Mirrored sunglasses (no, really *really opaquely* mirrored sunglasses)
July 16, 2016 6:39 AM Subscribe
I'm trying to find online-purchasable, prescription sunglasses with mirror filming opaque enough that you can't see my eyes through the lenses (most searches for "opaque mirrored sunglasses" do not produce these). Any ideas? (Photo of exactly what I do/don't want inside.)
The best example of what I'm avoiding can be seen in this photo: the man on the left is wearing mirrored sunglasses, and the lens on his right looks mirrored but the lens on his left is very see-through because of how the light hits it. I want sunglasses which look mirrored + not-see-through regardless of how the light hits the lenses (i.e. not like what the man in the photo is wearing).
I know about the difference between polarized and mirrored lenses, and mirrored lenses are what I want (polarized lens reflect/let through light differently depending on the angle the light hits at).
I've had good luck finding non-prescription sunglasses with this kind of mirroring (e.g. these on Amazon), so I know that mirroring this opaque does exist and can be done while still letting me see through the lenses fine.
I know going into an optician's and telling them what I want will help, but I live too far to visit one in person for the next few months so I am hoping to purchase online (but sunglasses from places like Glasses.com and Zenni Optical have all turned out to have really weak mirroring, even when we tried several different settings for % shading and mirror film color, and I've looked through photos from other online retailers I know of like Dharma Co and Warby Parker and things like being able to see the glasses arm through the mirrored lens suggest these aren't as opaquely mirrored as I want).
Any recommendations of places to purchase, brand/style names, or search terms I should be using beyond things like "truly opaque mirrored sunglasses"? Thanks.
The best example of what I'm avoiding can be seen in this photo: the man on the left is wearing mirrored sunglasses, and the lens on his right looks mirrored but the lens on his left is very see-through because of how the light hits it. I want sunglasses which look mirrored + not-see-through regardless of how the light hits the lenses (i.e. not like what the man in the photo is wearing).
I know about the difference between polarized and mirrored lenses, and mirrored lenses are what I want (polarized lens reflect/let through light differently depending on the angle the light hits at).
I've had good luck finding non-prescription sunglasses with this kind of mirroring (e.g. these on Amazon), so I know that mirroring this opaque does exist and can be done while still letting me see through the lenses fine.
I know going into an optician's and telling them what I want will help, but I live too far to visit one in person for the next few months so I am hoping to purchase online (but sunglasses from places like Glasses.com and Zenni Optical have all turned out to have really weak mirroring, even when we tried several different settings for % shading and mirror film color, and I've looked through photos from other online retailers I know of like Dharma Co and Warby Parker and things like being able to see the glasses arm through the mirrored lens suggest these aren't as opaquely mirrored as I want).
Any recommendations of places to purchase, brand/style names, or search terms I should be using beyond things like "truly opaque mirrored sunglasses"? Thanks.
Have you tried Zenni's "Silver Mirror Finish with fingerprint resistant oleophobic coating"? I ordered sunglasses that had this finish from Zenni and I think they meet your conditions.
posted by benbenson at 9:05 AM on July 16, 2016
posted by benbenson at 9:05 AM on July 16, 2016
Response by poster: I'm basing my judgement on actual glasses in my hands: the non-prescription ones from Amazon are very opaque and would be perfect if I could get them with a prescription. (I understand that 100% opacity from the outside would mean I couldn't see through the glasses very well, but haven't been able to find prescription glasses with the same level of opacity/mirroring as non-prescription ones, and think that should be reachable?)
@benbenson I did try Zenni prescription sunglasses with Standard Lens Tint Gray-80% and AR Anti-Reflection Coating/Silver Mirror Finish with fingerprint resistant oleophobic coating (copying from my old order email). Unfortunately, at least with the ones I purchased they weren't very strongly mirrored. Thank you for the suggestion, though!
posted by rollcredits at 9:44 AM on July 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
@benbenson I did try Zenni prescription sunglasses with Standard Lens Tint Gray-80% and AR Anti-Reflection Coating/Silver Mirror Finish with fingerprint resistant oleophobic coating (copying from my old order email). Unfortunately, at least with the ones I purchased they weren't very strongly mirrored. Thank you for the suggestion, though!
posted by rollcredits at 9:44 AM on July 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Look for frames that sit close to the face, safety glasses-style. A curved design will block lots of backlight. Thick temple bars will also help.
(I had eye orbit surgery two weeks ago, and that's what allowed me to go get groceries, fashion be damned.)
posted by sageleaf at 9:44 AM on July 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
(I had eye orbit surgery two weeks ago, and that's what allowed me to go get groceries, fashion be damned.)
posted by sageleaf at 9:44 AM on July 16, 2016 [1 favorite]
Maybe with Zenni it depends on the colors you pick? I ordered some 80%-tint green sunglasses with the gold mirror finish+oleophobic coating, and they are totally mirrored/opaque from the outside, and honestly so dark I don't like to wear them unless it's really bright out. In my experience, gray tint isn't as opaque as brown or green.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 1:46 PM on July 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Nibbly Fang at 1:46 PM on July 16, 2016 [2 favorites]
polarized lens reflect/let through light differently depending on the angle the light hits at
Not that it's relevant to your question, but this is not how polarized lenses work. What is relevant to your question is that "polarized" and "mirrored" are not mutually exclusive categories; some lenses are both mirrored and polarized, so do not be too quick to reject lenses that are listed as "polarized" if they otherwise meet your criteria.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:42 AM on July 17, 2016
Not that it's relevant to your question, but this is not how polarized lenses work. What is relevant to your question is that "polarized" and "mirrored" are not mutually exclusive categories; some lenses are both mirrored and polarized, so do not be too quick to reject lenses that are listed as "polarized" if they otherwise meet your criteria.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:42 AM on July 17, 2016
Response by poster: Thank you for all your answers. I'm going to try Nibbly Fang's idea (different tint+mirror color), and also experiment with adding mirror film (one-sided mirrored coating sheets you can apply to window glass, available on Amazon).
Good search terms I turned up were "poker mirror" (coating from Opticote), "solid mirror", and to search for the degree of thickness/opacity of the mirror coating (which determines how constant the outside mirroring works).
posted by rollcredits at 6:38 AM on July 24, 2016
Good search terms I turned up were "poker mirror" (coating from Opticote), "solid mirror", and to search for the degree of thickness/opacity of the mirror coating (which determines how constant the outside mirroring works).
posted by rollcredits at 6:38 AM on July 24, 2016
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