How To Choose The Best Sunglasses For The Beach
If you spend a lot of time at the beach, you’ll know not all sunglasses are created equally. Some scratch way too easily in sand. Some don’t offer the full sun protection you’re after. Some are made from materials that might one day end up as ocean plastic.
This guide will help you find the absolute best sunglasses for the beach. It all starts with finding the best beach sunglasses to suit your face shape…
‘Beach Face’ Sunglasses
When it comes to finding the best beach sunglasses, the first thing you want is for them to actually suit you. You’re just not going to wear them otherwise, right?
Start by narrowing down your sunglasses by face shape. For example, angular frames provide contrast and balance for those with round or oval faces. Wider frames help slim down the proportions of squarer face shapes too.
Once you have that dialled, consider how much coverage your new sunnies are going to give you. Bigger is definitely better here. Catseye shapes are always popular women’s beach sunglasses. Men’s options include OTIS’s crowd-favourite After Dark, or the retro-inspired Omar X.
Best Sunglass Lenses For The Beach
There are two major factors you’ll want to consider when finding the best sunglasses lenses for the beach:
- The first is scratch resistance. For that aspect, nothing beats mineral glass. Mineral glass lenses are 12x more scratch-resistant than regular, plastic options and are even endlessly recyclable making them a better choice for the environment. That’s why we only ever put mineral glass lenses in any OTIS design.
- Next is sun protection. Most sunglasses worth their salt should have a category 3 rating, meaning that they offer 100% protection against UVA and UVB rays.
To go a step further, think about getting polarised lenses as well. They are a little more expensive, but if you’re spending plenty of time looking at the ocean they’re well worth it.
Polarised sunnies cut glare, stopping the crazy reflections you often get off the sea. You’re also much more likely to see fish and sealife wearing polarised too. Here’s a shortcut to our best beach sunglasses with the best sunglass lenses if you need it.
Beach Sunglasses Made Better
Finally, to rate as the very best sunglasses for the beach, they’ll need to have some sustainability considerations built in. We all know that ocean plastic pollution is a major problem. Thankfully, you can now get incredibly durable sunglass frames that are also certified biodegradable at their end of life!
We’re so impressed with this material that we’ve made an entire EcoAcetate range. Combine that with OTIS’s endlessly recyclable mineral glass lenses and you have options that are better for the beach, now and in the future.
Now all that’s left is to look at the weather, pick your days, pack your beach sunglasses and hit the coast with your friends. For any questions, or which style of OTIS Sunglasses might suit you best, reach out and email cs_otis@leisurecollective.com.au