Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Sunglasses for hunting in the snow?

I've got tags for cow elk on Turkey Day this year and if its like last time we'll have snow (and 7 degree mornings!). I was wondering if any of you had an opinion on what tint would be better for those days when the sky is clear and the sun is starting to cause snow blindness? Obviously dark gray won't work. I currently have 2 polarized pairs, one with light yellow and one with a light brown tint. You can easily see the eyes of the person wearing them to give you an idea of how light the tint is. Any ideas?

I favor gray's because colors stay true. For shotgunning activities where ones working with the sky, I lean toward yellow. Given your supply, it sounds like brown.

Work with them before-hand wherever you plan to hunt. I've had weird things happen with darker glasses. 'course, I had photo-gray / transitions, not "sunglasses". Anyways, from out in the sun, anything in shadow was invisible. Looking for jackrabbits under sage brush in bright sun ... forget it. Looking for deer under trees when I was in bright sun ... forget it.

So ... my recommendation is, whatever you buy, take 'em out and try them and be sure you can really see the critters in your hunting conditions before counting on them.

I have worn gold iridium polarized Oakley lenses for the last 15 years. They make greens a little greener and browns a little browner and i love them for hunting and fishing.

I like my Ray Ban's!

I should add that I don't want to hinder spotting elk. I will take them off when I get off the open rock scabs and open meadows.

Load:

Forget about the color and go to your local mountaineering store and buy a good pair of glacier glasses. They will be expensive but your eyes will thank you. I used a pair of Julbo glacier glasses when climbing Denali (Mount McKinley). But the side shields kept giving me trouble and eventually I had to fashion my own side shields using duct tape.

This is what I use now.
http://www.speert.com/discount-sung...zed&gclid=CKPXxam7-rICFelFMgodz1kAIQ
They don't have any side shields and work a lot better.

KC

Of the two you have I would go with the light brown tint.

But personally I prefer a darker shade to fight the glare off the snow. I use a "smoke" lens in a pair of Radians Chaos safety glasses, or a UVEX Bandit with the "espresso" lens. The Bandit has side protection, but I usually prefer the Chaos. Both are very inexpensive, but work well.

They're not Maui Jims quality of course, but you won't really care when you scratch the lens after you throw it in your pack either.

These are both safety glasses that are cheap, durable, and work great for outdoor sports.

You can get them here www.safetyglassesusa.com

Thanks for the suggestions.

Hell I use them in the bow season all day long.

I put them on at about 9 AM and take them off about a half hour before sunset.

I use Oakleys. I just dig em and look uber cool in em.

They aint dark, but filter out alotta 'bad' light and glare.

http://www.gundogsonline.com/Proshop/Studies/ShootingGlassesLensColors.asp

Regular glasses can cause a problem looking over the top when shooting. A dedicated shooting glass eliminates it.


#46 Vermillion: Will dampen green background and accentuate brown if hunting an early season.

#44 Light Brown: Will bring out browns, but not so good for early and late in the day. Light brown in the snow, just may be the ticket.

I've also found a very light purple good for hunting.

Available in prescription and non-prescription along with bifocal if needed. Usually three lens come with a set. More than a few companies out there that offer the various shades. Currently using "Rangers", a little expensive but worth it IMO since I use them more than a little shooting sporting. Definitely a situation were different eyes vary in how they see contrasts.

My own experience is for all around use is to pick something on the lighter color side of the various shades if hunting early and late or on overcast days. Early and late, clear wins hands down.

Maui Jim Breakwall model with the HT (High Transmision) lens. Anything from fog to bright snow. The best all around lens I have ever used. Polarized, great for rafting, fishing, shooting in grey light/foggy etc. I wear them year round.

I like the brownish-orange color lenses with Polarized coatings. They really help. It kills all the UV light reflecting off the snow well, evident to when you take em off a d everything looks blue...