Sunglasses - UV quality

[wishesuponastar]

Not sure how to word what I'm trying to ask. But let's say you buy sunglasses at Walmart (non-prescription) or the Dollar Store, would there be enough UV in the lenses?? Or should we buy good quality sunglasses (brand??) I'm talking about for kids too.

thanks!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

My DH sure thinks the more expensive ones are better ~ I laugh at him and have no problem with my $1 store sunglasses *his are a name brand that he picked up in Italy

He's very much in to name brands ~ I haven't been since I became a mom *well I am for my kids but for me I don't really care. DH has no kids of his own yet *we got married on 2/26/11* so maybe once he does he won't care so much

 

[wishesuponastar]

Anyone else know if the $ store sunglasses do a good job?
Of course when I want to know this answer my optician is closed early today LOL

 

[bigfish2215]

I work for an Eye doctor. We do not encourage the dollar store glasses. Any pair of sunglasses can say 100% UV protection. The government does not have regulations on them. Be careful because they could be a dark tinted lens, that doesn't have UV on them. If that happens that's where the damage can happen. A dark tinted lens will open your pupil wider and the harmful UV rays will get into your eyes and cause more damage than just your eye alone without any coverage. If you can check with your local eye doctor and see if they have a machine to read the UV coverage. I have one at my office and was amazed how many people think they have UV but they don't. I would also say a polarized lens is best. The reports say with a polarized lens you have 35 more feet in stopping distant. Maui Jim's are the best but they are really$$$$$$! But there's a lot of other brands that are good.

 

[monkey30]

yes when it comes to stuff like this we dont buy cheap, well not to cheap anyways!

$10 ones from Walmart seem to be alright, for the kids since they forget them or break them. I did get a pair of designer frames and have had them for over 3 yrs so it was worth the $120

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Every eye doctor I have talked to has said to avoid low quality sun glasses like the ones from the dollar store. They say the sunglasses can actually be worse than wearing none at all.

Now this doesn't mean you have to spend $500 on Armani or Guggi. My eye doctor recommends Maui Jims (as does my mother's eye surgen) which you can get at Costco for $60-$80. Talk to your eye doctor and see what they recommend

 

[wishesuponastar]

OP here - thank you everyone for your information. I will definitely be calling our eye doctor and see what they can recommend on our low budget.

 

[cooldadtexas]

Costa Del Mar, Oakley and Ray Ban make some quality glasses as well.

 

[SandrA9810]

If you have insurance coverage for new frames/lenses per year, skip a year on getting regular prescription and opt for sunglasses.

When I purchased my sunglasses, I used my allowance on prescription sunglasses. Often times manufacturers will make the same frame for "prescription lenses" that are a hair different that their "sunglass lenses". So I used my full frame allowance on Oakley frames, then the insurance covered the basic lenses and some of the regular coatings for prescription lenses (like UV protection, scratch resistance, polycarbonate lenses), and then they covered a percentage of the sunglass coatings (tinting, color, polarization). So instead of a $500 pair of Oakley's, I spent just over $200 for Oakley frames and DOC lenses.

Often times insurance won't cover lenses by name manufacturers, like Oakley, Maui Jim's, and so forth, but your eye doctor should be able to have their lab make up lenses for those frames. And your eye doctor can tell you what would be best for you.

I have really bad vision, since I was a kid. So I can't just pop over to a drug store and pick up any off the shelf. I cherish my Oakleys with my life, because I know it'll be a long time before I can replace them.

 

[herdtoDisney]

I have a question in the same vein as this thread-is there a good sunglass option from the eye doctors, for someone who is tough on sunglasses? That would be me I actually was going to go buy another cheap pair today, I break them every few months.

Is there like a durable prescription sunglass? I don't have eye coverage but I have a FSA and I wonder if I should invest in them. I work outside so I NEED sunglasses. But, I'm hard on them, in fact on Monday I set them on the seat of my mailtruck and delivered a package, got back in and crushed them

 

[tuckerkeys]

Also wanted to add avoid the sunglasses that say 400% UV on them. There is no such thing as 400% uv!! It's either 100% or nothing! Told to me by an eye dr. These are usually found at discount places, but have even been seen at places that sell them for $10-20$......

 

[An_Island_Girl]

It's like that question.. "Would you rather loose your hearing or your eyesight?" Everyone says neither, but if they had to choose, 80% of the population would choose to loose hearing over sight.
Your eyes are too important to mess with cheep sunglasses! To cut down on the cost, we went to a local sunglass shop, and had them write down the style numbers that we liked... then we actually found the same styles new in boxes on eBay. We saved over $100 on each pair, and was well worth it!
We live on the ocean, so polarized is a must for us, as the glare off the water can be brutal.
Good Luck!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I love my Ran Ban polarized sunglasses. Once you wear polarized, there is no going back!

Here is how I got mine with insurance (I wear contacts). Insurance would not pay for non-Rx sunglasses, but would pay for the Ray Bans if it was used for a Rx. My Doctor ordered the Ran Bans and polarized Rx lenses. He did not cut the lenses for the Ray Bans, but for an old frame I bought in. Now I have a pair of Ran Bans and a back-up pair of presecription sunglasses with polarized lenses.

Not sure what the quality is like, but LLBean has a lot of sunglasses with polarized lenses that are affordable.