November 8, 2022

What Should I Look for in Boat Glasses?

Whether you’re spending the day sport fishing in the ocean or spending a lazy day cruising the intracoastal, it’s just as important to protect your eyes as much as your skin. To find the best boating sunglasses, Maui Jim considers these 3 factors the most important.

1. Polarized Lenses

Sunlight reflecting off the surface of the water can be tough on the eyes. Even on overcast days, reflected glare can blind you and mask whatever is right in front of you. Traditional lenses reduce the amount of light reaching your eyes but do little to cut the glare.

Squinting helps block out some of the light, but only polarized glasses will reduce the effect of glare by blocking all polarized light waves.Eye fatigue, wrinkling around the eyes, and headaches take all the fun out of day on the water. Seafarers who choose polarized boating sunglasses can avoid the ill-effects of glare as well as the practical dangers of boating blind.

2. UV Elimination & HEV Reduction

Quality boating sunglasses will protect your eyes from 100% of the sun’s harmful UV rays and improve visual acuity and comfort on the water by reducing light intensity.

Remember– the combination of direct and reflected light is significantly brighter on the water. Between light reflecting off the water, windshields, and bright white decks, you need the right sunglasses. Most colored lenses alone don’t offer enough protection for boating. All Maui Jim sunglasses are polarized and provide 100% UVA & UVB protection. To filter out intense light, watersports sunglasses should be polarized and block 100% of UV rays.

A style such as Maui Jim’s Big Wave Polarized Wrap Sunglasses is excellent for boating. A larger frame means more coverage of the delicate skin surrounding your eyes and the wrap style allows for a secure and comfortable fit.

3. Lens Material

The material used in your sunglass lens affects the clarity, durability, and weight of your sunglasses. While glass offers premium optical clarity and superior scratch-resistance, it’s heavier than other lens materials. Boating glasses should be durable and lightweight, blocking the entry of light, wind, and water from the sides, top, and bottom. Some lens materials commonly used for boating glasses include:

Polycarbonate: Lenses made from polycarbonate are highly durable and lighter than glass. They’re also impact-resistant and shatter-resistant.
Trivex: Trivex has UV-blocking and shatter-resistant benefits similar to polycarbonate, but Trivex lenses are clearer, and lighter.
SuperThin Glass: SuperThin Glass is 32% thinner and lighter than standard glass, making it the best option for boaters and other watersport enthusiasts, especially when saltwater is involved. SuperThin Glass lenses, like the lenses used in Maui Jim Kanaio Coast polarized wrap sunglasses, provide the crispest optics available for vibrant ocean blues. They’re also extremely durable, with the best scratch and solvent resistance.
MauiBrilliant™: Maui Jim’s most advanced lens material featuring optics nearly clear as glass with just one-third of the weight, all while being highly impact, scratch, and shatter resistant.

Spend More Time on the Water

When you’re out on the water, your eyes are your most important tool. Maui Jim polarized sunglasses are fitted with our patented PolarizedPlus2® technology to provide all the benefits we recommend to anyone on the hunt for a pair of high-quality boating sunglasses. Our leading-edge process further provides HEV (“blue light”) reduction without removing blue hues and is considered an ideal UV filter for protecting the eyes and skin as recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Spend more time fishing, paddling, or riding the waves with premium boating sunglasses from Maui Jim.