A guide to the different tints in sunglasses
When it comes to eye health, there are few things that are as simple, yet as beneficial as wearing sunglasses. They protect you from harmful UVA and UVB rays which can lead to eye problems down the road.
When it comes to buying sunglasses, your choices are endless. We’ll pass on trying to give you style tips, instead we’ll focus on different types of tinted lenses to try and help you figure out which shade is your best option based on your activities.
YELLOW OR ORANGE
These bright colours do very little dimming. In fact a yellow lens can actually help make it look brighter outside. For this reason, these lenses are ideal for any outdoor activity or sport in overcast or hazy conditions. They can also be useful indoors when you require eye protection. An ideal scenario for wearing a yellow or orange lens would be if you’re mountain biking in dense woods on a cloudy day; they’ll keep your eyes protected from UV rays… and branches.
DARK AMBER, COPPER OR BROWN
These darker tints block high amounts of blue light to heighten contrast and visual acuity. They’re particularly useful around grass and against blue skies—which is why you’ll notice a lot of baseball pros wearing dark amber lenses. These lenses are also helpful for golf, hunting, skiing and water sports.
GREEN
Choosing a green lens over a dark amber, copper or brown lens largely comes down to personal preference. The green lenses don’t heighten contrast as much as the brown lenses, however, they do a much better job preserving colour balance.
GRAY
These lenses are the best at reducing overall brightness—so they’re particularly beneficial on sunny days with no clouds. The other advantage is you preserve 100% normal colour recognition. Gray lenses are ideal for any outdoor activity taking place in bright light conditions.
Before buying your next pair of sunglasses, try experimenting with different shades and tints. While this guide will certainly help, at the end of the day what really matters is personal preference.