Hi all,
Looking at sunglasses to get to use while Kiteboarding so I dont have to be squinting the whole time.
I had some Smith normal sunglasses I was using for a bit but lost them in a fall so now I want to buy some designed for water sports.

There seems to be lots of choices out there.

Anyone recommend any that are cheap and good?
Figure a few dollars to save the eyes and wrinkles is well worth it :P

Buy cheapo bunnings ones and drill a hole in the end. Use an old bit of kite line to make a strap. Or if you have it use a heat gun and some heatshrink and some thicker line ( old bridle). Dont over invest they end up scratched from the dry salt and sand and you will need to replace them a couple of times a season.

Dont bother with polarised. This allows you to see through the sea surface when really you want to be reading the surface.

Yeah, I was looking at those.

Any first hand experience with them?

Unless UR in the over talented brigade or wearing a helmet suggest knocking up one of these
to hook onto sunnies strap....


works a treat... I am with seafever on this one have been progressively spending less and less each season...
Now keep an eye out for safety sunnies/glasses all year - optically adequate but my first set of REVO aqua's many years back got added to the davey jones locker -- sob sob - since - every pair have either bust/scratched/forgotten at shower/rusted pins - As long as you manage to hang-on to them - the more you spend the longer they last (to a point).. What ever you get make sure they are capable of taking a decent impact.... - I have been smacked on the glasses when trying to do an upwind gybe, the wind flipped the board - saved a shinner!!

Cheers
AP...

Best of the best: 720-armour Sharks 2.0... AU$280 I got the original version for $100 and a free demo pair of v2 that I lost in a freak accident... hydrophobic lens, 100% anti-fog, changeable lenses, actually float. Love them!

The blu-eye ones all come off the same production line as SeaSpecs - pretty sure the factory just prints different logos on the arms. $15 on eBay. They do NOT float.

Using these now: www.thekiteboarder.com/2013/04/review-ocean-tierra-del-fuego-sunglasses/ they definitely float

Imho don't use an elastic strap . Too tight to keep from falling of , and indent your face . Solid adjustable strap is the go ,with lanyard for the face plants . Keep it cheap .

... Seaspecs seem to work well, used 'em for years and stay on the head even when getting rolled in the surf. They even saved me getting speared in the eye from a flying fish once.

cheers,

Robbie

The eBay polarised ones are great got mine free when I bought fins and stomp pads from the same bloke

Puetz said..
... Seaspecs seem to work well, used 'em for years and stay on the head even when getting rolled in the surf. They even saved me getting speared in the eye from a flying fish once.

cheers,Robbie

ps forgot to mention, you can get perscription lens too from these guys www.seaspecs.com

seafever17 said..

Buy cheapo bunnings ones and drill a hole in the end. Use an old bit of kite line to make a strap. Or if you have it use a heat gun and some heatshrink and some thicker line ( old bridle). Dont over invest they end up scratched from the dry salt and sand and you will need to replace them a couple of times a season.

Dont bother with polarised. This allows you to see through the sea surface when really you want to be reading the surface.

+1 for Bunnings el cheapo.

1. Cheap - Approx $12
2. Designed as safety goggles for use with power tools, so should not shatter
3. Optically good enough - who needs high quality when they will be covered in salt spray within minutes.


@LoftyWinds - I wouldn't ever use something like Ray Bans as they have glass lenses and will most likely shatter on impact.

captainKel said..

@LoftyWinds - I wouldn't ever use something like Ray Bans as they have glass lenses and will most likely shatter on impact.

Very unlikely directly on water. But yes, on a rock that's different.

Kamikuza said..

Best of the best: 720-armour Sharks 2.0... AU$280 I got the original version for $100 and a free demo pair of v2 that I lost in a freak accident... hydrophobic lens, 100% anti-fog, changeable lenses, actually float. Love them!

The blu-eye ones all come off the same production line as SeaSpecs - pretty sure the factory just prints different logos on the arms. $15 on eBay. They do NOT float.

Using these now: www.thekiteboarder.com/2013/04/review-ocean-tierra-del-fuego-sunglasses/ they definitely float

Curious where you got the 720s from?

DANEgerous said..

Kamikuza said..

Best of the best: 720-armour Sharks 2.0... AU$280 I got the original version for $100 and a free demo pair of v2 that I lost in a freak accident... hydrophobic lens, 100% anti-fog, changeable lenses, actually float. Love them!

The blu-eye ones all come off the same production line as SeaSpecs - pretty sure the factory just prints different logos on the arms. $15 on eBay. They do NOT float.

Using these now: www.thekiteboarder.com/2013/04/review-ocean-tierra-del-fuego-sunglasses/ they definitely float

Curious where you got the 720s from?

The v1 I got from chainreactioncycles.com, the v2 are available from some place in Oz but both only have them in black
The demo pair I got direct...

Supposed to be an Aussie company but the mails came out of Taiwan. There's a online stores for Taiwan but only in Taiwanese... shame, cos I think the prices are much better.

Loftywinds said..

Puetz said..

Puetz said..

... Seaspecs seem to work well, used 'em for years and stay on the head even when getting rolled in the surf. They even saved me getting speared in the eye from a flying fish once.



cheers,Robbie

ps forgot to mention, you can get perscription lens too from these guys www.seaspecs.com

Yes but only if your eye sight is not too bad due to the curvature of the lens and frame. Unfortunately for me, SeaSpecs curvature was too high for my eyes. I had to buy more "flat" profiled sunnies.

... yeah funny thing is we got the same reply from Seaspecs about 5 years ago when we first tried to get perscription sunnies for the missus (her eyes are same way as yours and can't kite without them). Then suddenly a year later they could and we got some. The missus loves them and says they aren't perfect for daily use but perfect for kiting.

cool as,

Robbie

Bunnings. Anywhere from $6 will get you a pair of safety goggles that don't fog and work well. I took a $6 pair out recently and they stayed clear as.