Your game can only be as good as your gear. Especially when you’re competing in the pro level that’s already filled with talented athletes. Not only are they skilled, but they also use the most high-tech gears out there to help them improve their performance.
So if you’re planning to go pro, or you just want to elevate your game, you might want to start training and suiting up like a pro. And rocking a pair of high-performing sports sunglasses is a great start.
Just a little warning, though. Wearing a pair of cool-looking specs will not automatically make you win some games and races, like some magical basketball shoes that can instantly make you become Like Mike.
A great pair of athletic sunglasses, however, can give your peepers the maximum protection they need while you’re out competing. It can also enhance your vision so you can clearly see what’s ahead of you and help you make game-winning adjustments to your performance.
What to look for in a pair of sports sunglasses?
No matter what sport you’re into, you must choose a pair of sunglasses that can keep up with your game. Not only will it protect your eyes from the harmful rays and other outdoor elements, but it can also help enhance your performance even more.
However, not all sunglasses are created equal. There are only a certain number of sports sunglasses that can shield your eyes and elevate your game at the same time. Here’s what to look for in them:
1. Frame build and technology
Frames hold everything together in a pair of sunglasses. That’s why it’s only necessary to pick a frame that’s durable, lightweight, and comfortable to wear. But if you’re on the hunt specifically for the best sports sunglasses, you have three additional elements that you must consider: coverage, fit, and grip.
Coverage
As much as possible, you’d want to choose a pair that can cover your eyes and the area around them. This allows maximum protection from the harmful UV rays, wind, dust, and rain.
You can tell that a pair of specs has great coverage just by looking at the lens height and the frame style. Which are the first things that you’ll notice in a frame. Below are the most common frame styles of sports sunglasses.
Semi-rimless frames – this style only has a top rim. This makes the lens seem wider while giving you an unobstructed view of your environment.
Shield frames – this build offers the tallest lens height. As the name suggests, this style gives shield-like protection to your eyes, making it the best pair for any kind of outdoor sport.
Square frames – these types of frames are a perfect combination of the functionality of athletic sunglasses and the casual style of everyday shades.
Fit
You’ll need a pair of sports sunglasses that will fit perfectly onto your face. Especially if you have a relatively large head. For a pair to be a perfect fit, you must find the right size for you. Here’s a quick tip:
- Get your credit card.
- Stand in front of a mirror or ask someone to take a photo of you while doing the next steps.
- Place the credit card vertically on your nose bridge and under your eyes.
- If the edge of the card reaches the furthest edge of your eyebrow, you’re a small size.
- But if the card reaches the outer edge of the eye, you’re a medium.
- Lastly, if your credit card reaches just the centre of the eye, you’re a large.
Use this strategy if you’re shopping online and you have no means of measuring your head. But if you’re shopping at your local store, the best way to know if a pair fits is to try them on!
Grip
The grip is one of the first things that you should examine when trying on a pair of athletic sunglasses. Since you’ll be moving a lot when engaging in any sport or outdoor activities, you have to make sure that your sunglasses stay in place.
To check whether a pair has a good grip, check if the rubber nose pads and temple tips are soft yet tacky. Also, try on the pair of specks and try to move and jump around and see if it falls off.
2. Lens Technology
When it comes to lenses of the best sports sunglasses out there, there are only three things that you need to worry about: UV protection, polarised lenses, and colour and contrast-enhancing technology.
The first one is already a given since almost all brands offer 100% protection against harmful UVA rays, UVB rays, and UVC rays across all their product lines. The other two are the things you need to ponder on.
Polarised lenses
Glares are caused by incoming light waves that are too much for your eyes to absorb. And they can ultimately affect your performance anytime you’re outdoors without proper protection.
Good thing all you need is a pair of polarised sunglasses to shield your eyes. The lenses of these frames are treated with a chemical film that filters out the incoming horizontal wavelengths to cut down the glare.
Colour and Contrast Enhancement Technology
Oakley’s Prizm and Bolle’s Phantom are only some of the great examples of this lens technology. This kind of additional feature allows athletes to see their environment clearly and vividly.
Take mountain bikers, for example. The trails are littered with stones, mud, and gravel. For them to successfully finish a race, they must take the right tracks that are solid and debris-free. And for them to take the perfect paths to ride or land on after a bunny hop, they need to see them clearly in the first place.
This is where the colour and contrast enhancement technology in lenses come into play. It allows athletes to make better decisions based on what they see ahead of them.
Now that you know what makes a great pair of sports sunglasses, it’s about time to buy yourself one.
6 Best Sports Sunglasses That Will Certainly Help Elevate Your Game
We gathered all the performance sunglasses that we have in our arsenal and whittled them down to our Top X. Below are the best sports sunglasses for every sport and outdoor adventure.
1. Oakley Jawbreaker
What sport is it best for?
- Cycling (both road and mountain)
- And maybe some running marathon
While this bad boy can be used on several occasions, the Oakley Jawbreaker is still arguably the holy grail of cycling sunglasses. It’s a pair of cycling specs that wraps around your face to fully protect your eyes from the UV rays, dust, wind, and rain while speeding on the road.
Pros have worn it and so should you!
Frame Material:
- Oakley’s self-patented O Matter – which basically means that there’s nothing like it in the world. It’s both lightweight and resistant to impacts.
Lens Material:
- Plutonite – a quality polycarbonate material that’s also highly impact-resistant. And no, it’s not mined from space.
Lens Technology:
- 100% UV Protection
- Polarized lenses
- Oakley’s Prizm – filters out any noisy light that could distort your vision while enhancing the colours of an environment for the athlete’s optimal performance. It may sound impossible, but it basically fine-tunes light.
- Oakley’s Prizm lenses can also be polarised, depending on the model.
Other Features:
- Unobtainium nose pads and ear socks that grip better as you sweat
Check out Oakley Jawbreaker here.
2. Bolle Bolt
What sport is it best for?
- Running/Marathon
- Golf (with dedicated lenses)
- Tennis (with dedicated lenses)
- And some bikepacking
While Bolle listed this product as a pair of cycling sunglasses, this model had really become a runner’s fave. Although the Bolt won’t make you as fast as Usain, it can definitely help you rush for the gold.
This model is also popular among golfers and other athletes because of the flexibility that it offers. Thanks to its interchangeable lenses.
Frame Material:
High impact-resistant material with Thermogrip technology on the temple tips and nose pads, making it comfortably placed on your face even when you’re all sweaty
Lens Material:
NXT Lens – Bolle’s proprietary lens material that was originally used in military helicopter windshields. So, yes, it can certainly take a few knocks
Lens Technology:
- 100% UV Protection
- Bolle Phantom – it’s Bolle’s version of Oakley’s Prizm. It’s a light adaptive lens technology that provides optical clarity and enhanced colours for a better visual experience
Other Features:
- Interchangeable lenses – this feature allows you to jump from prescription lenses to traditional lenses, Phantom lenses, polarized lenses, and other sport-dedicated lenses without skipping a beat.
3. Nike Pivot 6
What sport is it best for?
- Golf
Golf sunglasses like the Nike Pivot Six is every golfer’s secret to scoring a hole in one. It doesn’t have the fancy lens technologies that every other model in this list have, but it can still get the job done.
The Nike Pivot Six can protect your eyes from UV rays and glare. Also, with the right lens colour, it can provide better contrast between the ball, the grass, and the sky so you can see the ball flying through the air after hitting it.
Frame Material:
- Metal
Lens Material:
- 6 Base lens for higher prescription
Lens Technology:
- 100% UV protection
- Polarized sunglasses
- Also available in prescription lenses
Other Features:
- Air pockets on the temples for additional comfort
4. Oakley Radar EV Path
What sport is it best for?
- Hiking
- Cycling (both road and mountain)
- Running
This pair of semi-rimless eyewear can be considered multi-sport sunglasses. You can normally see it on the racetracks and the trail. If you’re a duathlon or triathlon athlete, you shouldn’t let the Oakley Radar EV Path slip under your radar.
Frame Material
- Oakley’s O Matter
Lens Material:
- Plutonite
Lens Technology:
- 100% UV Protection
- Polarised Lenses
- Prizm Lens
Other Features:
- Unobtainium nose pads and ear socks that grip better as you sweat
Check out Oakley Radar EV Path here.
5. Bolle Brecken
What sport is it best for?
- Surfing
- And other water sports and adventures
If the beach and the sea is your refuge, then a pair of Bolle Brecken is a must-have. It’s a functional and stylish pair that will stay put even if you move around a lot.
If you’re having fun at the beach and this thing accidentally falls off, you can easily retrieve it. It’s because the Brecken sunglasses are a floatable pair. So you can confidently wear this pair of beauties whether you want to go fishing, surfing, skimboarding, wakeboarding, or whatever floats your boat!
Frame Material:
- Lightweight TR90 Nylon (the reason why it floats on water)
Lens Material:
- Polycarbonate lenses
Lens Technology:
- 100% UV protection
- Polarised sunglasses
6. Spy Flynn 50-50
What sport is it best for?
- Cycling
- Running
- Hiking
- MTB riding
- Fishing
- Water sports
- Or pretty much everything!
If you’re looking for a great all-rounder, you can’t go wrong with Spy Flynn 50-50. Its semi-rimless build with tall lens height can give you the maximum protection and wider vision that you need when you’re out competing.
This pair may be named 50-50, but it can enhance your performance to 100%.
Frame material:
- Grilamid
Lens material:
- Spy’s 4-base polycarbonate ARC lenses
Lens technology:
- 100% UV protection
- Spy’s patented technology called HD+ or Happy Lens Technology that provides clarity, great colour and contrast, and distortion-free viewing angles
Check out Spy Flynn 50-50 here.
Where to buy the best sport sunglasses in Australia
The world has already seen some of the pro athletes wearing the top brands of sunglasses that we’ve just laid out. If the pros loved it, we can’t see any reason why you wouldn’t love them, too! Especially if you have hopes of becoming a pro one day in whatever sport you’re into, or even if you just want to enjoy the game but don’t have any desire in competing.
Shop around Great Southern Sunnies and check out our great collection of sports sunglasses here. We offer free shipping nationwide for orders above $80.
We also accept Afterpay payments for easier transactions!