There is no better way to explore a country, territory or region than on a road trip. After all, what could be better than driving along back roads or highways to places you’ve never been before with your Spotify playlist blaring and your camera at the ready?
If you are a seasoned road tripper, you’ll know there are some things you simply have to take with you – extra clothes, food, and a first aid kit, for starters. But if you are setting off for your first road trip, you might not be aware of why packing a good pair of sunglasses is also essential.
5 Tips for Choosing the Best Sunglasses for Road Trips
In this post, we’ll highlight why it is so important to take sunglasses on your road trip and also provide you with some tips on how to choose the best pair for your next adventure.
Why are Sunglasses Important for a Road Trip?
It doesn’t matter if you are headed to a coastal area, the mountains or a beautiful lake. Sunglasses are an essential accessory to help you make the most of any road trip. The main reason why is that they perform the vital role of protecting your eyes from the sun's harsh rays. This is particularly important when driving because it helps to reduce glare from the sun and reflective surfaces.
Often, road trips involve many hours of driving, which are naturally tiring. But if you are doing this whilst exposed to prolonged sunlight, it can lead to eye strain, greater fatigue, and even headaches if you find yourself constantly squinting against the glowing rays of the sun.
However, it’s not just on the road that sunglasses protect you. They are also beneficial at numerous times during your travels, such as when you are sunbathing, hiking up a mountain or picnicking by a river. This is why they are a critical piece of equipment to take with you wherever you go because they protect you in lots of different circumstances.
Tips for Choosing the Best Sunglasses
Regardless of whether you are after men’s sunglasses or women's sunglasses, if you follow these tips, you’ll go a long way towards choosing the best pair for your road trip.
1. Choose Polarised Lenses
Safety should be the top priority on your road trip. So, as you will be doing lots of driving, you need a pair that will protect you from the glare of the sun - which could otherwise seriously impact visibility.
It is a good idea to find a pair with polarised lenses that filter out intense horizontal light. This can be particularly useful when driving during the middle of the day when the sun is at its brightest. It can also be very beneficial if you happen to be cruising along a coastal route next to the shimmering ocean or navigating your way through snowy or ice-filled mountains.
Not only will polarised sunglasses keep your vision clear, but they will also go a long way towards reducing eye strain whilst on the long drive.
2. Pick One That Offers 100% UV Protection
While your lenses should be polarised, they must also offer maximum protection against the harmful UV rays of the sun.
Make sure you pick a pair that offers 100% UV protection (UV400), which blocks both UVA and UVB rays because this level of protection safeguards your eyes against conditions like macular degeneration and glaucoma that could develop from repeated exposure to the sun.
Additionally, they also help to reduce fatigue, which, therefore makes the drive more enjoyable.
3. Choose Frames that Suit Your Face Shape
You’ll obviously want a pair of sunglasses that excel in doing the job of protecting your eyes. However, you will no doubt also want a style of frame that best suits your face shape.
Each of us has a different face type, which can broadly be categorised as round, square, oval, heart or diamond. Moreover, sunglasses frames come in many different styles, such as aviator, navigator, clubmaster or cat-eye, which suit some shapes of face better than others.
The key is to find a style that best suits your face. For instance, round faces often look great in square or angular frames, while oval faces can pull off most styles.
Here are some good tips for doing that.
4. Pick Lightweight and Comfortable Frames
When you go on a road trip, you will inevitably wear your sunglasses for a prolonged period of time – often for the majority of the day.
For this reason, it is important to pick a pair that is extremely comfortable, which is why you should look for frames that are made of lightweight materials like polycarbonate, nylon, or acetate that won’t weigh down on your face.
Other features like padded nose bridges and flexible temples can also make a big difference to the level of comfort you will experience. So, make sure you try on a few pairs to get the best fit.
5. Get a Durable Storage Case
When you are not wearing your sunglasses, it is important to put them away in a durable storage case.
It is the nature of a road trip that something will inevitably break, crack or experience damage along the way. So, it's best to protect your shades in as effective a way as possible.
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