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CHOOSING THE IDEAL WATERSPORTS LENSES
Choosing the most suitable lenses for your watersports is not an easy decision to make. Lens choice is determined by many things – weather conditions, lighting levels, ‘reading the water’ considerations, and personal preferences all play their part.
You can follow the broad guidelines detailed below for choosing the right lenses for the right weather conditions, but it is important to remember that some eyes are more sensitive than others and not everyone perceives light in the same way, so ultimately the choice boils down to comfort and your personal preferences.
One general rule to remember as you consider which lenses are suitable for your needs is that smoke or grey based lenses generally provide low contrast and natural colours whereas any lenses with a pigment on the red side of the spectrum (e.g brown, rose, pink, violet) offer higher contrast. Higher contrast lenses can make it easier to pick out details in the distance and can often lead to a noticeable reduction in eye fatigue. However, high contrast lenses are not ideal for everyone, especially for individuals with sensitive eyes.
TYPHOON, SURGE & FLO
The Methane Smoke nylon lenses for the Typhoon and PC Chroma Smoke lenses for the Surge and FLO offer a neutral tone, and are both category 3 polarised lenses. If you like a natural representation of colours, then this is the lens for you.
The Typhoon ‘methane smoke’ nylon lenses by ZEISS have a visible light transmission rate (VLT) of 11.1% which means that they are designed for bright & sunny environments.
For the Flo and Surge models, the ‘Chroma Smoke’ lenses provide a VLT of 10.2%. At this VLT level, the lenses will be able to handle strong sunlight and significant glare. However, for cloudy days and sessions when the sun is well on its way down, they may be a little on the dark side when it comes to the end of the day.
Both are equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coatings to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both sides of the lenses.
POLARIZED
TYPHOON, SURGE & FLO
The brown base colour lenses for the Surge & Typhoon offer more enhanced colours, and are also both category 3 polarized lenses. As the base lens colour has a red/brown hue, this tends to lift or ‘pop’ all colours (but especially reds and greens). This in turn increases contrast.
The specification for the ‘Methane Brown’ Typhoon lenses was recently upgraded from polycarbonate to nylon material. The Zeiss nylon methane brown lenses have a VLT of 15.6%. For the Surge and Flo models, ‘Chroma Brown’ lenses provide a VLT of 14.8%.
There is a noticeable difference in the performance of the brown lenses in cloudy / darker conditions. Owing to the increased contrast afforded by brown base lenses, and the higher VLT levels, it is noticeably easier to see details when the light levels drop. This is not to say that the brown lenses do not function well in bright light. In fact, they perform admirably in bright conditions. Brown lenses are versatile all round lenses for all types of conditions.
As with the smoke lenses, both are equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both sides of the lenses.
POLARIZED
SURGE & FLO
The Ice Blue polycarbonate lenses for the Surge & Flo offer yet more enhanced contrast and colour perception than the brown lenses. The base colour of these lenses is rose. Our VIVIDE lens technology controls light transmission into the eye by filtering out blue light and enhancing red and green light. If your local environment is awash with hues of blue (e.g the Caribbean or Indian Ocean) these category 3 polarised lenses will bring the visible light back into balance.
The VLT for the Ice Blue lenses is 10.7% which is on the lower end of a category 3 lens. It is therefore a lens suited to bright sunny conditions. However, as with our brown lenses, there is good performance of these lenses in cloudier conditions owing to the increased contrast afforded by the rose lens base colour.
As with all our watershades lenses, the VIVIDE Ice Blue lenses come equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both sides of the lenses.
POLARIZED
TYPHOON & FLO
Similar in performance to Ice Blue lenses noted above, the violet base colour of the Pacific Blue lenses by ZEISS provide enhanced contrast and vivid colour perception. Available in both the Typhoon and Flo models, the lens material is polyamide (nylon) which offers super crisp vision with an Abbe value of 52, the highest of all of our lenses.
The Pacific Blue lenses subdue the amount of blue light entering the eye and enhance the reds and greens. The blue mirror coating also reflects blue light. These category 3 polarised lenses are perfect for bright sunny conditions in environments with deep blue ocean colours like the Pacific or Atlantic.
The VLT for these lenses is 9.95% which is also at the lower end of a category 3 lens and so are perfectly suited to bright and sunny conditions.
The Pacific Blue lenses come equipped with Zeiss’s advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both sides of the lenses.
POLARIZED
TYPHOON
The ‘Super Blue’ lenses by Zeiss have the same violet base lens colour as the Pacific Blue lenses detailed above. Available only in the Typhoon model, this nylon lens is suited to the same conditions as the Pacific Blue lens, but as the VLT is 2% higher at 11.8% – this lens is more capable of handling lower light conditions when the clouds roll in.
As with the Pacific Blue lens, the high contrast Super Blue lenses subdue the amount of blue light entering the eye and enhance reds and greens. The light blue mirror coating also reflects some blue light. These lenses are a good stylistic alternative to the Pacific Blue lenses if you prefer a lighter blue mirror coating and a little more brightness in the field of view.
As with all of the Zeiss lenses we offer, these lenses come equipped with Zeiss’s advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both sides of the lenses.
POLARIZED
TYPHOON
ZEISS Rose Gold nylon lenses have a brown base lens colour which is coupled with a rose gold mirror coating. This lens option is available only in the Typhoon.
The brown base lens colour provides good contrast. The VLT rate for these lenses is 14.2% which while still squarely within the category 3 range, is a bit higher than some of our other watershades lenses which fall in the 8-12% range. This lens is therefore well equipped for lower light conditions and cloudier days, but may not be the perfect choice for super-bright sunny conditions.
These lenses come equipped with Zeiss’s advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both sides of the lenses..
POLARIZED
SURGE & FLO
These polycarbonate Levanté Series lenses by LiP Sunglasses have a brown base colour and a multilayer green mirror coating. They are available in both the FLO and Surge models.
The brown base colour offers excellent contrast and colours really ‘pop’ with this lens. The VLT rate is 11.5%. so they are a good all round tint – not too bright – not too dark. As with most multilayer mirror coatings, depending on the angle at which these lenses are seen, the mirror colour blends from a deep blue to a rich dark green.
These lenses come equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both sides of the lenses.
POLARIZED
SURGE & FLO
These polycarbonate Levanté Series lenses by LiP Sunglasses have a grey base colour and a multilayer blue mirror coating. They are also equipped with an anti-fog coating on the inner lens surface. They are available in both the FLO and Surge models.
The anti-fog coating is designed to defog lenses that become foggy due to body heat / moist exhaled breath so this lens is ideal for beginners that spend as much time in the water as on it.
The grey base colour has a neutral tone and the VLT rate is 12.5% – which is a good all round tint for bright and sunny conditions.
These Smoke Multilayer Blue mirror lenses come equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coating, anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on the front surface and anti-fog and hard coating on the inner surface.
POLARIZED
SURGE
These polycarbonate Levanté Series lenses by LiP Sunglasses have a grey base colour and a multilayer red mirror coating. They are available in the Surge model only.
The grey base colour has a neutral tone and the VLT rate is 17.4% – ideal for cloudy or variable lighting conditions. The injected polarisation layer cuts out 99% of reflected glare
As with many multilayer mirror coatings, depending on the angle at which these lenses are seen, the mirror colour blends from deep red to fiery orange.
These lenses come equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both sides of the lenses.
POLARIZED
SURGE & FLO
These polycarbonate VIVIDE Series lenses by LiP Sunglasses have a blended copper-grey base colour and a uniform silver mirror coating. They are available in both the FLO and Surge models.
The copper-grey base colour enhances reds and greens, while the uniform flash mirror coating cuts out some of the glare. With a VLT rate of 10%, these lenses are at the darker end of Category 3 lenses and are ideal for very bright cloudless skies.
However, as these lenses are not polarised, reflected glare is not significantly filtered out so these lenses may not be ideal if you are looking for lenses that remove glare. On the other hand, the lack of polarisation may enable you to spot wind-lines better in the middle of the day.
These lenses come equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both sides of the lenses.
NOT POLARIZED
FLO
ZEISS multilayer red lenses are category 2 polycarbonate lenses with a VLT rate of 26%. The base colour is smoke (grey). It is a true tone lens with a progressive red multilayer coating with red/yellow hues.
Available only in the Flo model, these lenses are suited to medium / low light conditions. As they are not polarised, they are not suitable for handling significant glare. They are however suitable for cloudy days with intermittent sunshine or dawn dusk sessions when glare is not a concern.
As with all our watershades lenses, these Zeiss lenses come equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating.
NOT POLARIZED
TYPHOON
45% to 15%
Our Partial ecLiPse photochromic lenses offer a versatile solution for days when the weather and lighting conditions are changeable. The tint of these lenses adapts to changes in visible light, ranging from 45% when light levels are low to 15% in bright sunny conditions. The base colour is grey which offers a neutral tone.
Available only in the Typhoon model, these lenses are suited to variable lighting conditions and cloudy days with intermittent sun. As they are not polarised, they do not cut out reflected glare.
As with all our watershades lenses, these photochromic lenses come equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both inner and outer lens surfaces.
PHOTOCHROMIC
TYPHOON
79% to 25%
Our Full ecLiPse photochromic lenses with a red mirror coating come into their own when the clouds roll in and are ideal for changeable winter and spring weather conditions. As with all of our photochromic lenses, the tint of these lenses adapts to changes in visible light, ranging from 79% when light levels are really low to 25% when the sun emerges from behind the clouds.
With a rapid activation and deactivation speed of 22-24 seconds irrespective of temperature, they offer a versatile solution for difficult lighting conditions.
Available only in the Typhoon model, these lenses come equipped with an advanced hydrophobic coating to repel water, an anti-smudge oleophobic coating and a hard coating on both inner and outer lens surfaces.
PHOTOCHROMIC