The large wraparound lenses of the Smith Sonic Motorsport Goggles offer excellent protection from wind and flying debris.

In the United States, 38,000 sports-related eye injuries are reported each year, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission. Many could be prevented if the athletes had been wearing protective eyewear, such as safety goggles with polycarbonate lenses.

Ski goggles are a must, and so are face shields (either “cages” or clear polycarbonate shields) for baseball or softball catchers, and hockey, football, and paintball players. Racquet sports (e.g., racquetball, tennis, squash, badminton, etc.) account for a significant number of sport-related eye injuries. Nonetheless, the most popular sports (i.e., basketball, baseball, and football) have the most numbers of such injuries because of the larger numbers of participants in these sports.

The sad part about these eye injuries is that they often result in permanent damage, and over 90% of the injuries sustained could have been prevented. A deflected ball, flailing finger or whack of a racquet are all big offenders when it comes to eye trauma. Mother Nature, however, is just as likely to be a guilty party. Rocks, dust, water and gravel are all can cause eye injuries.

Sports-related eye injuries can produce anywhere from minimal eye damage (scratches and/or abrasions) to injuries that can result in permanent loss of vision or even the loss of the eye itself (ocular hemorrhages, retinal detachments, open globe injuries, etc). Obviously, this depends on the nature of the injury.

Many athletes don’t enjoy wearing glasses, because they can fog up or slip down. They also don’t provide peripheral vision as good as that obtained with contact lenses. However, prescription polycarbonate goggles with a wraparound strap, like the kind Kareem Abdul Jabbar wore on the court, are a good solution. And many kids think they’re cool because Jabbar wore them.

Never use “dress” eyewear during sports. Glasses made for street or office wear are not made to the same standard as safety eyewear and will probably not hold up under impact. Not only will they shatter or bend, but pieces of the lens or frame can cause eye or face injury.

Tips when choosing your sport eyewear

1. If you wear prescription glasses, make sure you either get prescription eyewear or goggles that can be used with prescription eyewear.
2. Buy name brand sport specific goggles from a reputable dealer.
3. Don’t buy sports eye guards without lenses. Only “lensed” protectors are recommended for sports use.
4. Fogging of the lenses can be a problem when you’re active. Some goggles are available with anti-fog coating. Others have side vents for additional ventilation.
5. Check the packaging to see if the eye protector you select has been tested for sports use. Polycarbonate eye guards are the most impact resistant.
6. Sports goggles should be padded or cushioned along the brow and bridge of the nose. Padding will prevent the eye guards from cutting your skin. In goggles designed for skiing the padding will help keep out snow and debris.

If a sports-related injury does occurs, the athlete should be referred to a medical facility or to an eye care professional (ophthalmologist or optometrist) immediately if they experience:

1. blurred vision that does not clear within a few minutes,
2. loss of all or part of their field of vision,
3. eye pain that does not subside in a few minutes,
4. double vision,
5. flashing lights or
6. bleeding on or inside the eye.

If there is ever any doubt as to the nature of the eye injury, then the athlete should discontinue participating in the sport and should immediately consult an eye care professional.

Protective Eyewear Features

Frames
Protective sports eyewear is available in either a goggle design or a shield. Goggles offer better protection than shields.

Regardless of which design you prefer, the frame should cover the entire socket and not just the eyeball. If you select a shield, look for a frame that fits closely to the face, so as to minimize the potential for a finger to get underneath and displace the frame. The frame should have padding at the temple and bridge. This will absorb some of the shock to lessen the overall impact, and will limit damage the frame may cause to the face.

An elasticized band is best to hold the frame in place. Regular temples will not secure the frame tightly enough and a finger could displace the frame and end up in your eye. In addition to having an impact resistant lens, the frame must also be able to withstand impact. Frames molded with propionate are lightweight and offer strength and flexibility

Lenses
The key element to look for in protective eyewear is polycarbonate lenses since they are virtually unbreakable and can sustain the impact of a ball or racquet. Safety is not the only reason to use sport specific eyewear. Performance levels can be increased when the the issues affecting poor vision are addressed. Visual aquity and clarity are important factors in insuring good vision and performance in any outdoor activity.

Color Enhancement
Some tinted sports sunglasses enhance particular colors, such as yellow, by filtering other colors out. Specially tinted contact lenses, such as yellow-enhancing soft contacts and tinted RGPs, can do the same thing. (Don’t confuse these light-filtering lenses with regular color contacts, which are tinted in order to change the color of your eyes, but don’t affect the colors you see in the environment.) Yellow enhancement is particularly desirable in tennis, where balls are usually yellow.

Other contact lenses are being developed to enhance certain colors for golfers, skiers, trap-shooters, and more. Amber or rose ski goggle lenses enhance the soft grays that mark shadows on a ski slope. Since these shadows indicate ridges or bumps in the surface, skiers “read” them to decide when to turn, so they won’t catch an edge and fall.

Light Control
Polarized sports sunglasses reduce glare so athletes can see the ball or other players better. Anti-reflective lens coating is another glare reducer that works even at night, if you’re playing under bright lights. Another light control lens is a photochromic. This changes from clear or almost clear to a light or dark sunlens, depending on how much light is around you. Photochromic lenses are terrific for golf, where you’re moving from light to shade when walking from one hole to the next. In fact, they work for any outdoor sport on days when it’s partly sunny, partly cloudy. With anti-reflective coating applied, they also reduce glare.

Related pages and posts: Specialty Eyeglasses – The Gift of Vision, Wiley X Tactical Series Safety Glasses, Sunglasses 101 – Outdoor, Tennis & Sports Sunglasses, Get Going With Goggles, Top Eyewear & Optical Tools, Bolle Tips for Wearing Goggles over Corrective Eyewear, It’s Summer – Time for Swimming Goggles, Get Going With Goggles This Summer, UK Goggles .

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Wiley X SG-1 Goggles are popular unisex style tactical goggles.

Selecting Tactical Goggles
Whether in training or in battle, it is critical that your eyewear protect you from ultraviolet radiation, of which up to 85% can be reflected off snow. This means you need sunglasses or goggles in both sunny and overcast conditions. Snow blindness is a sunburn on the surface of the eye and the most common skiing injury that optometrists treat.

Skiing without goggles, regardless of weather conditions, increases exposure to UV rays, which puts people at risk of cataracts and macular degeneration, the number one cause of blindness in seniors.

People don’t usually think about the potential for eye injuries but they can happen. If you take a bad fall while wearing inappropriate eyewear, the lenses can break and cut your eyes; if you aren’t wearing any eyewear at all, a low branch can do serious damage to your eyes.

Goggles
If you prefer to wear a goggle, use the same lens color guidelines. Make sure the goggle is well ventilated to prevent fogging. Goggles should fit properly and comfortably and should be tinted in accordance to weather conditions, for additional safety.

A good all purpose tint is gray, with or without a mirror. For hazy conditions choose cinnamon, or amber. And for foggy days a vermilion or yellow tint helps to enhance what you see. Goggles with interchangeable lenses are good options for people who want to be well prepared.

Frames
We recommend a plastic frame since these hold up much better in the cold. Metal frames become brittle in the cold and may break. Wraps are very popular since they protect your eyes from wind and snow, which is especially important for contact lens wearers. They also help block out incidental light from the sides, helping to minimize glare.

Lenses
Most importantly, the sunglasses/goggles should offer 100% UV protection. Since glare increases on surfaces such as snow and regular sun lenses do not provide adequate absorption of glare, you may want to consider polarized lenses which absorb 98% of the glare so you don’t need to squint.

Please Note: Polarized lenses absorb so much glare that you may not be able to distinguish patches of ice from regular snow. You also may want to consider a photochromatic lens, which will lighten or darken according to the amount of light, getting darker in bright sunlight, and lighter in an overcast sky.

Polycarbonate lenses are highly recommended because of their impact resistance. Polycarbonate is also more fog resist than any other lens. Plastic provides adequate protection but can still shatter. Avoid glass lenses if at all possible. When skiing in bright sunlight, you should wear a sun lens. A brown or amber lens will provide the best contrast against a white background and works well for lower light conditions (i.e. when the sun goes behind the clouds).

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	Uvex Vision Goggles The Uvex Vision snow goggles incorporate Supravision® technology for an anti-fog and anti-scratch lens that is optically correct and designed to absorb 100% of UVA, UVB and UVC. These goggles feature a speed slip for easy on/off.
	Uvex Hurricane Ski Goggles The Uvex Hurrican snow goggles (Unisex, Teen’s, Boys’ & Girl’s) incorporate Supravision® technology for an anti-fog and anti-scratch lens that is optically correct and designed to absorb 100% of UVA, UVB and UVC. These goggles are designed to be able to fit under Uvex helmets.
	Uvex Apache Ski Goggles The Uvex Apache snow goggles incorporate Supravision® technology for an anti-fog and anti-scratch lens that is optically correct and designed to absorb 100% of UVA, UVB and UVC. These goggles are designed to be able to fit under Uvex helmets. • Performance supravision super anti-fog • Double lens – spherical • Helmet compatible
	Uvex Pocket Goggles With the Uvex Pocket goggle, you can fold them in the middle and store them in your jacket pocket.  You can also open the latch on the sides of the lens and you can change your lenses wherever you are for the current conditions. The Supravision® clima-zone double lens is one of Uvex’s best. It’s anti-fogging, anti-scratch, break resistant, absolutely optically correct, anti-static and offers 100% UVA, UVB, UVC protection. The laser gold lite tint lens is designed for all light conditions while the inner clear lens works great at night time. The Pocket goggle offers a smaller frame design and doesn’t have that large look on your face.

Related posts and pages – Uvex Ski Goggles, Uvex Sunglasses, Get Going With Goggles, UK Goggles.

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Related pages and posts – Smith Ski Goggles, Smith Motorsport Goggles, Smith Sunglasses, Smith Optics Eyeglasses, Specialty Eyeglasses: The Gift of Vision, Sunglasses 101 – Outdoor, Tennis & Sports Sunglasses, UK Goggles.

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Related pages and posts – Protective Sports Eyewear, Best Sunglasses for Fishing, Rec Specs Sunglasses & Goggles, Rec Specs Eyeglasses, Baseball Sunglasses, UK Goggles.

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Related pages & posts: Wiley X Prescription Sunglasses, Wiley X Goggles, Wiley X Women Sunglasses, Wiley X Eyeglasses, Ballistic Eyewear, Wiley X Sponsored NASCAR Drivers Post Top Finishes, Wiley X P-17 Great for Hunting & Shooting, NASCAR FANS: Joey Logano wears Wiley X Airborne Sunglasses, Protective Sports Eyewear, Romer II Advanced From Wiley X Combines Ballistic Protection, How Lens Treatments Enhance Sun Lenses, UK Goggles.

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BOLLE GOGGLE TECHNOLOGY

Flow-Tech Venting – Bolle designs its goggles to control and optimize the flow of air over the inside of the lens to reduce fogging. Venting ports are located to enhance design and control air flow without clogging with snow.

P80 (Anti-Fog Coating) – Bolle applies P80 to the inside of our cylindrical double lenses. Combined with thermal insulation of the double lens and Equalizer technology, it provides superior anti-fog capabilities and truer optics.

P80 PLUS (Anti-fog/Carbo Glass® Anti-Scratch) – Applied to our new spherical polycarbonate decentered single lenses (Zoopla), P80Plus is Bollé’s proprietary, maximum protection against lens fogging and scratching.

Quick Release Strap – Easy on. Easy off. The Bolle Quick Release Strap makes getting your goggles on/off your head or helmet easier.

OTH (Over The Helmet) – All Bolle goggles are designed to be compatible with most helmet designs currently on the market.

SOS Prescription Adapters (RX) – Prescription wearers can customize their Bollé goggles with optical Rx adapters that fit inside the goggle

Double Lens with Equalizer – Bolle double lenses create a thermal barrier, but have a superior seal and better optics with Equalizer technology.

100% UV Protection – All of Bollé’s goggle lens protect the wearer 100% from harmful ultraviolet rays (UVA/UVB).

OTG/OTC (Over the glasses/contacts) – The Bolle X700, X500, and X200 goggles are designed to fit over most glasses and contact lenses.

Polarized Lens – Low sun angles and the high reflectivity of snow create the need for polarization, which blocks the horizontal, reflected component of light. Gray lenses, however, offer no contrast for seeing icy patches or terrain features. Bolle combines polarization with a vermillon tint for high contrast perception.

Spherical Lens – Featured in the new Bolle contour goggle the spherical lens offers enhanced vision and superior optics over traditional flat lenses. Unique, sculpted look, reduced fogging with lens further from face.

Equalizer™ – Bolle Equalizer technology uses a breathable, gore all-weather vent to equalize air pressure between the lenses, without introducing moisture. The result is distortion-free vision at any altitude and no fogging.

BOLLE LENS OPTIONS

Vermillon – High contrast. Mostly cloudy/overcast conditions
Phototropic – Light sensitive amber tint that darkens with increasing solar intensity.
Bollé 100 – Amber colored lens that absorbs 100% infrared. Infrared rays contribute heat which accelerates the drying of the eye.
Night Ski – Clear lens for very low light or night skiing.
Citrus – High contrast. Direct sun/bright conditions (combines yellow and amber qualities)
Vermillon Gun Flash – Metallic silver coating applied. Our Vermillion lens reduce glare and enhance visual acuity. Ideal for bright days on the slopes.
Vermillon Polarized – High contrast. Highest glare and reflective conditions.

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