The 6 Best Polarized Sunglasses for Sunny Summer Days
Filter out bright sunlight to protect your eyes and keep your vision clear.
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Sunny days by the water are one of the great joys of summer, but whether you’re relaxing by the ocean or running on a lakeside trail, the sun reflecting on a body of water can cause your eyes some serious discomfort. A pair of polarized sunglasses can help prevent the sharp glare from reflective surfaces from damaging or hurting your precious peepers.
While polarized lenses don’t typically have greater UV protection than non-polarized glasses, they do help you see better when there’s a glare, whether that’s a body of water or a line of parked cars at the track. Polarized lenses sometimes cause screens to appear dark, so they’re a better bet for driving, running, or exploring the great outdoors than they are for working on your laptop outside. We’ve rounded up the best polarized sunglasses to keep you seeing clearly all summer long.
Looking for performance sunglasses? Check out the best sunglasses for runners.
The Best Polarized Sunglasses
- Best Overall: Tifosi Swank Polarized Sunglasses
- Best Value: Goodr OG Polarized Sunglasses
- Best Visibility: Smith Boomtown Chromapop Polarized Sunglasses
- Best Prescriptions: Smith Lowdown Slim 2 RX Polarized Sunglasses
- Best Alternative Lenses: Oakley Flak 2.0 XL Polarized Sunglasses
What to Consider in Polarized Sunglasses
What Does Polarization Really Do? Is It Essential?
If you’ve ever worn polarized sunglasses near a body of water before, there’s a chance you noticed that you can see underwater more easily than you can with your naked eye. That’s because polarization is made to reduce sharp glares, such as the kind that bounces off the surface of a lake or ocean on a sunny day.
The physics behind this tech are a bit complicated, but the short explanation is that reflections like those on the surface of water transform light into “unpolarized” light which means the polarity of the light waves is no longer uniform with the rest of the light entering your eyes. Polarization blocks that extra light, meaning you get less glare without darkening your vision too dramatically.
That said, polarizing glasses aren't always optimal for your runs, and there are plenty of instances in which you’ll benefit from other types of lenses. First and foremost, if you want to look at any kind of screen while you’re running, such as your phone or watch, be warned that those screens are polarized as well and can be difficult to see through your lenses. You may also want to see the glare on certain reflective surfaces, such as ice on the road in the winter.
If you want your sunglasses to give your vision more contrast while still toning down how much light hits your eyes, look for different lens technologies like Oakley’s Prizm lenses or Smith’s Chromapop lenses, both of which make it easier to see small cracks in the sidewalk or rocks and roots on the trail—or simply make colors pop on a beautiful day.
Lens and Frame Styles
If you’ve ever been to a major running event, you’ve likely seen how wild people’s sunglasses can get. Sure, you’ll see plenty of classic sunglasses like the Goodr OG adorning runners’ faces, but you’ll also see enormous, face-swallowing, one-piece lenses like the one on the Smith Boomtown. Why all the variation? It comes down to where and when you wear sunglasses the most.
Classic frames are versatile—it’s a lot easier to look natural at the farmer's market or on the beach while wearing them—but they don’t give you as wide a field of view as those enormous single-lens glasses. On a technical trail, it may be prudent to try some of those avant-garde designs so you don’t miss a stray rock or root that could decimate your ankle. For a compromise, you can also find glasses like Oakley’s Flak 2.0 XL, which has a frame on only the upper half of the lenses that keeps your view of the trail under you unblocked.
How We Selected Polarized Sunglasses
Finding the right sunglasses is one of the most personal choices a runner can make—you’re considering everything from your environment to your head shape to your style. As such, we started our evaluations by asking around Runner’s World headquarters to get a wide pool of data about the brands and models our team prefers.
From there, we looked at top models from brands we trust to find options that still have polarized lenses (it’s not as easy as it used to be), taking into consideration everything from weight to price to prescription lens availability. And to round the list out and provide more variety, we made sure to include various lens styles that we’ve found work for us on our runs and don’t look too gaudy.
Adam Schram is an Assistant Editor of Commerce at Runner's World, though you might see his byline on Bicycling and Popular Mechanics, too. A lover of all things outdoors, Adam's writing career comes after six years as a bike mechanic in his hometown of State College, PA. His journalism experience is steeped in cycling and running gear reviews, and he's also a published creative nonfiction and satire author. When he's not writing, riding, or running, you can catch Adam at home mixing cocktails, watching Star Wars, or trying in vain to do the Sunday crossword. You can check out his latest work below.
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