It’s high noon, and the sunlight is powerful enough to sizzle your retinas. So before you start your pre-flight checklist, you slip on a pair of sunglasses — and hey, look at that, you can’t see a thing. All that UV protection is well and good until you need to read those little numbers on the altimeter, at which point the shades’ detail-masking tint becomes your biggest navigational hazard. And, needless to say, the moment your plane begins spiraling toward the ground is hardly the time to think: Gosh, I wish my glasses let me see better.
Lucky for you, J. Paul Moore, founder of PeakVision Sports, has devised a solution in the form of his “Dual Zone” sunglasses. A boon to the active pilot — or just the active man — their lenses boast separate upper and lower areas, each with distinct color filters and gradients to allow their wearer to see objects at the
bottom of his field of vision (like, say, an instrument panel) while blocking light from above.
[[br]
The line offers several designs, the sportiest of which is the wraparound XR4 Shield ($189), which transmits 60 percent of light through its amber lower filter and only 20 percent through its gray upper one. The less aggressively styled EL0 ($229) boasts super-lightweight titanium frames (12.8 grams) that support large rimless lenses that fit easily under a pilot’s headset. And since man, unfortunately, cannot live by flying alone, PeakVision offers interchangeable lenses — designed for an array of pursuits, including golf, cycling, hunting, running and snow sports — which can be fitted to their classic model, the CL1 ($139).
In describing their genesis, Moore cites a late-afternoon ski run in 1996. “Because I couldn’t see, I slammed on my brakes to take off my sunglasses, which were far too dark for the shadowy terrain,” he says. “Then it occurred to me: If I had a dark lens to manage the glare in the sky, but a bright-contrast lens to improve vision of the terrain, everything would be much clearer.” Perfectly clear, indeed.
888-856-3419; peakvisionsports.com
