I try to look for a bargain when I can, but from my experience, there are things that are just worth the extra bucks. Welcome to one of my “You get what you pay for” posts. And for this entry, I’ll be talking about sunglasses.

Given how many cheap sunglasses can be bought out there, many of which are of decent build and design, it’s not surprising why a lot of people would prefer to just get your Php 100-800 glasses over expensive brand-named ones.

The sentiment is certainly commendable; that one can work on a budget and still manage to look stylish.

However, spending a bit more for your eyes might just be the prudent thing to do. And here’s why…

Think about this statement I lifted somewhere from the net.

There are no federal regulations in the U.S. on the amount of UV light that sunglasses have to block, and while many cheap pairs do just fine, many don’t, and exploit the lack of sanctions to lie about it.

Once you’re done digesting that, remember we live in the Philippines - where “quality control” is virtually non-existent.

Basically, here are the things sunglasses protect us from.

1. Bright visible light (glare, etc.)
2. Ultraviolet rays
3. People seeing how ugly we actually are (optional hehehe)

Now the issue here is that people usually judge sunglass effectiveness by #1 alone. Visibly, cheap or branded sunglasses are all equal here - it just depends how much “brightness” you want blocked.

Ultraviolet rays on the other hand, is light our eyes can’t respond to - hence would not trigger any blinking reflexes. So having el-cheapo glasses without adequate UV protection, but have maximum visible light protection, would allow your pupils to dilate as much as they can… giving UV rays unfettered access to one of the best gifts God has given us.

Wearing sunglasses with no proper UV protection is worse than wearing no sunglasses at all. At least with the latter, you will squint… your pupils will contract… basically, your reflexes will try to protect your eyes by any method available. Wearing sunglasses, branded or not, kills those reflexes - always keep that in mind when you buy sunglasses.

post updated on June 19, 2008 @ 01:18PM