Bringing clarity to coloured lenses

“With my sunglasses on, I’m Jack Nicholson. Without them, I’m fat and 60.”

I’m sure most of us side with Jack here. Shades are cool. They make us look hip and they make us feel happy. But is there more to choosing shooting eyewear than making sure the lens colour co-ordinates perfectly with your new skeet vest and shoes?

“Yes!” says Denzil Lee, managing director at Evolution Eyewear and its sister company Sunglasses for Sport. “There are three considerations. The number one reason is to protect your eyes from shards of clay.

“Secondly, shooters are outside for long periods, invariably spending much of that time scanning the sky for clay targets,” says Denzil. “If you don’t protect your eyes from UV radiation you run the risk of developing cataracts and other eyesight issues.”

Does that matter in the British winter when the sun is AWOL for weeks?

“Even in cloud cover your eyes will be subjected to 80 percent of the UV that they would experience in bright sun,” says Denzil. “So, it’s important to wear UV protection whatever the time of year. A common misconception is that it’s the tint that protects you but it’s actually a UV filter that’s been applied to the lens. So, you can have a clear lens and it can still be rated CE UV400, which is the standard to look for.”

The third reason for wearing shooting eyewear is that it can enhance your vision. Wear good quality lenses that are appropriate for the conditions and you’ll acquire targets faster with less eye fatigue. But, on the surface, choosing the right lens for the job isn’t for the faint hearted.

Take a look at Pilla’s website. This leading eyewear brand’s vast portfolio is a veritable candy store packed with scores of brightly coloured lenses with delicious but ambiguous names such as watermelon, raspberry, lemon and lime. It’s a mouthwatering selection but how do you even begin to choose the right lens without succumbing to the temptation of just picking the coolest one?