Most of us paddle board on sunny days, I mean, who wants to paddle board in the rain, right?
Sure, some of us die-hard paddle boarders will go out in almost any kind of weather – except lightning, I hope! When I'm training, I've made a commitment and will go out in the rain as long as it isn't dangerous.
But I digress…the purpose of my site is to talk about paddle boarding and the importance of having the best equipment to enjoy myself and to protect myself.
So back to the best possible condition to paddle board and get some decent mileage on the water– a sunny day!
Aside from the paddle and the board, I need the best gear to protect me and to let me paddle comfortably for as long as I want to be on the water. For years my eyes burned from the sun and the glare, so I gave in and started using sunglasses. Unfortunately, that became a frustrating exercise as I couldn't find a pair that had everything I needed – even the expensive ones!
Finally I found sunglasses that seem like they were made just for paddle boarding and they've been used by watermen and women for years! They have all the design features we need to keep us out on the water for hours and to protect our eyes from sun damage (sunburn, pterygium, and windburn).
They're called SeaSpecs and compared to the price of a paddle board, they're very inexpensive.
One of the features I love is the strap, which is built-in to the arms of the Paddle Board sunglasses. The strap keeps the sunglasses on my face and I can count on them to stay there. And I can adjust the strap with ONE HAND – that's a big deal when I've got my paddle in one hand.
Another important design is the lens – curved to cover my peripheral vision, Polarized to fight glare, 3 color options depending on lighting conditions. And there's ONE frame design and ONE frame size so buying them is easy. A great choice of frame colors, too.
And you can get SeaSpecs in your prescription at a very reasonable price. Now we all can stay out paddle boarding in comfort and fully protected…life IS good!
Here's some information I found written about the company…
Published on Monday, 11 April 2011
Written by California Standup
Wearing sunglasses to protect your vision while standup paddling is a smart move. Direct sunlight is reason enough, but being on the water also increases the risk since the harmful UV rays are reflected off the surface. That said, standup paddling provides a few challenges when it come to wearing sunglasses, loosing them when you fall in, being the primary one. Replacing glasses gets expensive real quick.
SeaSpecs is a sunglass manufacturer that specializes in polarized eyewear for outdoor watersports. SeaSpecs are available in a variety of frame colors and lens tints. Both the frame and hinges of SeaSpecs are made from molded nylon. This allows them to create a light weight frame and eliminates the worry of rust and failure with the hinges - a big plus for salt water paddling. We got our hands on a pair of SeaSpecs "Sunset Specs" - black frames with brown tint lens (MSRP $49.95), and put them to the test.
All SeaSpecs come with a non-removable strap to secure the glasses to your head. This is the stand-out feature of SeaSpecs and is very well thought out. The strap allows you to loosen or tighten the fit with a simple move of the adjustment slider that is attached to the strap. More than a few sunglasses have met their end from paddling without a head strap or due to rubber sleeve failure with traditional eyeglass straps. The SeaSpecs strap is fitted into the ends of the glasses arm and can't slide off and there's no rubber sleeve to rot away. The strap does not have a lot of excess slack and was designed for keeping the glasses secure to your head and not around your neck. From the SeaSpecs website, "Never wear a leash/noose around your neck during Extreme Sports!". Point taken - straps can become a choking hazard. For those of us that like to flirt with danger, this can be a problem. During our surfing sessions, the glasses performed well and always felt secure due to the strap. The glasses stayed on even during wipeouts. (...)
During the flatwater sessions the glasses worked great in reducing the glare off the water thanks to the polarized lenses. Polarized sunglasses can make it difficult to read some digital/LCD displays such as that on your iPhone, watch or GPS, but that's the trade off for reduced glare. The benefits of polarized lenses easily outweighs the issue with viewing a display. Another common problem with wearing sunglasses during paddling can be fogging, especially during a race. SeaSpecs has designed ventilation holes in to the frame around the lenses to help combat this issue. The vents worked well during our tests and fogging was minimal. Wearing a hat or visor increased fogging with all glasses, but there was less with the SeaSpecs.
For the price, SeaSpecs are a good value. The secure strap will prevent your glasses from falling off and if they do, the glasses float. The frames only come in one style, but SeaSpecs are designed for activity and less for fashion. If you are looking for a cost efficient alternative to your current eyewear to using with standup paddling, SeaSpecs are definitely worth considering.