When you take to the field, course, or trail, you want the clearest visibility possible. That means having the best lens color in your sunglasses. Not sure what lens color is best for your sport? We’ve got you covered! Join SportRx as we breakdown the best lens colors for sport sunglasses!
Table of Contents
A. Video Review
B. What to Look For in Lens Colors For Sport Sunglasses
C. Best Lens Color By Sport
1. Cycling
2. Baseball and Softball
3. Mountain Biking
4. Golf
5. Fishing
D. Prescription Sport Sunglasses at SportRx
Video Review
Join Eyeglass Tyler as he highlights what lens options are available and which sports require specific colors!
What to Look For in Lens Colors For Sport Sunglasses
When looking at lens colors for your sport sunglasses, there are a few elements to keep in mind. The main features to include are contrast enhancement and a mirror coating. Both will give you optimal eye protection and a better overall visual experience. Let's look at how each of these features affect your vision and your sport.
Contrast Enhancement
When looking for sport sunglasses, contrast enhancement is a must. You want colors to pop and stand out. That feature will help objects stand out against its background and enhance what you wouldn’t see with the naked eye. Not only will contrast- enhancing lenses give you a better overall experience, but they will also allow you to play your best and keep you safe.
Mirror Coating
A mirror lens coating is applied to the front of the lens and creates reflections off the surface of the lens. It helps reflect bright light back, reduces excess light, and allows less light through to your eyes. The coating also cuts out ambient glare and reflects unusable light. There are plenty of colors and tints available, so aesthetically, a mirror coating lets you have a cosmetic say in your eyewear.
Costa Blackfin PRO in Matte Grey with Blue Mirror 580G Lenses
Shop Costa Blackfin PRO
Best Lens Color By Sport
SportRx offers multiple lenses that are optimized specifically for sports. For a detailed list of all lenses, visit our Sport-Optimized Lenses page. Continue reading for specific lens recommendations based on your sport.
Cycling
Color enhancement is key for cycling, which is why rose copper and brown transition lenses are good choices. Rose copper offers ideal contrast and transition lenses change based on lighting conditions, making them incredibly versatile. The color to avoid? Grey since it is often too dark and doesn't enhance details.
There are a few lens technologies that you should keep in mind when picking a lens color for cycling sunglasses. Day & Night and Field Day lenses work in all different lighting conditions, while Start to Finish lenses are ideal for any time of day except nighttime. Oakley PRIZM™ Road lens technology enhances your vision by helping you notice subtle changes in the road, allowing you to perform your absolute best and remain safe. PRIZM™ Road holds a 20% transmission rate, protects against dangerous blinding light, and can even be worn in overcast conditions.
Oakley Half Jacket 2.0 XL in Polished Black with PRIZM™ Road Lenses
Shop Oakley Half Jacket 2.0 XL
Baseball and Softball
For field sports, you need to be able to easily spot and track the ball. That means you need lenses that offer color and contrast enhancement, such as rose copper and brown. You could even go with brown transition lenses. Avoid polarization as it will negatively affect depth perception.
For Sport-Optimized lenses, Day & Night Contrast and Field Day are solid choices for contrast enhancement and transition lenses. Oakley PRIZM™ Field is a great specific lens tech for baseball and softball because it was designed for being on the field.
Oakley Flak 2.0XL in Polished Black with PRIZM™ Field Lenses
Shop Oakley Flak 2.0 XL
Mountain Biking
When it comes to mountain biking, the more light the better. Darker lenses make it harder to see the trail and polarization is not necessarily needed on the mountain or trail. Lenses with an amber, vermilion, and light rose copper tint are ideal as they are lighter colors. A signature transition lens that goes from clear to medium brown can also be used.
Dirt Bag lenses change with varying lighting conditions and protect your eyes, while an anti-reflective coating repels dirt, oil, and glare. Day & Night Contrast provides extra contrast, allowing you to better see every dip or bank in your path. For a brand-specific option, Oakley PRIZM™ Trail and Trail Torch are great picks as they enhance colors commonly seen when biking and work in and out of shadows.
Oakley Radar EV Path in Matte Black with PRIZM™ Trail Torch
Shop Oakley Radar EV Path
Golf
Like mountain biking, for golf, the more light the better. Choose lenses that are lighter, like light rose copper, and that boost colors. You can even pick sunglasses with no tint or clear lenses.
Specific lenses like Oakley PRIZM™ Golf and Maui Jim HT™ are optimal choices for golf. PRIZM™ Golf helps you identify contrasts between different grasses and textures, while also giving you more depth cues for wedge shots. Maui Jim High Transmission is a light lens color that boosts colors and contrast. Ideal for overcast days, HT™ enhances depth perception and mimics eye squinting, which helps with glare protection. Other Sport-Optimized lenses include Birdie, All-in-One, and A.C.E. All three are golf-specific and increase contrast.
Maui Jim Breakwall in Smoke Grey & Maui HT
Shop Maui Jim Breakwall
Fishing
So far we’ve advised to steer clear of polarization because it’s not needed for the above sports. But for fishing, it's a must-have! Glare is a big distraction when fishing, and polarized sunglasses are a necessity. Want to learn more? Find out if polarized sunglasses help you see fish!
For inshore fishing, contrast-enhancement is still a must, and Costa’s 580 lens technology is a great choice. Colors like copper, green mirror, and silver mirror with a copper base are perfect for inshore. Oakley PRIZM™ Shallow Water and Wiley X CAPTIVATE™ are also good options for lens tech.
For offshore fishing, you can pick from darker lenses, like grey, as you’ll be exposed to more light and want it to be absorbed. You won’t need contrast enhancement as much as in-shore, so options you can choose from include Costa 580 Blue Mirror and Oakley PRIZM™ Deep Water. From Wiley X, you can pick from the CAPTIVATE™ Blue Mirror and Platinum Flash.
Wiley X Helix in Matte Black with CAPTIVATE™ Polarized Blue Mirror lens
Shop Wiley X Helix
Prescription Sport Sunglasses at SportRx
Need prescription sport sunglasses? Done. When you shop with us, you’ll find video guides and tooltips throughout the build process as you customize the perfect pair. An answer to all your questions is at your fingertips, and if you want to chat with an expert, Contact Us. We’ll put you in touch with one of our friendly in-house opticians who can help you build your prescription sport sunglasses.
Ditch risky online shopping with the See Better Guarantee. Try your sunglasses for 45 days and if you’re not satisfied, send them back. Get a full refund, exchange, or credit towards a better pair. And return shipping? Covered. Get your pair of prescription sport sunglasses at SportRx today!
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