It seems pretty obvious to me that so many shops and online stores sell kiting sunglasses WITHOUT a neck leash because it means we'll keep loosing the glasses and buy more.
Then I found a site (called Anti g 99 based in Taiwan) that looks like they manufacture the type of sunglasses that are most commonly sold but branded with a brands own logo. What's interesting about their sunglasses page is that they say they supply the glasses with a neck leash with a 10kg breaking strain. So why aren't they being on-sold to kiters?
Maybe if enough people want to get together and buy a set of glasses we could place an order with these guys? Let me know and I'll email them for a price.
Cheers
Chris
I buy by the carton from my Tradie supplie shop the cheapest poly carb grade 2 tinted glasses. Usually around $4 on special.
After 3 years I'm onto my second box of 12.
Why people spend so much time and effort buying crap and not simply making it themselves is beyond me! No wonder the planet is polluted.
Here try this!
www.instructables.com/id/Sunglasses-Strap/
Thanks Loftywinds, but I'm not sure a load of rubber bands are going to be saving the environment anytime soon. Plus isn't that just a head band?
boardbumps is right that nothing holds on the glasses for ever, but at least a neck leash keeps them on for a bit longer.
It seems pretty obvious to me that so many shops and online stores sell kiting sunglasses WITHOUT a neck leash because it means we'll keep loosing the glasses and buy more.
Then I found a site (called Anti g 99 based in Taiwan) that looks like they manufacture the type of sunglasses that are most commonly sold but branded with a brands own logo. What's interesting about their sunglasses page is that they say they supply the glasses with a neck leash with a 10kg breaking strain. So why aren't they being on-sold to kiters?
Maybe if enough people want to get together and buy a set of glasses we could place an order with these guys? Let me know and I'll email them for a price.
CheersChris
... looks like Seaspecs knockoffs,,, are they cheaper by much and are they polarized?? I reckon the seaspecs and possibly the Anti G 99's are great, if your heading into waves where your gunna get rolled, simply tighten strap by sliding the buckle thingy one handed and go face some demons feeling comfort in knowing ya sunnies are likely to say with you.
Robbie ![]()
You want the sunglasses to come off in an extreme crash. There's nothing worse than the frame getting ground into your nose or your ears getting clobbered.
Easiest thing is to tie the wettie zip puller to the sunglasses. I have sewn a loop of ribbon onto the zip puller so I can attach sunglasses and hat to it.
Alternatively make a neck leash with a piece of ribbon with some velcro on the end. You want the velcro so it will come off if necessary. The risk of getting hung is slim but I have found that everything that can happen will happen if you spend enough time on the water.
I have worn Seaspecs for several years under a helmet and not lost a pair yet. Mates without helmets have lost a few pairs in big stacks though. The strap should give way if subjected to extreme force
I have worn Seaspecs for several years under a helmet and not lost a pair yet. Mates without helmets have lost a few pairs in big stacks though. The strap should give way if subjected to extreme force
Same, I wear a helmet and Seaspecs have never come off in the biggest crashes.
Amy lanyard has always done the job for me. Loosing, I thought you were talking about the screws coming loose, not losing your sunnies.
I used to have the neck leash thing with a pair of sunnies which worked ok. What i do nowdays is just tie the rip cord onto the sunglasses strap. I have never lost a pair of sunnes.
I used to have the neck leash thing with a pair of sunnies which worked ok. What i do nowdays is just tie the rip cord onto the sunglasses strap. I have never lost a pair of sunnes.
I mean the rip cord from my wettie.
Thanks Loftywinds, but I'm not sure a load of rubber bands are going to be saving the environment anytime soon. Plus isn't that just a head band?
boardbumps is right that nothing holds on the glasses for ever, but at least a neck leash keeps them on for a bit longer.
Have you even tried what Lofty suggested, build it and then review here?
I have had sunglasses come off from under a hat with a chin strap and mostly come off from under a helmet (which is partly why I don't wear a helmet anymore.)
With the hat it just took a wave at the wrong angle to knock the chin strap aside and the sunglasses just fell off. Fortunately I had the sunnies tied to the wetsuit zip puller and did not lose them.
The helmet was a Protec Ace Wake and the plastic adjuster exploded after a big crash while learning kite loops in the early days. The helmet got slammed down over my face and the sunnies crushed into my nose. It hurt. A lot.
To be honest I hardly use sunglasses much these days. A peaked cap stops most of the direct glare (a good thing in the late afternoon even with sunglasses) and not wearing glasses eliminates the eye strain from peering through salt streaked glasses.
... eye strain from peering through salt streaked glasses.
There's an answer for that one. Anti-fog spray.
I've lost a few pairs and decided to have a go at the Bunnings cheapies for an alternative when my current ones float away. The sunnies were $12 and the 20m roll of chord was $5. I glued the knots with superglue and fashioned the yellow sliding clip out of an old piece of plastic. The additional length goes over my head and around my neck to serve as a lanyard.
Seaspecs have an adjustable strap, do it up tight, it doesn't stretch or loosen, I struggle to get them off at the end of session, they have never come of in a crash, and I crash a lot.
I have prescript lens and can't see without them.
Impact rated tinted safety glasses: $ Very reasonable
Short length of 90kg kite cord: $ Bugger all
A couple of drops of rainex: $ Not much
Having a pair of glasses that you don't worry about and never come off: Priceless!
A couple of notes:
- Using a 'rolling hitch' is important! It slides to tighten and wont slide back under tension
- Elastic headbands are just that, elastic. In a crash they can stretch and allow the glasses to slip off into the briney (feel free to ask me how I know this)
- The loop at the end of the cord can be clipped to a small carabiner tied to the zip strap on a wetsuit (I do this but the glasses have not come off yet)
We supply every walk in customer with a piece of kite line larksheaded to the sunny strap, costs nothing and stops them falling off.
Wow, that's so 1970. ^^^
lol.
Personally,
I'm not a big fan of accessorizing when I kite ...
but if you are into this stuff,
buy a pair of floating sunglasses.
Simple.
I bought a floating sunglasses strap
Bolle from BCF. Cost me $12
It's bright red and every time I face plant after rooting up a kiteloop backroll the glasses get torn off my face and float along waiting for me to scoop them up again
Haven't lost them yet but really do hate wearing sunnies on the water
Just makes everything hard to see, dark and covered in water droplets
But gotta protect your eyes I suppose
Is it true we should avoid polarised glasses because you can't judge the surface of the water properly after a jump?
That guy sells the anti g on ebay singly. They come with the neck noose which regardless of breaking strain I wouldn't be putting around my neck for fear of the glasses coming off and getting caught on the bar or lines and needing to eject.