Story by Quinn Redeker / Photos by Kevin Wing
Have you ever heard of a pinguecula? No, it’s not a character from a Steven King novel. It’s a fleshy‑colored bump that grows on your eye, caused by long‑term exposure to sun, wind, and dust. It’s okay, I had no idea myself when the eye doctor revealed what had been pestering my eye and distracting my on‑bike focus for the last few months working motors in Ventura, California. But it made sense that as a motor cop, blasting around in a three‑quarter helmet every day in the Southern California sunshine, wind, and muck, my eyes would have to suffer right along with my farmer’s tan and sun‑chapped skin. It was not only frustrating but downright scary at times, because without exceptional vision and concentration, I faced significantly increased risks while riding my motorcycle around the city doing super duper motor cop stuff.
But a contributing factor to my poor eye maintenance, and one I’m sure you’ve dealt with as well, was my spending loads of cash on high‑quality, top‑tier sunglasses only to have them get lost or destroyed in short order. In fact, it seemed that the more I spent on my sunglasses, the sooner they had to be replaced due to loss or damage. I remember buying a cool pair of Oakley’s on a Tuesday, only to assist patrol with a combative shoplifter and have them get trampled and destroyed on the following Thursday. Then I bought some vintage Ray Ban Wayfarers at the beginning of a motor school I taught only to have them fly off my head and break into three parts during a tactical on‑bike drill just one week in.
What was the solution I employed after that? You guessed it: gas station cheapos. You know the ones; they sport cool, flamed arms that give you headaches because they’re too thick, have rubber nose pieces that melt away from your sun block, and have mirrored lenses that spontaneously pop out when you briskly turn your head to the left? Yes, all that. And to add insult to injury, I have a narrow face, so it was not uncommon for the frames to crack after a few weeks because they were too wide to fit between my face and helmet without getting substantial force applied to the bridge. The worst part? My eyes were not sufficiently protected from the sun’s harmful rays.
Now that I’m older and have slowed down enough to notice all the subtle signs that I did a subpar job of taking care of myself over the years, I’ve been scrambling to make up for lost time. And that has led me to be far more scrutinizing about the sunglasses I wear when I ride. That said, my objective with this article is to get you up to speed on the knowledge and experience I’ve gleaned surrounding wearing sunglasses specifically for motorcycle riding. Let’s get started.
Now as I mentioned, I was the grand prize winner of a pinguecula, and a big cause turned out to be chronic UV radiation exposure. See, the cheap, ill‑fitting discount glasses I rolled around in were often dark lenses but not UV‑filtering. This meant my pupils were dilating but getting maximum UVA/UVB rays. This also meant I was raising my risk of things like cataracts and macular degeneration. Why does that matter? Because I was risking major degeneration of my sharp, central vision, meaning straight lines could start to appear blurry and I could start to experience dark, blind spots when I’m rolling down the road.
The other obvious problem with cheap glasses was the lack of meaningful impact resistance if I crashed, had significant road debris smack the lenses, or encountered yet another unhappy citizen of the fine city I worked in. And to be honest, I couldn’t tell you if any of the inexpensive sunglasses I wore had any level of impact resistance at all. Could I determine if they made me look marvelous when I modeled them next to the check‑out register? Absolutely. Actual protection? No idea.
Eventually, I decided I needed a few key features and benefits in a solid pair of motorcycle sunglasses, and in no particular order, they included: meaningful UV protection, significant impact resistance, thin and flexible arms that could squeeze inside my helmet but not put pressure on my ears, durability that survives regular drops, enough flex to allow them to be sat on or packed aggressively, a nose bridge that wouldn’t melt or unglue or bend, and sizing to accommodate my little noggin.
Notice I didn’t mention anything about polarization? Well, polarized lenses, while fantastic when I take my kid for a few laps around the lazy river at our local water park, tend not to be a safe bet on the motorcycle. That’s because they can hide hazards like water patches, oil, black ice, and other wet areas in the roadway, making your path of travel appear dry when it is not. Another problem with polarized lenses comes when using a dash display, because the polarized lens makes it far more difficult to read. That means things like navigation, speeds, and fuel readings can vanish from view. Oh, and while I’m griping, polarized lenses can generate a “rainbow effect” when you look through your helmet visor. Beautiful for sure, but not great when we want to minimize visual distortion.
I’ll land the plane by saying that I’ve been wearing a brand by the name of Flying Eyes Optics for the last few years, and they’ve been instrumental in supporting the safety and welfare of my eyes in the face of sun, wind, dirt and debris. Developed by a pilot (and avid motorcycle rider) for the express purpose of wearing under headphones (and motorcycle helmets) for long hours in the saddle, these are shatterproof, 100% UV400‑protected lenses. They are exceedingly light and strong, have very thin arms that provide great flex to squeeze into my helmet, and don’t give me headaches even after multiple hours in the saddle. Maybe the best part is the fact that they offer multiple sizes of the same styles for smaller craniums like mine, which makes them fit much better than other sunglasses I’ve tried at any price. I’ve torqued on them, sat on them, and dropped them more than I’d like to confess. Oh, and no rubber nose tabs to get affected by sun block. No, I didn’t love the price tag when I first heard about them from a journalist buddy of mine that used them, but they have a lifetime frame warranty (1 year lens warranty), and for a few bucks more I was able to purchase loss protection, so I don’t have to buy another pair if I lose them on an exotic trip to my local parking lot for slow‑skills training. If you need prescription sun glasses, they do that too.
Listen, I don’t usually name drop about specific product brands when we get together each month and discuss motorcycles because it comes off like I’m reading a sales brochure to you. But if I sat here and watched you continue to risk your long‑term eyesight by wearing inadequate sunglasses and politely abstained from providing you with a solid motorcycle‑specific solution I knew about, what kind of riding buddy would I be? After all, this isn’t like getting a cavity and going to the dentist. Once your eyesight starts waving goodbye, those glorious summer days chasing the sun will leave the building shortly thereafter. Let’s not let that happen.
Quinn wears Schuberth helmets, Richa apparel, Lee Parks Design gloves, and Indie Ridge boots. Find out more at Quinn’s website, PoliceMotorTraining.com. Send feedback to rider@ridermagazine.com.