditions but I've yet to find anything that feels as natural.
 
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