How to Choose a Tint for Sunglasses

Sunglasses perform the dual purposes of protecting your eyes from snow, rain and other elements while also reducing bright light and glare. You can get sunglasses lenses tinted in a variety of shades, and the various lens shades offer assorted advantages in specific light and visibility conditions. Some varieties of sunglasses even offer interchangeable lenses in a variety of shades so that you can customize your eyewear to the conditions.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Step 1

Determine what sort of conditions you're likely to use the sunglasses in most often and what sort of activities you'll be doing. For example, will you be skiing or snowboarding in low-light conditions? Will you be boating in very bright conditions with lots of glare?

Step 2

Select glasses with brown, gray or green-tinted lenses if you expect to use them in a variety of light conditions.

Step 3

Opt for orange-tinted lenses, or a mirror coating, if you're going into high-glare conditions.

Step 4

Select yellow, amber or gold lenses in flat light or low-light conditions where you need extra contrast. Rose-tinted lenses are also useful for increasing contrast against blue or green backgrounds (water or forest, for example) and use in low-light conditions.

Tips & Warnings

Selecting sunglasses lenses is, above all, a personal choice; if you find you're more comfortable with a particular tint in certain lighting conditions, opt for that, no matter what conditions it might be intended for.

Article Written By Marie Mulrooney

Marie Mulrooney has written professionally since 2001. Her diverse background includes numerous outdoor pursuits, personal training and linguistics. She studied mathematics and contributes regularly to various online publications. Mulrooney's print publication credits include national magazines, poetry awards and long-lived columns about local outdoor adventures.

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