Choosing
The best sunglasses for sailing and kayaking: glare from every direction, and the strap that saves them
For sailing and kayaking, sunglasses have to do four things at once. Remove the glitter off the water, which is what polarization does and which is how you read wind on the surface, depth in the shallows, and a rock before you hit it. Handle a full day of light arriving from above and again from below, which is what a mirror over a dark base is for. Cover the eye from the sides and below, because on water light comes from every direction. And stay attached to you, which is a strap. Everything about a water lens follows from those four, and the last one is the one people learn the expensive way.
Why polarized is not optional on water
Light reflecting off water at a low angle comes away almost entirely polarized in the horizontal plane. That reflection is the glitter, the sheet of white that hides everything under and beyond it. A polarizing film oriented to block the horizontal plane removes most of it, and the water goes from a mirror to a window.
For a sailor, that means seeing the dark patches of wind on the surface, the line of a current, the colour change over a shoal, and another hull against the glare. For a kayaker it means the rock a foot under the surface, the bottom in the shallows, and the eddy line. Non-polarized lenses dim the glitter; they do not remove it. Our polarized vs non-polarized post covers the physics, and our fishing post covers reading the water.
The effect is strongest when the sun is at a moderate height, which is most of a day on the water, and weakest at noon and near sunset.
The lens
Dark blue mirror. The standard open-water lens. The mirror reflects a slice of light before it enters the lens, so the lens cuts hard without an unusually heavy base tint. The blue is what others see; what you see through it is the base tint underneath, which the frame maker does not state, and we say so plainly on the lens page. That is the T01 Dark Blue Mirror.
Ice blue mirror. The most reflective front, for the brightest days and for glare that comes off flat water like a lamp. The T01 Ice Blue Mirror.
Brown, polarized. For overcast days and for reading the bottom in shallows, where contrast matters more than darkness. Skip the mirror in low light.
Grey. Fine for general boating where you are not reading the water. True colours for navigation marks.
Darkness. Water is one of the two places, with snow, where a dark lens is right. We do not publish a transmission figure, because none has been measured; every product page says so, and for offshore sailing that figure is worth asking any seller for.
Coverage
Light on water comes from the sky, from the surface below, and from the sides, and any gap around the lens lets it behind the lens, where it reflects off the back surface into your eye. That is why sailing sunglasses are wraps or have wide temple arms.
Our T01 is a flat rectangular frame with a wide 140mm front. It covers the front well and the sides less. For a day of dinghy sailing or a river paddle it is enough with a hat. For offshore, or a full day on a flat bright bay, a wrap frame with side coverage is the better tool, and we would rather say so than sell you the wrong one.
The strap
Every year a great many sunglasses go over the side. A boat heels, a paddle catches, you look down over the gunwale, and the pair that was on your face is on the bottom. A floating retainer strap costs a few dollars and prevents it. Choose one that floats; a strap that sinks keeps the glasses attached to nothing.
Salt, spray and cleaning
Salt water dries to crystals on the lens, and crystals under a cloth scratch. Rinse with fresh water at the end of every day, before anything touches the lens; our cleaning post has the method. Salt also attacks metal hinges and screws over time; a plastic frame and a fresh-water rinse avoid most of it. Mirror coatings are the most exposed layer and the most easily scratched, which is another reason to rinse first.
Sunscreen on the nose pads makes any frame slip, and on a boat you are sweating and sunscreened all day. Wipe the pads and your nose; our slipping post covers the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need polarized sunglasses for sailing?
Yes. Polarization removes the glitter off the surface, which is how you read wind, current, shoals and other boats. Non-polarized lenses dim the glare without removing it.
What colour lens is best for kayaking?
A dark or mirrored lens over a polarized base for bright open water; a polarized brown for overcast days and for reading the bottom in shallows. Never a lens so dark that a shaded bank disappears.
Are mirrored sunglasses good on the water?
Yes, on bright days. The mirror reflects part of the light before it enters, so the lens cuts more without a heavier tint. In low light the mirror takes away light you need.
Why do sailing sunglasses wrap around?
Light on water comes from every side and reflects off the back of a flat lens into the eye. A wrap or wide temples close the gap. A hat closes it from above.
Will salt water damage sunglasses?
Salt crystals scratch lenses when wiped and corrode metal parts over time. Rinse with fresh water every day before cleaning, and prefer plastic frames for regular use on salt water.
Sources
- Hecht E. Optics, 5th ed. Pearson, 2017. Chapter 8: Brewster's angle for water, about 53 degrees, and polarization by reflection. www.pearson.com
- World Health Organization. Ultraviolet radiation fact sheet: reflection from water and sand. www.who.int
- American Academy of Ophthalmology. Sunglasses: polarized lenses and water sports. www.aao.org
Measurements on this site are the frame maker's published figures, attributed on every page that prints one. This is general information about sunglasses, not medical advice.
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