Because polarized lenses have become quite popular during recent years, many sunglasses retailers today carry most common styles in both polarized and non-polarized versions. The price tag on polarized sunglasses is usually 20 to 40 dollars higher than their non-polarized counterparts. But are polarized lenses worth the money? And what exactly do they do different?

Background
Polarized lenses were first popularized by boaters and fishermen, who benefited from the glare-blocking quality of polarized sunglasses. By using polarized lenses, they were able to see well despite the light reflection from the water around them. Outdoors enthusiasts and drivers soon picked up on the trend.

What’s different about polarized sunglasses?
Non-polarized sunglasses used simple, shaded lenses to block intense light. But glare from light refracted off of flat surfaces can get past regular shades. Polarized sunglasses, on the other hand, are built specifically to fend off reflected glare.

Polarized sunglasses accomplish this through a rather simple mechanism. Light that’s reflected off flat surfaces becomes horizontally polarized. By being vertically polarized, polarized lenses are able to intercept reflected glare, glare that can be dangerous as well as incredibly annoying. When driving for long stretches of road during the day, for example, road glare and glare from other car hoods can impair the driver’s vision. Polarized lenses can eliminate this hazard and result in safer, more comfortable driving.

What are the cons of polarized lenses?
When looking at LCD screens through polarized sunglasses, it might be difficult to make out the images on screen, or else the LCD screen might disappear altogether. This can be easily remedied of course by simply removing your polarized sunglasses when using your GPS, cell phone, an ATM machine or your laptop.

A more serious issue is whether polarized lenses are safe to use when doing snow sports, like skiing or snowboarding. Some people say it’s perfectly fine, but others disagree. This is because, aside from reducing glare, when worn in the snow, polarized lenses also tend to reduce contrast, which can impair a skier’s ability to detect hazardous snow patches ahead. The level of contrast reduction, however, depends also the color of the lenses being used.

For more tips on shopping for polarized sunglasses and to view a wide selection of name brands please visit http://www.sunglassoptical.com.