Anyone who has spent time behind a welding hood has a different take on what "dark lenses" are(me included).

I have bought numerous pairs of sunglasses online looking for some that are dark enough to look in the direction of the sun. I haven't found any that impressed me yet.

Certain wind directions have me looking into the sun more often than I'd like. A kite luffs for instance and the sun is directly behind it. Or I glance up at it and the same thing, etc. Or I spend all day with the sun behind the kite

Anyone ever had any sunglasses that were dark enough even when looking towards the sun? Any leads?

I believe you can get glasses in welding shade lenses from welding supply stores or online. I saw up to shade 14 on a quick search on Google.

Move to England

When I teach people to fly a kite who want to buggy, they have to launch, fly the kite to the right side, to the left side, to the Zenith and then land the kite without looking at it. If they can do that then getting in the buggy and learning how to operate it without being worried about flying the kite. Nothing wrong with looking at the kite from time to time.
You could always wear a welding hood.

try Julbo Sherpa glasses dont drive your car w/ them

Quote: Originally posted by RedSky

Move to England

Aren't cutting torch goggles a step or two brighter than a welding hood? My darkest Oakleys allow 5% light transmission but not dark enough to be comfortable flying with the sun right in front of you. I still drop the visor in the car.
If I'm in the buggy and the sun is "right there", I'll use my "kite chi" and block the sun with my helmet and fly by feel.

Does any one make sun glasses with a Photodiode (easy to make a fast linear light sensor) and a darkening welding type filter?
This would create a variable 5+ shades of dynamic range when not looking directly into the sun...

Most of the current welding helmets just have an on/off feature and a manual adjustment on the max range it drops to which is not the same.

My sister has badly damaged eyes which are very light sensitive and I looked for some in the past but could not find any.

I looked through some shade 3 glasses at a welding store and they weren't dark enough. I got some shade 5 ones and they work pretty good. Not dark enough for looking right into the sun; but dark enough for looking in it's direction. I'm still searching for some with a lense shade of 6-10.

We get a lot of South East wind and I'm facing the setting sun every evening riding NE <-> SW.













The ones on the right are the best of the pair. They fit nicer. The other pair has metal sides and a looser fit and slide down on bumpy terrain.

http://a.co/jaAHSys

http://a.co/2qAB7Ls