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glacier glasses vs. regular sunglasses


lightning

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I was interested at what altitude (or prolonged exposture period) people stoped using sunglasses and started using regular sunglasses.

 

The reason I am asking is that I had an AVY class this weekend on snoqualmie pass and all of the ski partolers and some of my class mates just wore changeable lense sunglasses. I wore my dorky glaicer glasses. I asked one of the guys when to stop wearing sunglasses and he said that at below 10K feet that normal sunglasses were ok because the sunlight is less intense.

 

thoughts?

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If you're squinting or getting a headache, get darker glasses. It partly depends on your eye's sensitivity to light, which varies a lot from person to person. My eyes are sensitive, and I use changeables in winter: yellow lenses with thick clouds, amber if brighter.

 

Most decent sunglasses are 100% filtered for UV, so it's all about how much visible light your eyes can comfortably take. I just use a reasonably dark pair of wrap around polarized glasses for summer+snow. The polarization cuts down snow glare and makes the scenery look extraterrestrial. The wrap around style seems to negate the need for side shields, which cause fogging, but again, it's whatever works for you.

Edited by tvashtarkatena
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I don't think about altitude. I think about how much of what I'm looking at is snow, and whether it is or isn't cloudy.

 

You can seriously snow blind yourself even if it is cloudy.

 

Julbo makes some really great hybrid glasses that technically ARE glacier glasses, but with modern styling. The only difference is how well something keeps out UVs. I have some Julbo Transition lens glasses, and they pretty much :rocken: (only complaint is that they tend to get kinda foggy since they are so close fitting to my face).

 

Hey, why are you concerned about looking stupid with old school glasses? Retro is the new cool man!

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My preferences re: specs are: 1) polarised; 2) 100% UV blockage; and, 3) > 80% visible light reduction.

 

1)Polarized glasses suck for skiing and mountaineering - they reduce surface reflections so you receive less information about things like ice. they are nice for water sports though.

 

2)Most everything blocks 100% of UV radiation, not much transmits well into the UV

 

3)For hi-altitude and snow in the summer 5-12% transmission is nice. Its hard to find sunglasses with that little transmission - but there are quite a few glacier glasses that are available with that range. The other advantage of glacier glasses vs. those cool shades is glacier glasses don't get so nasty with sweet because they are further away from your face.

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My preferences re: specs are: 1) polarised; 2) 100% UV blockage; and, 3) > 80% visible light reduction.

 

 

1)Polarized glasses suck for skiing and mountaineering - they reduce surface reflections so you receive less information about things like ice. they are nice for water sports though.

 

What you should say here is that YOU think they suck...but you probably won't find too many experienced backcountry travellers that agree with you. Again, it's whatever works for the individual. I get plenty of 'information' through my polarized glasses, and can easily recognize icy conditions. Never had a problem. Perhaps it's the wearer, not the glasses.

 

 

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Regular sunglasses work just fine for 90% of any skiing or climbing you will ever do in Washington state. I wouldn't recommend them for a summer climb on Mt. Rainier, perhaps, but I have in fact used them there. I've been climbing and skiing around here for 35 years and I have never heard of anybody having a problem as long as they actually wore their sunglasses. I'm sure it has happened, and the above note about how sensitivity might vary is accurate.

 

Wear whatever you want, but wear sunglasses when you are out in bright light on snow (I worry about it on rock such as a long day in the sun on white granite in Darrington, too, and I bet you could hurt yourself at Vantage). Don't assume that a cloudy day is not bright: the normal cloudy day that is not so crappy that you've canceled your outing is probably still plenty bright enough to burn your retinas. (I could be "medically" wrong, but my experience suggests that on the truly crappy days you CAN get away without sunglasses.) Err on the side of greater protection if it is really sunny, you are going to be exposed for long hours, or if you are climbing higher peaks. Glacier glasses are designed for this purpose.

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i used cheap-o rei check-out stand 20$ sunglasses on denali and loved them - kept buying the same pair every time they broke or i lost them for a couple years too, now the bastards don't have them anymore - shit! shoulda bought 20 pairs all at once.

 

the most important thing for me w/ non-glacier glasses sunglasses is getting total protection for the eye from all directions - on rainier once i had regular polarized sunglasses but had to use duck-tape to add "mudflaps" to the bottom of the glasses b/c i was getting blinded by the bounce-up

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What you should say here is that YOU think they suck...

 

People need to quit this nonsense. Of course it's what he thinks. He wrote it. Not everything needs a disclaimer.

 

 

Lightning, as you're probably realizing, everyone has their own approach. As long as you have some sunglasses that shield most of your field of vision from the sun, you'll be OK in most conditions. A little duct tape can always save your ass. You might come back from a trip and realize you want something other than what you've got. If it's sunnier you want something darker. All makes sense, right? That'll get you started, and you'll figure out what works through more experience.

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I've used something similar to that when I forgot my sunglasses. I also once wore a gauze triangular bandage over my face and looked through it when I broke my sunglasses during a sunny July or August climb and ski of Mt. Adams. You should have seen the funny looks I got from all the other people there.

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What you should say here is that YOU think they suck...

 

People need to quit this nonsense. Of course it's what he thinks. He wrote it. Not everything needs a disclaimer.

 

People need to quit this nonsense. Not every comment on a comment needs to be commented on so that people don't comment on comments.

 

 

Heh heh.

 

No comment.

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That inreadable graph is sure going to help the original poster here. :rolleyes:

 

The graph is % of light reflected versus reflection angle for pure s polarized light (the green line) and pure p polarized light (the red line). S polarized light is the surface reflection or "glare" that you would get from ice ("information" if you well). Polarized sunglasses are designed to reduce transmisison of s polarized light (unless you wear them at 90 degrees) giving you more (relative to before) p light transmission so you can do things like see rocks in the water. But you are losing some of the surface reflection information.

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That inreadable graph is sure going to help the original poster here. :rolleyes:

 

The graph is % of light reflected versus reflection angle for pure s polarized light (the green line) and pure p polarized light (the red line). S polarized light is the surface reflection or "glare" that you would get from ice ("information" if you well). Polarized sunglasses are designed to reduce transmisison of s polarized light (unless you wear them at 90 degrees) giving you more (relative to before) p light transmission so you can do things like see rocks in the water. But you are losing some of the surface reflection information.

 

"surface reflection information"...?

 

I'm gonna barf.

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