A guide to lens tints

Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2017

With the summer nearly upon us (we can hope) people are once again venturing outside to participate in certain sports. There are more cyclists on the roads and runners on the paths so now is the perfect time to write a quick article on spectacle lens tints and the benefits they have in improving your sporting performance. This is not just for prescription spectacle wearers but can benefit non-spectacle wearers also. Tints do not just dim light but they can also block out certain types of light to improve the contrast of your vision.

Let’s start with one of the more common and well known tints which is grey. Grey is the darkest of tints and has the highest available light reduction and gives true colour perception. It is used as a general purpose lens and is very good for moderate to very bright sunshine. Grey is mainly used as a general purpose sunglass for all outdoor activities.

Yellow is used for certain sports, mainly sports that require judgement of distance such as trap shooting, tennis and mountain biking. It is not a very good lens for very bright conditions but is good in first and last light, also hazy conditions. People used to use it a lot for night driving but that is no longer recommended by most Opticians.

Blue and purple tints are very good for improving colour perception and seeing the contours of the land which is ideal for sports such as golf. It is also very cosmetically appealing especially with a mirrored coating. It is very good in more overcast conditions such as snow and fog.

Ever heard of the phrase “looking at the world through rose tinted spectacles”? There is some truth in it as pink lenses are very pleasant to look through. They enhance visual depth and are comforting for the eyes. I sometimes sit around the practice wearing a pair if I feel a headache coming on! They generally work well for sports such as cycling and racing.

Brown and amber tints are also good for most lighting conditions, they enhance depth because they contain a red element and improve contrast which makes them good for most sports that judge distance if the lighting is very bright such as fishing or sailing.

Last but not least green! Green reduces glare and enhances shadows. It works well in all lighting conditions but is very good in low light as it provides good contrast which is ideal for most sports.

So if you wish to improve your sporting game have a think about investing in some good quality sunglasses with the right tint. We have a vast range in practice to choose from and all of our staff are fully trained in sports eyewear.

Thank you for reading!

Image credit http://glasses.stractest.org/tinted-lens-sunglasses/

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