The Difference Between Polarized and Non-Polarized Lenses

Choosing the right sunglasses is very important if you want to protect your eyes. However, it can be very difficult to narrow down what sunglass lenses are ideal since there are multiple options on the market. Which brings the question, many times you hear about lens polarization. What is that, and what kind of a difference does it make for your sunglasses? Let’s find out.

What is polarization?
Before we learn the difference between polarized and non-polarized lenses, we need to know what polarization is. Generally, light will travel in any direction, but when you polarize it, you end up filtering the unwanted light directions, while keeping only the ones you want. That’s important when you want to protect your eyes against specific issues such as glare or reflections.

What are the benefits of polarized glasses?
When it comes to sunglasses, polarized sunglasses have a chemical filter that helps remove certain light waves. That chemical coating has a few slots designed to allow only vertical light to go through. That removes most of the glare since that usually comes from a horizontal surface. When you use polarized sunglasses, you will have much better visual clarity. Aside from that, you have less eye strain, and the images always appear clear and crisp.

How do you know if the sunglasses are polarized?
You can place the sunglasses in front of a tablet or laptop, rotate the sunglasses in front of the device and then you can see if the screen is darker or brighter. If that happens, then you have polarized lenses.

Where can you use polarized sunglasses?
It’s a good idea to use polarized sunglasses for those situations when you encounter a lot of sung glare. That’s why polarized sunglasses are recommended for:

• Golfing
• Fishing
• Boating
• Snowy environments

The benefits of non-polarized sunglasses
The role of non-polarized lenses is to reduce the light intensity. They treat light equally, but in doing so you will encounter glare, shimmers and sparkles, that’s normal for non-polarized sunglasses. What you will notice is that polarized lenses can make it hard to read LCD screens. On top of that, non-polarized lenses can help lower the light intensity, and they can be a great fit for people that have a sensitivity to polarized lenses and the chemicals they used.

When can you use non-polarized lenses?
There are many different options, based on your needs. However, non-polarized lenses are very helpful for these situations:

• People in the aviation industry
• For reading a book
• Operating any heavy machinery
• Using any type of digital screens
• Skiing in icy conditions
• Driving in a low light situation

Which is the better option?
As you can see, both polarized and non-polarized lenses have their own pros and cons. They are both great against UV rays, so you don’t have to worry about that. However, polarized lenses do offer some advantages, including eyestrain protection and glare removal. The fact they get to filter the light rays is very helpful.

However, non-polarized sunglasses are still a good fit, because in some cases polarized lenses are not okay. You can use these non-polarized sunglasses if you drive during the night or view digital screens, as there are less issues that way. So, it all comes down to where and how you want to use your sunglasses. Both non-polarized and polarized sunglasses are great, you just need to pick the best option for your optimal viewing pleasure.