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Polarized lenses?

jt10000

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I was skiing in warm conditions last month, and wishing I'd had sunglasses instead of goggles. I usually drive with polarized sunglasses, so was wondering if polarized lenses are OK skiing? I never use polarized lenses when cycling because it's harder to see wet roads. Would there be a similar risk in spotting ice (or even standing water) when skiing?
 

cantunamunch

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They're fine. No problem spotting stuff so long as they're not too dark.

Unfortunately they are also not as effective as on liquid water - the incoming radiation is mostly circularly polarized and the reflection angle is close to random on a small scale - even the flat plate crystals don't necessarily lie flat to the snow surface.

Anyone remember yellow Carrera Ultrasight lenses, the polarized ones? Pretty much the go-to goggle lens up through the late 90s
 

CascadeConcrete

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The general advice I've always heard is exactly what you asked about. The entire point of polarization is to cut glare. And glare can actually help you identify icy spots and otherwise differentiate snow surface conditions when you're out skiing. It's probably fine in the spring when the sun is really bright and the snow is pretty uniformly slushy, but I'd say polarized lenses are generally best avoided. Which should be really easy because the vast, vast majority of ski goggles lenses are not polarized.
 
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jt10000

jt10000

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The general advice I've always heard is exactly what you asked about. The entire point of polarization is to cut glare. And glare can actually help you identify icy spots and otherwise differentiate snow surface conditions when you're out skiing. It's probably fine in the spring when the sun is really bright and the snow is pretty uniformly slushy, but I'd say polarized lenses are generally best avoided. Which should be really easy because the vast, vast majority of ski goggles lenses are not polarized.
Thanks. I'm asking in relation to sunglasses; I'm fine on goggles.
 

Doug Briggs

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The times I've skied with polarized lenses, I have not had issues with seeing changing conditions. Mostly it was a problem for reading my phone, but newer phones are less susceptible to that issue.
 

Saintsman

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I think there's a difference between polarized sunglasses (100% polarized) and polaraized google lenses (50-70% polarized) - precisely because of the potential glare issues. I can imagine on a sunny day that something in the 50%-70% range would be quite useful - allowing you to see a patch of ice without being blinded by it
 

graham418

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I know that out on the water, polarized lenses make it so much easier to spot puffs of wind on the water. It also makes reading some digital instruments impossible. ( and my phone only when i turn it sideways. Took me a while to figure out wtf was going on with that :doh::roflmao:)
 

Uncle-A

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I was skiing in warm conditions last month, and wishing I'd had sunglasses instead of goggles. I usually drive with polarized sunglasses, so was wondering if polarized lenses are OK skiing? I never use polarized lenses when cycling because it's harder to see wet roads. Would there be a similar risk in spotting ice (or even standing water) when skiing?
I don't use polarized sunglasses for skiing they don't seem to help me when skiing. I have different sunglasses for driving and the manufacturer said that they are made for driving, they are not polarized. I use polarized sunglasses when fishing or on the water, that is when I feel they are at their best. I have been wondering if anyone has tried the "As Seen On TV" sunglasses they have two different types, one is Battle Vision and the other is HD Vision. If anyone has tried anyone of them I would like to hear the results.
 

Unpiste

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The googles I use on sunny days are polarized, and I’ve never had a problem. They’re also photochromic (Zeal Automatic+ YB), and seem to work well even on overcast, snowy days, though I have a lighter lens I prefer.

I think the polarization may help a little judging the water content of spring snow (i.e. the stick-factor). I haven’t done a direct comparison, though.
 

James

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How is a lens “50-70% polarized”?
Is this a real thing? I thought it was binary.

As to the “can’t see ice”, is there really evidence of this or is it just something that gets repeated over and over?
 

cantunamunch

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How is a lens “50-70% polarized”?
Is this a real thing? I thought it was binary.

There is a real thing that corresponds to those numbers, but this is the first time I've heard it corresponding to a sunnies/goggles divide and I don't really believe the correspondence.

Cheap (read: not laboratory grade) polarization is done by doping a film with ion species and then mechanically stretching or throwing the film in a semi-plastic state. The results are 'majority selective' rather than completely selective.
 

Posaune

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I find that skiing in the spring sun with non-polarized goggles gives me a lot of eye strain; I'm completely pooped out when I get off the slope and driving home is a real PITA. When I use polarized sun glasses I don't experience the eye strain and I see the surface just fine.
 

Saintsman

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There is a real thing that corresponds to those numbers, but this is the first time I've heard it corresponding to a sunnies/goggles divide and I don't really believe the correspondence.

Cheap (read: not laboratory grade) polarization is done by doping a film with ion species and then mechanically stretching or throwing the film in a semi-plastic state. The results are 'majority selective' rather than completely selective.

The ones I saw were pretty high quality from a well known brand - and I've only ever seen partial polarisation on ski goggles - and only from one or two brands at all
 

BMC

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I really only use sunnies (when skiing) by whacking them on while sitting in the sun at an outdoor table at a cafe or lodge or restaurant. So it doesn’t matter if it’s polarised or not.

My main issues are they need to fold relatively small so they don’t take up too much pocket space, and I don’t spend a fortune so I don’t worry if I fall on them and break them.
 

James

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My main issues are they need to fold relatively small so they don’t take up too much pocket space, and I don’t spend a fortune so I don’t worry if I fall on them and break them.
You could get a pair of these off ebay-
7102DC96-A474-4203-AD06-F558E96D3E10.jpeg

 
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BMC

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Henry

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The effectiveness of goggle or sunglass lenses on snow are the result of the optics and visible light transmission rate (darkness) of the lens, not polarization for the reasons cantunamunch wrote. I prefer my Smith non-polarized sun glasses on sunny snow both for skiing and driving, although my Smith polarized sunglasses are fine for skiing. I hunt for non-polarized driving sunglasses, because polarized lenses block the reflected heads-up display in the car. One clerk said that he'd also been asked for non-polarized sunglasses by a pilot of a float plane...he needs to see the surface of the water he's landing on. (Just me--Oakley Prizm goggles and Oakley sunglasses aren't the best for my eyes. Smith ChromaPop goggles, and other brands' new-tech lenses and sunglasses work better for me. My next goggles just might be TGR Optics with Zeiss Sonar lenses.)
 

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