What is the best tint coulour for sunglasses?

[Pin Head]

Hope to buy a pair of pescription sunglasses in the near future and need some advice on what tint colour to go for?

[mallard]

How about neutral.
Doesn't matter if they are prescription or not, what I suggest you need is for colours to look natural.
My wife has yellow tinted Raybans (my fault, I bought them) and everything looks kind of ultra sunny.
My neutral shades are brilliant and I wouldn't swop them for anything - naturally Raybans also.
You might consider photochromic (spelling?) lenses; you know, the ones which are lighter or darker, depending on ambient brightness.

[euroboy]

Go for Mirror lenses- Play as Tom Cruise in TOP GUN!!!!! :)

[Flypuppy]

I remember reading sometime ago that Randolph Aviators with Tan 3 lenses came out top in some survey for cutting through haze.

I bought a pair on the strenght of that article and was not disappointed.

[Boss Raptor]

I find the Dark Grey Rayban lenses better than the Green for definition...

[SKYYACHT]

I tend to wear/favour a mild amber tint, as this enhances cloud definition, yest still gives sufficient light transmission to see some colour definition. (I had a brilliant pair that I bought in a PX on a US air base, but I dropped them into the Grand Union Canal on holiday.....BUGGER)

Tailwinds

[Flap 5]

Brown or grey - not green

[redsnail]

A lens description that most optometrists seem to recognise is the G15 lens. ie grey and lets in about 15% light. Get a UV filter on them too.

[MileHi]

As far as I understand, the G15 is a GREEN lens and is the most common lens used by RAY BAN across their range.

I was involved with a sunglasses evalution while still in the military some years ago, it came down to the RAY BAN G15, and the GREY lens most commonly used by RANDOLPH (can't remember the type). I found RAY BAN great for general glare and haze reduction, but the RANDOLPH lens slightly better when transiting from outside to the instuments inside the cockpit.

My choice - RAY BAN, G15.

[15/15 flex]

What about Serengetti's...or do they just make the world a brighter place.

P.S. Tom Cruise didn't have mirrored shades, that was his REO after Goose bought it!!!

[Basil]

I have a pair of Varilux type prescription specs which I had made with a graduated neutral tint of 75% reduction (#2) from about the top third rapidly graduating to fully clear on the med/short range portion and they work very well. The tint seems at first not to block much light but for traffic detection it should not be any denser. I've just checked them and a pair of company issue RayBans with my camera exposure meter and they both give a 2 stop reduction; I think that's 75% http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/confused.gif

The following is an interesting article which I have in a flight safety magazine but cannot find on the web:

Pilots' sunglasses: mystique or mandate? By: Dully FE, Jr.
Formerly Field Associate Professor of Aviation Safety, Institute of Safety & Systems management, University of Southern California.

The salient points are as follows:

1. Use glass or polycarbonate; not soft plastic which does not block UV.
2. For traffic/target detection: no darker than number 2 which blocks 70% of light; i.e. transmits 30%.
3. Wearing Brown #2 a 20/20 (UK 6/6) remains almost 20/20. Looking for traffic, the pilot should remove them. A US Naval report found that tinted visor wearers were at a 1.8nm disadvantage in target acquisition! http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/eek.gif
4. Green or grey are said to give the least colour distortion.
Brown will enhance contrast and block some blue.
Yellow #1 (i.e. colour filters, not sunglasses) can enhance visibility in low level poor vis caused by smog.
5. As soon a light levels/glare, drops remove sunglasses.
6. Photochromatic (most Serengeti?) lenses are not suitable for aviation use nor are polarisers.