For our new FLO watershades, we’ve got added the choice of non-polarized lenses.
We’re conscious that there are some riders on the market which are searching for non-polarized lenses for watersports, particularly for these foiling or driving waves.
We’ve been out on the water in quite a lot of climate and surf circumstances, and it’s been an fascinating train. Our analysis is evident. There are some circumstances the place polarization might be detrimental to efficiency. Nonetheless, there may be usually a trade-off with consolation as with out polarization, glare can result in eye fatigue.
Sam Medysky sundown session in Cape City
WHEN NON-POLARIZED LENSES WORK BETTER
The case for non-polarized lenses is persuasive the place there may be sturdy solar immediately overhead. Right now of the day it may be tough to learn the floor. That is particularly the case in gentle wind circumstances the place there may be little floor disruption. It’s because the water floor is perpendicular to the daylight’s route of journey. Right here, the daylight that passes by the water’s floor is polarized vertically. As polarized lenses are vertically polarized, this gentle is just not filtered out by the polarizing filter. This explains the tendency to see by the water’s floor and concentrate on no matter lies beneath.
That is nonetheless certified by the quantity of texture on the floor brought on by wind, boats and different craft. The place the flat floor is disrupted, this causes a change within the perpendicularity. This disruption reduces the quantity of vertical gentle penetrating the floor and will increase glare correspondingly.
Because the solar arcs later within the day, the perpendicularity of the daylight to the water floor naturally reduces. This has two results. First, extra gentle bounces off the floor, and this mirrored gentle is horizontally polarized which polarizing lenses can filter out. Second, much less vertically polarized gentle passes by the water’s floor that means that the floor turns into decreasingly clear.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ANGLE OF THE SUN
The smaller the angle of the solar to the floor – the better the quantity of horizontally polarized gentle (glare). A superb instance of that is at sundown, when daylight is horizontally polarized because it displays off the water’s floor. It’s just about not possible to see by the water’s floor presently of day even when the floor is glassy flat.
Vertically polarized gentle barely penetrates the water in dawn / sundown circumstances
We discovered nonetheless that exterior of the mid-day circumstances, some great benefits of polarization have been clear. Because the solar arcs by the afternoon (or certainly morning) trajectory, the mirrored daylight reflecting from the water prompted discomfort and eye fatigue utilizing non-polarized lenses. As well as, the dearth of any glare discount meant that it was usually tough to learn the water’s floor when going through the solar.
IN CONCLUSION
We recognise that there are some events when non-polarized lenses will improve efficiency on the water, so we will likely be rolling out non-polarized lens choices for all our watershades. This journey begins with the FLO, which is designed with foiling and different gentle wind watersports in thoughts.
The FLO involves market with 2 non-polarized lens choices. Sooner or later, there will likely be comparable availability for each the Surge and the Storm.
Matt Black FLO / ZEISS Smoke ML Pink lenses (non-polarized)
