GREAT for night driving, photochromic not so great
[[VIDEOID:7ce66efa321fe9e8f2af0641c7e1a5b5]] I like night driving glasses. I've been using a set of polarized night drivers for some time. They really do cut down on the glare of oncoming headlights and the super bright LED taillights that are in common use today.<br /><br />For that, these are awesome! The style is a classic aviator, pretty much the granddaddy of all sunglasses. Hard to go wrong there and these are right on the standard for that style.<br /><br />The build quality is excellent. They have a generously sized lens and overall frame width. My head size is ~23&3/4" (~60 cm) around, measured just above the ears & eyebrows. I wear a size extra-large hat most of the time, depending on the brand and style. I've got a pretty big noggin, a big face, and I'm generally a pretty big guy. These glasses with their large frame and spring hinges fit my head great, and should fit most people even large headed folks like myself!<br /><br />For me the really interesting part was the "photochromic" aspect of the lenses. I have been wanting to try one of the budget brand photochromic pairs for some time now so I thought I'd give these a shot. Keep in mind, they generally won't darken in a vehicle anyway so that feature is probably somewhat useless on a pair of driving glasses, but still.<br /><br />If you check out my attached video you'll see that these DO darken under UV light. They don't darken as much or as dramatically as a pair of prescription photochromic lenses, but they do darken. I guess that's a checkmark in their favor. Still, given that they don't darken very much and don't shade very much they would never be a go to pair of glasses for sunny days for me.<br /><br />I'd describe the total shade level, even after exposure to bright sunlight, as very light.<br /><br />The polarization is legit. I verified it with a polarization test card, my computer monitor, and some water splashed on the driveway outside. In all tests, there is an obvious polarization effect. There are levels of polarization though and I would describe these as only lightly polarized. Good enough for driving but I'd not like these for a day on the boat (either for total shade level or for level of polarization).<br /><br />All in all these are a really nice set of NIGHT driving glasses. Other than that I just don't see any value in the photochromic effect on these glasses so I'm knocking off a star for a 4 star total rating. It would be 3 stars but they are really very nicely made glasses and excellent for night driving so I might be generous in this rating.
Rating: 4 stars