Who makes polorized sunglasses that actually have glass lenses?

check out costas

www.costadelmar.com

Cost Del Mar

Oakley

Rayban

Moui Jim

and most of the other high end guys too.

PS.  the glass itself cant be polarized.  it will be a film between 2 layers of glass.

Go to your eye doctor and they will be able to tell you 100% who makes a polarized prescription sunglass. I had Nike glasses until I switched to contacts and they were great. Most of your major name brands will be polarized.

Harshman

What are the benefits of glass over polycarbonate or other plastic lenses?  I'm referring to the higher end manufacturers products, not the $20 pair of sunglasses.

Glass sunglasses are a tricky proposition, for a few reasons.

First, they are the most optically correct material you can get. (Let's say a "10" out of "10".) But they are heavier, and if you don't take the weight into account when you pick a frame, you may end up with sunglasses that are front-heavy. Sport styles are generally good candidates for glass.

Second, most of what's out there are polycarbonate lenses. Now, companies can say what they want about how great their poly is, it still isn't nearly as optically correct as glass. (Think of it as a "7" out of "10".) Most "super-lightweight" styles will be polycarbonate lenses, simply because they have to be flexible to be drilled for frame assembly. Flexible is bad for optical correctness.

As far as prescriptions go, if that's what you need, make sure that the lenses you get are true "brand" lenses. What this means is that if you go into a sunglass shop and want a pair of X brand sunglasses with prescription lenses, make sure they actually use brand X lenses, not just off the shelf generic lenses in a brand X frame.

(Sorry to wander off topic here.)

Benefits of glass lenses? Optical correctness, plain and simple. If you want the absolute best lenses, get glass.

But there is another choice CR-39. (Google it if you want.)

CR-39 is lighter than glass, with an optical correctness of about "9.7" out of "10". Personally, I think this is the way to go. It's tough and impact-resistant and comes in a bunch of lens colors and frame styles.

I won't steer you towards any particular brand, but I'd go with either glass or CR-39, and stay away from polycarbonate.

--SM

Hey Stephen thats some great insight and information there, thanks a lot!

Scott

Glad it's helpful!

I've got quite a bit of experience with sunglass brands, and across the board, the ones who rely on polycarbonate lenses are the weakest. (Though they'll try to explain otherwise.) Polycarbonate is used in pretty much any sunglasses where the frame is attached directly to the lens (like sport-metals or super-light frames) and they're used in interchangeable lens frames also. The lenses have to flex to fit in the frames. Good for manufacturing, bad for vision.

I do not need perscription glasses.  I do how ever have optical insurance through work.  Do you think I could get a pair with my insurance?  Even though I dont need glasses.

Hmmmm That probably depends on your job. If it's the kind of work where you're using your eyes quite a bit outdoors, perhaps you can swing it.