The right vision: glasses for all weathers
Matt Clark tests and is impressed by the latest shooting glasses from Riley Edge
Amythology has built up around which colour lenses you should have in your shooting glasses. At the moment, purple lenses seem to be the ‘on point’ colour. But it is fair to say that different lens colours aid vision in different light conditions. For example, yellow is generally good for contrast in low light or misty conditions and grey is good for maximum light reduction on bright and sunny days.
Out of the box
Things get complicated when light conditions change from hour to hour, which happens a lot in the UK. Then you have to take several pairs of shooting glasses or lenses along with you. This is where the Riley Edge shooting glasses are useful as you get five pairs of sports glasses to suit all conditions. But the pay-off is that you have to carry a large box around with you.
This isn’t the end of the world, but it’s more cumbersome than carrying round a slim wallet containing some interchangeable lenses that you clip onto one frame. However, the types of sports glasses with interchangeable lenses are not without pitfalls. Often the lenses are fiddly to fit and if you damage the frame then the other lenses are useless.
The Riley Edge safety glasses have many plus points. The first being that you get five complete pairs of glasses that will suit every light condition you are likely to come across. Swapping them around is as easy as changing your glasses.
Durable
The frames are durable and cleverly designed so they fold up neatly. The arms are made of a rubberised material that keeps the glasses on your ears. By rotating the arms through 180 degrees, they fold up flush with the inside of the lenses.
When I first tried to use the glasses,
I kept trying to fold the arms like conventional glasses. But the arms stood up to this torture and I soon got into the habit of folding them properly.
The way they fold means you can easily put them in a pocket. To avoid lugging the large carry case around, I just carried two sets of glasses in my pocket, enough to suit most conditions.
Five-in-one
I found that having five pairs of glasses was useful.
When a friend forgot his eye protection, I was able to offer him a pair of mine.
The Riley Edge glasses are made with high-quality polycarbonate lenses and should protect your eyes from shards of clay, falling shot and any other fragments you are likely to encounter on the shooting ground or in the field. They are tested to European (EN) standards, so you can have confidence when using them.
Lens focus
The lenses have a Tecton 400 coating that makes them scratch resistant, so even if you carry them in your pocket like me, they won’t scratch easily. The lenses are also water repellent, so raindrops bead and fall off them. They are meant to be antifogging, too, and on the whole they are. However, on one very wet and cold day my lenses did fog a little. That said, they soon cleared, unlike some glasses I have used in the past. The company claims the lenses also offer maximum ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation protection. These two types of UV light are proven to contribute to the risk of skin cancer. UVA has a longer wavelength and is associated with skin aging; UVB has a shorter wavelength and leads to skin burning.
Even those of us who wear prescription glasses can take advantage of these glasses
because a prescription lens insert is provided along with an order form.
I found all the lenses gave excellent vision when I was using them. Trying different lenses for different light conditions was fun and brought out the advantage of having the right-coloured lenses for the conditions.
Cost
The only downside is the price, which at nearly £200 is not cheap. But bear in mind that you get five pairs of glasses, a good protective storage case, a lanyard and a prescription lens insert. This makes the glasses worth around £40 each. It’s what you would pay for a high-quality set of shooting glasses – with the Riley Edge you get five.
I used these glasses over the season and when clay shooting and they were incredibly robust. I even sat on a pair and they survived, so they should give many years of use, which makes them a worthwhile investment.
Comfort was good with these glasses, too. My ear defenders can press the arms of the glasses into my head, but with the Riley Edge glasses the soft rubber arms were comfortable and flexible. The rubber inserts sat on the bridge of my nose for hours without discomfort and because the lenses are light, you hardly know you are wearing glasses.
What is more, these glasses can be used for other sports, such as golf, skiing or fishing. However, the dark lenses are not polarised, so they won’t cut out the glare and enable you to see into the water when angling, they will just reduce the light intensity.
After testing these glasses both on the clay ground and in the field for nine months, I would give them the thumbs-up. The only downside is the price, but then you have to pay for quality and what price do you put on protecting your eyesight?
“The frames are durable and cleverly designed so they fold up neatly”