Polarized sunglasses are special kinds of sunglasses created to reduce the surface glare from glass, water and snow, making them useful for fishing, driving and sports. Although these sunglasses cost more than regular sunglasses, the polarized versions are preferred by some consumers because of the way they effectively reduce the glare. When wearing the polarized version, the glare is selectively blocked. With standard sunglasses, the entire field of vision is dimmer; this can prove dangerous in some types of situations.

Polarized sunglasses use the properties of light to their advantage. Usually, light creates waves that extend in many different directions. When light waves are viewed through a polarized lens, the waves are oriented over an axis. This result means the light waves will be less bright but optical information will still come through.

Depending on the particular angle, polarized sunglasses are ideal for reducing glare. However, when the glasses are aligned with the glare, none of the light will be filtered out. These sunglasses are not considered to be effective when sun is low on the horizon or directly above the wearer because the light waves are changed from the usual polarizing horizontal position.

Glares tend to obscure details and hurt the eyes. While conventional sunglasses do block glares, they also block out important, subtle details. However, polarized sunglasses block glares but allow the user to see pertinent details in their surrounding environment. These sunglasses are designed in various configurations that range from mild to heavy polarizing. Some of these sunglasses have color tinting especially designed for certain weather conditions like snow.

Even 3-D movies will utilize polarizing glasses. One lens will be polarized horizontally and the other will be polarized vertically. When the user’s brain tries to combine the images received from both eyes, the brain will take in a 3-D image.