Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Sunglasses

Sunglass are a piece of equipment I see rarely discussed for safari. Look back at photos over the years, there are a few with me in sunglasses, and most without.

Do you use them for PG, and if so, what do you wear?

I found them valuable in Namibia. HD/UV prescription.

I wear them when traveling, in camp and while in the truck. I never wear them while hunting, no reason really, I just don't. Oakley Tightropes.

Mike

If you ride around on the back of a safari truck, sunglasses may just save your eyesight.

Just about every tree, shrub or bush is covered in thorns, some two or three inches long.

Its not uncommon for the truck to drive through the bush such the people up top in the back have branches brushing past their heads ect...I know two people who have lost the sight in an eye doing similar, but ironically here in the UK...

I wear yellow tinted glasses.I think they help with contrast, started using them for shooting clays.

Not as good as my polarised for sun glasses but they do cut the glare.

I used a pair of $20 polarized sunglasses from Scheels that were absolutely indispensable with the sun intesity we had. I was in the Eastern Cape in March/the end of summer and the fatigue on your eyes trying to squint through a day without them would've been irritating to say the least. I won't be without them on the next trip.

I think wearing sunglasses in the back of the Landcruiser on my first safari saved my eye! There was a herd of zebra about 100 yards from the left side of the truck, which of course I was watching (being my first day and being all excited and not paying attention). I forgot to "duck" when we drove under an acacia tree and I got a face full of thorns. Felt like a porcupine hit me in the face.

I'm a big fan of sunglasses.

They are an absolute must for me, both for eye protection and to reduce eye fatigue. I like a brown polarized tint, it seems to improve contrast and game spotting ability.

Ever notice how many people in the bush are missing an eye? I bring extra cheap glasses to give out to the trackers and others riding in the back of the hunting car.

I bought Wiley X sunglasses with interchangeable lenses. Very, very affordable, found on eBay, and a bunch of my Africa PG pics have me wearing them.

In the back of a bakke, while witnessing things you've never seen before, or tracking a herd of blue wildebeest with your PH in front of you sprinting through the bush, it was a REALLY good idea. I know that some purists might disagree, but there was no negative to this protection, in my view. Not to mention that we were shooting large caliber rifles--eye safety is a big deal. Ask someone who has fewer than two...

I wear them hunting in Africa. The sun's intensity requires it, and so does the dust.

I bring spares too.

I have shot as much or more game while wearing sunglasses as not.

JPK

I have to confess I have yet to buy a set of sunglasses as I can't find what I want.

Basically, I am looking for perscription sunglasses which offer a degree of balistic protection similar to the Wiley X for instance. I have seen systems that mount a small seperate perscription lens "inside" the glasses, but I prefer to go the single lens route..

Standard Ray Ban Aviators, what else

Traditionalist, aren't you? That's my pick too, but since I don't have my wings, do I have to get special dispensation to wear them in the field?

You're cool enough

I have to wear prescription glasses no matter what. I buy ones with large lenses similar to Ray-bans. Lineless bifocals. On my plains game hunt for some reason I only wore clear glasses. I wore prescription sunglasses on my DG hunt.

I always wear 'em when up in the hunting car and most of the time during the daytime anyway. Many brands would get all scratched up when being constantly rubbed free of dust with whatever was handy (I know, technically they ALL are getting roughed up when treated that way) but in my view the Maui Jim glasses looked the bestest the longest when so abused. Ray Ban predators are good as well. I typically take 2-3 pair and leave them all behind, often with a tracker or game scout in addition to the PH if he needs a pair. In Zim it seemes all were in need. One year, I bought several extra pair of cheaper, but still polarized, sunglasses to give out to trackers et al at the beginning of a trip and it was a great gift idea.

I wear Costa Del Mar's, which are polarized and most often seen advertised to offshore and serious inshore fishermen.

They guarantee their lenses. I had a pair of lenses begin to discolor and delaminate after maybe five years, and they replaced the lenses, no cost, no questions.

They make both glass lenses and very hard, very clear, treated plastic lenses. Can't recall the trade name of the plastic lenses. I have owned both, in non-prescription form, and prefer the glass lenses for their durability. The plastic is very good, but I use paper towels, the corner of a shirt, whatever is handi, and in the slat water and on a boat the lenses get salt buildup and need pretty frequent wiping and the glass lenses stand up better over the long haul.

Best of all for you PeteE, Costa Del Mar makes custom lenses to prescription!

You can find their website by googling them.

JPK

When the Maui JIms now around my neck go bad, I will give these a try. thanks for the tip there. Good stuff is wirht the money, +1 on the need to often use what is at hand to clean a lens.

I wear them all the time to include shooting, I use Oakley Flak Jackets with polarized lenses.

I like Rudy Project better than Oakley. Just as pricy, but better. Polarized, photochomatic, etc. they got it. ImpactX is their shooing lens.

http://www.rudyprojectusa.com/home.htm