Show me your Eyewear

[bri7]

Glasses blew off during a wipe out last week, so time for a new pair. Sea Specs seem to be still popular but what are people wearing on the water.

Am considering these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gill-Racing-Su ... TH9EXSS2WH

[hshim007]

Everyone's face is different but I never found seaspecs very good. They would always fog up on me. No fried eyes (Kurtis USA) are super light and very good too. But for me the one's that have lasted 3 seasons so far without a problem are Silverfish. I use the roadtrips and they have been bomber!

http://www.silverfish.com/cp-links-kitesurfing.html

[Bushflyr]

You guys, those Gill Racing glasses linked and the Silverfish Standard Tropical are just Sea Specs with a different logo screened on.

[Da Yoda]

I tried on some of the dedicated water frames, but I didn't like the fit options (or lack there of). I found my best set-up by finding a sport sunglass brand & model that fit my face best and had the lens type & color that I prefer. I like Smith since they have a variety of fit and lens options.
Tip: A heavily "wrapped", close fitting frame can cause fogging, so make sure the frame fits close enough to give you adequate eye protection but still allows some venting. Or look for glasses that have drilled vents in the lens (or DIY).
For sunglass retention, I've had really good luck with the NexStrap...
https://nexstepproducts.myshopify.com/products/nexstrap

[lovethepirk]

I'd like to use sunglasses, but the drops of water all over the lenses just drive me nuts. Is this something you all get used to or are there sunglasses where the drops just fall off the lenses....maybe apply some rainx to my glasses?

[jeromeL]

I have seaspecs. If I wipeout really hard I loose lens but that's rare, and I have many replacement lens and extra pair of glasses

[alexeyga]

Used to ride with Sea Specs rip-offs, then with the original Sea Specs - which actually felt appart way before the rip-offs...

Then I decided to treat my-self with something more kiting specific and got a set of these (Ocean Tierra de Fuego):



Which ended up the best ones to this date to ride with, but - incidentally - the easiest to break. These literally come apart if you look at them the wrong way, especially if you're coming from Sea Specs. The damn inner liner falls off every time you're trying to adjust these on your nose and you have to remove it for cleaning which wears of the clipping mechanism and makes everything progressively worse... that is unless you'll manage to break the frame from a kitten's fart waaaay sooner.

So after the second warranty replacement - which I refused - I've got a set of these (Ocean Fuerteventura):



This is the older Ocean's model, but so far they've been holding up pretty well.

At some point I've tried some real LiP-s, but neither Typhoon or Surge felt comfortable (my face is sort of wide).

I am wondering though if anybody had any success with water-repellent glass treatments. I've been riding with glasses since the beginning and they all get foggy at some point. The warmer and saltier - the faster.

[lovethepirk]

Are any of those glasses helping from drops of water being all over the lenses and driving you crazy and more than a random pair you pick up anywhere? Anytime I've ventured out with sunglasses on I immediately tacked back to take them off. Is it me or the glasses?

[Bushflyr]

^^ It's you.

If you pay attention and focus on the droplets on the lens it's annoying as hell. If you're focused off in front of you, looking where you're going, they just blur out and aren't even noticeable.

[hshim007]

To me the Silverfish aren't just rebranded seaspecs. At least the roadtrips have the right distance to prevent fogging. Also they come with a bottle of some type of lens cleaner which kinda works like "rainx" on your glasses (Who knows it might be the same thing) so you don't tend to get drops or fog on your glasses on the water.

One thing I would caution everyone about is if you get any glasses or polycarbonate lenses and you kite in salt water make sure you rinse your glasses with fresh water before wiping them. I live in a fairly harsh salt water environment and by washing my glasses with fresh water immediately after coming off the water before wiping them I've kept my glasses for several seasons. Wiping them with saltwater can lead to micro scratches over time which can look a lot like fog.