Some context:
On July 2, 1996, while driving home from a Mt. Rainier climbing attempt, I fell asleep and crashed into a tree at about 60 mph. I suffered nearly fatal injuries, including ruptured internal organs, an impressive head injury, and dramatic blood loss. (As a result, I tend to follow stories like the one of this French woman who had partial face transplant.)
A few chronic issues continue. In July 2007 for example, I had emergency surgery for a small bowel obstruction that was the result of the leftover scar tissue in my belly (similar to Levi Leipheimer). And most relevant to this story, the pupil in my left eye no longer constricts, which means that even mild light is blinding.
Hence, I wear sunglasses all the time, even on the gloomiest of Pacific Northwest days. I take limited solace in the constant appearance of a hipster.
A couple weeks ago, a favorite pair of Smith interchangeables broke, and almost simultaneously I lost a backup pair of Natives. $200+ worth of sunglasses, down the tubes.
Desperate (and staggering around town with a hand over my left eye), I considered the options and remembered a conversation with my sexagenarian cycling buddy, Ian Fuller, from Eugene, who is wise in the ways of all that is cycling. At the end of a ride one day, he told me how he found a great source of sunglasses–at the local hardware store. Actually, since they were sold at the hardware store, they were marketed as “protective eyewear,” but they worked great as sporty sunglasses at less than 1/4 the price. I was skeptical at the time, but I logged the suggestion for future use.
Inspired by Ian’s frugality, I headed to the nearest Bartell Drug and bought a pair of no-name polarized sunglasses for $22. They work as well as the Smiths and Natives (I’ve cycled and jogged wearing them), and if/when they get lost or broken I’m not going to be heartbroken. As a side note, I think that buying sunglasses at the drug store is evidence that I’m fast becoming old as dirt. Further evidence: While at the drug store I spent a fair bit of time seriously deliberating whether to buy some of those wide-wraparound sunglasses worn by folks who’ve recently undergone cataract surgery. Talk about stylin’ at the next group ride or ski outing!
Tres Nays: Modeling Vuarnets above Lake Tahoe, circa 1984. Yes, that IS an alpaca hat.
Back in the day, the sunglasses of choice were Vuarnet cateyes, popularized by Jean Vuarnet, who won the downhill at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics. The Vuarnet box featured a picture of Jean cooly strapping on his skis at the top of some European piste.
Vuarnet’s (“nays” in the vernacular) reputedly have mind-altering qualities and wearers can see versions of reality that non-wearers can not access. Functionally, the popular Vuarnet 002 cateyes have a brown lens color, and graduated tinting (the “Skilynx” lens) that makes them work well in situations where there is strong reflected sunlight–like on a sunny day in the high mountains or on the water.
My Vuarnets were a companion on some solo backpacking trips in Yosemite back in the olden days.
I had a cherished pair that lasted me about a decade–until the early 1990’s. A couple years ago I tried to find a Vuarnet dealer, but their popularity had faded, and as of this writing it looks like there is only a single retailer in the US, though through the wonders of the Internet they are available Online.
While I was all set to sing the praises of cheap sunglasses, there is a caveat: They scratch easily. After dropping my latest favorite purchase on the ground they suffered a scratch precisely over my left eye, and wearing them gives me a headache.
Back to expensive sunglasses?
