Sports: Protecting and Enhancing Your Vision Safety The manufacturers of sports eyewear know that their products serve two purposes for athletes and active people. They protect eyes from the dangers associated with various sports and they enhance performance in extremely competitive environments by providing clear vision improving contrast and reducing glare. The technology behind sports eyewear enables people to potentially play better harder and safer than they would without eyewear.
Sports eyewear uses materials designed to meet specific weight impact resistance light and temperature requirements. As in all other areas of shielding sports gear protective eyewear has gone through many significant changes because technologies have improved and our realization of the importance of eye protection in sports has grown. Modern sports eyewear provides far better protection improved optics and enhanced overall vision contributing to safer as well as better sports vision.
Lenses made specifically for sports eyewear should be made of polycarbonate to meet safety requirements. This material is far more impact-resistant than traditional glass or plastic lenses thus it is better able to protect the eyes from fast moving objects. In racket sports such as tennis squash badminton and racquetball objects can move at over 90 kilometres per hour in a confined space. Glasses designed for street wear are unable to withstand this speed of impact and if hit they could shatter causing eye or face injury. Manufacturers usually make frames from highly flexible and impact-resistant materials. Some sports eyewear also has padding that cushions the sides of the frame where it touches the head such as behind the ears and by the bridge of the nose.
Although sports eyewear is available in prescription and non-prescription styles the particular eyewear design will depend on the requirements of the sport and the individual. Some styles feature large lenses that protect the eyes and the face while others feature a sleeker style that slightly wraps around the face providing a larger viewing area and excellent blockage from dust and wind. Click here for detailed information on eyewear designed for specific sports.
Enhancement
Excellent reaction speed depth perception and eye/hand co-ordination are vital when milliseconds or centimetres can mean the difference between winning and losing. In competition it is imperative to have the most advanced sports eyewear to gain every available competitive edge.
Tinted sports sunglasses enhance contrast and highlight particular colours by filtering out other colours. This makes the yellow tennis ball seem clearer and allows the shadows on the golf course green or bumps on ski slopes to stand out. Sunglass tints exist in a variety of colours and provide various advantages to wearers.
Sunglasses that improve vision by blocking UV rays and reducing glare include polarized lenses lenses with mirrored coatings and photochromic lenses. Polarized sunglasses work by filtering out reflected glare from water snow and shiny surfaces like metal mirrors windshields and glass. An anti-reflective coating can reduce glare at night from bright field or stadium lights. Mirrored coatings reflect bright light away from the lens which makes them effective in bright conditions. Photochromic lenses are especially useful for sports such as hunting and golf where players often move between bright and shady areas. These lenses darken automatically when exposed to sunlight and lighten in dimmer environments.