If you are an outdoor enthusiast who loves snowboarding, fishing, hiking, or simply spending a sunny day at the beach, wearing sunglasses with polarized lenses is the best way to improve visibility and protect your eyes from harmful UV rays.

In this post, we’ll look at a detailed breakdown of the top benefits of polarized lenses for outdoor activities. Let’s get started!

What Are Polarized Lenses?

Polarized, or anti-glare, lenses are specially designed to reduce light glare and eyestrain when outdoors. Such lenses have a special light-filtering chemical applied to their surface, which blocks some of the light from passing through the lens. 

As a result, only light rays that approach your eyes in a vertical direction can pass through the lenses. By blocking all the horizontal light that bounces off surfaces around you, polarized lenses make the objects appear crisper and significantly improve visibility in sunny weather.

Polarized Lenses for Outdoor Activities: 4 Benefits

Polarized lens with a view of the water.

The benefits of polarized lenses for outdoor activities are plentiful, from reduced glare to brighter colours, to name a few.

1. Reduced Glare

The key benefit of polarized lenses is that they significantly reduce sunlight glare that appears when light reflects off a smooth surface like water or snow. As a result, you will be able to engage in outdoor activities even on a sunny day without sacrificing visibility.

2. Improved Colour and Depth Perception

By blocking out the sun’s glare, polarized lenses can improve your colour and depth perception, making your surroundings appear crisper, clearer, and more vivid. This will allow you to enjoy outdoor activities like bird watching or hiking to the fullest.

3. Reduced Eye Strain

When playing volleyball, snowboarding, or any other outdoor activity, you may find yourself squinting in the bright sunlight. Doing so for a prolonged period of time can often lead to eye strain, headaches, or even neck pain. Luckily, wearing polarized lenses outdoors will eliminate the need for squinting, thus preventing uncomfortable side effects.

4. Protection from UV Rays

While sunlight offers multiple benefits to all living organisms, UV rays may damage your eyes with prolonged exposure. While other sunglasses are more for style than function, you can mitigate the risks of sun damage by wearing polarized lenses, which effectively block harmful UV radiation and protect your eyes’ health.

Finding the Right Lenses for You

If you spend plenty of time outdoors, polarized lenses are a must-have. At Laurier Optical, we would be happy to help you choose the right sunglasses that are both stylish and effective at blocking the sun’s harmful rays. Get in touch with us today to book your appointment.