SeaSpecs Reviewed
Photos courtesy of SeaSpecs
by Steve Ackerman
posted 2006-10-24

Have you ever forgotten to toss your high-priced spectacles into your bag before rushing for the water, only to loose them to King Neptune himself? I know I have far to often. Whether I simply forgot that I had them on before heading out into the surf or I was trying to sneak into the water just long enough to rinse my board off. Then from out of nowhere... WHAM! And before I realized what had happened, my shades were sleeping with the fishes. Some new... some old, I must have lost a dozen or more in a similar fashion over the last few of years.

Well, now there is a ventilated, self-draining eyewear called SeaSpecs. They are specifically designed for outdoor water sports from surf to snow, but are light weight and comfortable enough for everyday use. Some of the outdoor sports requiring this kind of extreme eye protection would be waveriding, water and snow skiing, snowboarding, jet ski, kayaking, boating, fishing and lets not forget surfing.

It is important to remember that the same harmful rays that damage skin will also increase your risk of developing eye problems. You see... when sunlight reflects off of water, snow or sand, the exposure and intensity of the ultraviolet (UV) radiation is increased. It is these invisible high-energy rays that lie just beyond the violet end of the visible light spectrum that do the most damage. People who spend long hours in the sun without adequate eye protection can develop painful eye conditions like photokeratitis, a reversible sunburn of the cornea or pterygium, a fleshy growth on the white part of your eye that often requires surgery to correct. It is as simple as wearing the proper eye protection that can reduce the risk and possibly prevent eye damage or vision loss entirely while outdooring.

SeaSpecs have combined all of the important protections and quality into a very stylish design, including polarized lenses with 100% UVA & UVB protection [polarized prescription lenses are available] to protect your eyes from the sun's harmful rays, impact-resistant frames to keep them in one piece, and an easily adjustable strap to keep them on your face should you get hit hard enough to knock them off. Plus, they float too.

Richard at Mexican Pipeline, Puerto Escondido

While testing these shades out, I was most impressed by the clarity of the lenses even after being completely submersed over-and-over again. The lenses continued to provide good visibility throughout the entire day, both in and out of the water. And the shades always remained securely attached, even after a few nasty wipeouts.

SeaSpecs come in black, blue, metallic red and metallic orange with gray lenses or black with brown lenses. A pair of these shades will run you about $59 bones ($195 to $295 for prescription lenses) which is a pretty fair price for effective eye protection. Whether you are landing a little too hard after catching air off the side of a mountain, hanging your head in misery over the stern rail of your boat or dropping into that wave just a little too late, you'll be glad you are wearing SeaSpecs. I recommend this extreme eyewear to any sport enthusiast looking for affordable eye protection without sacrificing on quality.

I thoroughly enjoyed testing these shades out. My only wish... that they had sent me a slicker color to try out. The black or blue pair would have looked much cooler wrapped around my head than the fiery orange pair I have been running around with.

So drop by www.seaspecs.com for more information, check out some cool shots of them in action and go try a pair out for yourself.