Polarized lenses too dark?

Lt. · Aug 25, 2006

I have a pair of Rudy Project Ketyum sunglasses with the ImpactX Photochromic grey lenses. These lenses are somewhat light. However, the polarized version looks very dark.

Anyone using polarized lenses and feel that it's too dark even in sunny conditions? Any advantages to polarized lenses for cycling? It's not like there is glare off water or snow.... well most of the time.

TIA

Insight Driver · Aug 25, 2006

What I dislike about polarized glasses is I can't read my cycle computer since it's a polarized LCD display.

Travis · Aug 25, 2006

avoid the grey but amber maui jim's are swell; you can still read the displays but you have to hit the right angle

Ridgetop · Aug 25, 2006

I have polarized ligher brown lenses. Not too dark at all and somewhat OK at dusk for a short while. Nice and clear, but like the other poster said, can't read the computer.

alienator · Aug 25, 2006

For those with LCD and polarization issues......too bad. If you can rotate the computer or lenses you can get around the problem.

I wear polarized lenses and have no issues. I also have three different colored lenses: uber dark grey; rose; and clear.

The clear aren't polarized.

The rose are polarized, not too dark, and are used for cloudy days.

The dark grey are very dark, at least as dark as my glacier glasses, so I'm guessing they only transmit about 5-7% of the ambient, correctly polarized light. Oh, yeah, since I said it, they're polarized. Snow and water aren't the only reflective polarizing surfaces. There's glass. Also, polarizing lenses will increase contrast--making things appear more vivid and sharp--when the sun is not directly behind or in front of you.

serpico7 · Aug 25, 2006

A couple of questions about polarized lenses:

1. Can you get a polarized film to lay over the cyclometer's lcd that would cancel the polarization of the lenses?

2. alienator, or anyone else with experience, do you find that the polarization makes it harder to spot wet surfaces (puddles, oil on the road, etc.)?

filtersweep · Aug 25, 2006

I still don't get what all the fuss is over polarized lenses. I have the Kerosenes with three lens sets. I use the blue and yellow--- almost never use the polarized. They are too dark, if you ask me. They are fine when it is sunny, but next thing I know, I am in a dark valley, or mtn biking though a forest where I can't see a thing.

Lt. said:
I have a pair of Rudy Project Ketyum sunglasses with the ImpactX Photochromic grey lenses. These lenses are somewhat light. However, the polarized version looks very dark.

Anyone using polarized lenses and feel that it's too dark even in sunny conditions? Any advantages to polarized lenses for cycling? It's not like there is glare off water or snow.... well most of the time.

TIA

terzo rene · Aug 25, 2006

My only problem with polarized is I can't see all the glass on the road. I love polarized for driving but on the bike, while the bigger pieces are still shiny, without the glare the smaller ones are effectively invisible to me.

You can get custom tinted polarized lenses and avoid the low light transmission problems.

Hammerli · Aug 25, 2006

Polarizing itself doesn't make the lenses dark. A lens that transmitted 5-7% of ambient would truly be a dark lens, in fact unuseable for most. The darkest lenses for nearly every manufacturer transmits around 12-15% ambient.

On a very bright day I enjoy the lack of glare offered by the polarized lenses, but as a general rule I don't think they are as big of a help as when boating or driving.

One advantage to polarized glasses is that it is easier to see into vehicles to see if you have at least some form of visual contact with the driver. When there is a lot of glare you can't tell if the driver is even looking in your direction or not.

alwayspartridge · Aug 25, 2006

I have both polarized and nonpolarized lenses, for most riding, i prefer non-polarized... the polarized gives you more contrast overall but i dont like how the contrast is sensitive to how you have your head tilted. Also, somethings seem to disappear if they are reflecting light light at the same angle as the background asphalt. there is no difference in light transmission (brightness) with polarized. As far as reading LCD's - the only solution is to turn your display 90 degrees.

alienator · Aug 25, 2006

serpico7 said:
A couple of questions about polarized lenses:

1. Can you get a polarized film to lay over the cyclometer's lcd that would cancel the polarization of the lenses?

2. alienator, or anyone else with experience, do you find that the polarization makes it harder to spot wet surfaces (puddles, oil on the road, etc.)?

1. You would need to rotate the polarization of the light coming out of the display using a quarter wave plate....which would be a cumbersome and expensive procedure. The light coming out of the display is linearly polarized, so if you lay anything other than a polarization rotating element over the display, all you'll do is decrease light transmission from the display.

2. I have no issues seeing glass, wet spots, oil, or whatever with polarizing lenses.

squeakr · Aug 25, 2006

I have the Ketyums with the Photorchromatic, Impact X, polarized grey lenses. I wear them day or night and have no problems reading my Garmin Edge 305, PDA, etc. The vision seems much more acute and sharp than before with my M frames (still love them also though). I just love never switching out lenses (although they can seem quite dark at night).

serpico7 · Aug 25, 2006

alienator said:
1. You would need to rotate the polarization of the light coming out of the display using a quarter wave plate....which would be a cumbersome and expensive procedure. The light coming out of the display is linearly polarized, so if you lay anything other than a polarization rotating element over the display, all you'll do is decrease light transmission from the display.

2. I have no issues seeing glass, wet spots, oil, or whatever with polarizing lenses.

1. I take it polarized lenses have vertical polarization? I'm using a Polar S710, which cannot be seen clearly with my polarized Oakleys at any orientation. I'm guessing that means either the glasses, or more likely, the HRM's lcd, has another polarization pattern (maybe circular?).

2. Can you spot ice as well (assuming you've ridden in the winter)? I would have thought that polarized lenses would block quite a bit of the light bouncing off the road, thus making it more difficult to discern the differences between light bouncing off dry roads vs. wet roads, oil, ice, etc.

Mark McM · Aug 25, 2006

Polarizing lenses

alienator said:
1. You would need to rotate the polarization of the light coming out of the display using a quarter wave plate....which would be a cumbersome and expensive procedure.

I don't think that's true. I think you'd merely have to use an intermediary polarizing filter that was at angle halfway between the polarizing angles of the LCD and the eyewear.

Insight Driver · Aug 25, 2006

For a simple way of thinking about polarization: think of the view through a picket fence. That is what polarization basically is, filtering so only vertical (in this case) polarized light can go through, horizontally polarized light if blocked by the pickets. Think of the computer display in the same way. In fact, in the LCD display when one polarizing filter is electrically moved to block the slats (so to speak) of the underlying filter, no light comes through, hence black text. The problem when you have glasses that are polarized is that, depending on whether they are horizontally, vertically or whatever polarized, if they interfere with the filter on the display you can't see it. As other posters have noted, however, if you were (and do this standing still) were to rotate your computer display, at a particular angle the display will be clear, at all other angles it gets progressively harder to see.

alienator · Aug 25, 2006

Mark McM said:
I don't think that's true. I think you'd merely have to use an intermediary polarizing filter that was at angle halfway between the polarizing angles of the LCD and the eyewear.

Yeah, you could put a half waveplate in, but then light transmission would be dependent on the polarization angle of the glasses and the LCD. With a quarter wave plate, you'd make it so that the polarization angle of the glasses didn't matter.

seany916 · Aug 25, 2006

I have a pari of Specialized Arcs & they're not worth the money. $230 for a durable & light pair of $60 lenses. All hype. Polarized Oakleys are much better for cheaper. Make sure they're polarized. It makes a difference in clarity on bright day.

estone2 · Aug 26, 2006

Lt. said:
I have a pair of Rudy Project Ketyum sunglasses with the ImpactX Photochromic grey lenses. These lenses are somewhat light. However, the polarized version looks very dark.

Anyone using polarized lenses and feel that it's too dark even in sunny conditions? Any advantages to polarized lenses for cycling? It's not like there is glare off water or snow.... well most of the time.

TIA

I've got Ketyum's too, with Polar 3FX lenses in the darkest color. I love em. I can see stuff until a tiny bit past sunset, then I'm screwed.
They're fine in overcast. Today I was out on a ride and got caught in a huuuuuge amount of rain, I think it was a cloudburst, and I could still see stuff ahead of me pretty well, and I was very confident until I got on a curvy bike path in a dark forest...
-estone2

Polarized lenses too dark?

Lt.

Insight Driver

Travis

Ridgetop

alienator

serpico7

filtersweep

terzo rene

Hammerli

alwayspartridge

alienator

squeakr

serpico7

Mark McM

Insight Driver

alienator

seany916

estone2

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