Shades of Summer

Strong, unobstructed sun. Absolute need to look very, very good. Glare everywhere. Heavenly bodies to ogle surreptitiously. No question: You need shades that protect and defend. But there’s more to the story. Maybe you haven’t exactly been pumping iron. Maybe you’re looking a little pasty. No worries: Spiff shades will carry the day, kick-start the chat-up, set the mojo in motion. From either side, the world looks better through great sunglasses.

Here’s what to look for:

• 100 percent UVA and UVB protection. For sure. No compromises. All the shades I review have it.
• A bit of wrap to prevent assaults on your vulnerable flanks. Look for 6-base or 8-base wrap.
• Plastic frame. However the maker slices it—nylon, Grilamid TR 90, zyl, whatever—the beach isn’t the place for spindly metal. The downside: You have to hope the frames nose bridge dances with your own. Nonslip rubber inserts help.
• Broad temples. You get strength and side protection, plus they happen to be in fashion. The poindexter look is very out this summer.
• Visible light transmission (VLT)—something in the 10 to 20 percent range is good. Any lighter and you’ll head home by noon wearing a permasquint.
• Polarization. Not mandatory, but what if you’re trying to watch Kelly Slater or Malia Jones navigate the curl? I’d opt for taming whatever glare gets between you and them.
• Hydrophobic coating. Also known as oleophobic coating. Nice to have: Water, sweat, and Bullfrog run right off your lenses, leaving no trail of tears to stain the view.
• Plastic or glass lenses? Either way, unless you play a lot of beach volleyball or you suck at catching a Frisbee. Then it’s polycarbonate for sure. Just be sure to rinse the grit off before you wipe crusty lenses.
• Gray/green or brown/copper base tint. Either way. My cheat sheet: Gray or green makes you utter a blissful “Ahhh…” Brown/copper elicits a “Wow!”
• Big lenses. Happily, these too are in fashion. Lots of pro.

Not much more to it than that. Now it’s a matter of selection. You can’t miss with any of these top choices for summer 2008.

Kaenon Baton

Kaenon lenses are impeccable in any tint. They’re fashioned from a proprietary plastic called SR 91 that rivals glass for clarity, yet passes impact tests with polycarbonate-style flying colors. These happen to be an oh-so soothing gray that let in 12 percent light. Polarized? Kaenon is all polarized, all the time, a certified hydrophobe, and antireflective. Baton has a frame that begs to be fondled. Clear on the inside, a nifty wood-grain exterior that they call Ocean Reef. See that side logo? It’s screwed into the frame—nice bit of detailing, as are inset nonslip rubber bits where frame meets nose. Baton is beefy yet sleek, an 8-base wrap styled to suit normal-sized faces. You can’t look bad in unisex Baton. Comes with a bomber case and lens-cloth bag. $209. Buy it:

Oakley Hijinx

See the logo on the temple? Hijinx belongs to Oakley’s Square O collection, the fashion-forward arm of the outfit so associated with sports optics. You still get the best of that world, starting with shatterproof lenses (Plutonite, Oakley’s proprietary polycarbonate kin) that rank with the best in the world for optical acuity. Others might match Oakley from time to time, but Oakley’s lenses are consistently brilliant. They do the QC to make sure that’s so. I went with gray polarized for my black-frame Hijinx. Gray often provides a flat view, but Oakley’s gray pops, reveals brilliant detail, and is restful to the eye; 10 percent light transmission is just right. They’re also hard-coated and hydrophobic. You gotta love that little “Polarized” etching in the corner, which is like “Your Ad Here”—the Big O will etch your own inscription for $20. As I said, cool shades can kick-start conversation. The swarthy frame is stylishly large and indestructo. $160. Buy it:

Smith Embargo

The large, very masculine Embargo was issued to me in the leopardlike Havana frame with a polarized brown lens (14 percent VLT), and I wouldn’t have it any other way. (Though you’ve got lots of frame and lens options.) The 8-base wrapped frame is superthick at the corners of your eyes for max pro against sidelighting. Smith works wonders with lenses. These issue the expected “Wow,” but with a small side order of “Ahh.” Clarity is excellent—Smith tapers its lenses for impeccable resolution. Every detail at the beach will pop, even as the sun sinks slowly in whatever direction it’s going. $119. Buy it:

Wiley X Revolvr

Wiley, you rascal! You’re so well known for extreme-conditions sunglasses (war zones, NASCAR, bass fishing). Now you’ve gone stylish on us, with no sacrifice in quality. Nice broad temples have tons of attitudinous wrap and a narrowish cut that suits every sex I can think of. The lenses, smoke or copper, are impactproof polycarbonate—that’s Wiley X’s deal—and swallow 80 percent of visible light. Optics? Quite decent. Nonpolarized, but look at that price. Also give Wiley X credit for the extras: rigid case, lens cloth, and lanyard. $100. Buy it: Free Shipping at Zappos.

Costa Del Mar Hammerhead

If your beachgoing sojourns might include stints of sailfishing off Isla Mujeres, Hammerhead is for you. Costa is all-polarized, all the time, and they’ve got that act down very well. Hammerhead is a supreme tamer of glare. Especially in our test shade, featuring Costa’s premium 580 glass lenses in a soothing yet thrillingly crisp gray base tint. The “580” stands for the ability of the Rx-able multicoated glass to block annoying yellow light around the 580-nanometer wavelength. Not that you’d know it per se, but you do know that colors appear saturated and the eye just plain feels good looking through. The shiny wrapped 8-base frame has beefy temples for side protection and spring hinges for rough-stuff durability. I could wish for an adjustable nosepiece or at least some nonslip features, but I couldn’t wish for better glass. $149. Buy it: Free Shipping at Zappos

Serengeti Savona

Savona hails from Serengeti’s Cosmopolitan collection, which means they made me look a whole lot more sophisticated than I am. I strutted around town and sand wearing it in a shiny black frame with the kind of long vertical axis that pleases celebrities (“Hey, look at me! I’m incognito!”) I drew disappointed paparazzi. Neat touch: The inside of the gently wrapped, 6-base frame is done up in a crazy zebra mosaic. But don’t think all the hoopla means Savona skimps on lens quality. Serengeti loads it with a polarized, photochromic (24% to 9% visible light transmission), brown-tint glass they call Drivers. It’s a brilliant lens. Life springs to life. None of that copper wash that some brown tints lay on a scene. Drivers has all the restfulness of a green tint, but with brilliant sharpness—thanks to the wonders of glass and, perhaps, to filters that block bothersome blue light. $189. Buy it: Free Shipping! at FramesDirect.com!

Spy Optic Tron

Got a license to be hip? Then you can legally wear Tron. But you’ll give up nothing optically in the course of making your stand for total coolness. Tron boasts a shield look that’s increasingly popular on the street—that is, a one-piece lens crosses over the nose bridge, and though the wrap is 6-base (seems more like 8), it protects your eyes with gogglelike aplomb. The nonpolarized CR-39 lens with gray base tint is tapered—that is, thinner to the sides of the optical center (see “Optical Clarity” in our handy Glossary). It’s not a lens for super rough stuff, but my, is it at once sharp and restful. But the real reason you want Tron is for its frame detailing—namely, gala side temples, huge and louvered, and outrageously decorated. Mine was black with a splatter paint job, but behold here Tron in pink. And then some. $125. Buy it: Free Shipping at Zappos