Hang gliding and paragliding sunglasses need to be very tough, lightweight, wrap-around and optically superior to ensure you enjoy superb levels of clarity and definition when in the air. Rapid Eyewear's Mile High and Alpine ranges of sunglasses offer all of these attributes, plus a choice of options that ensures there will be something to suit you.

If you want a range of tints for different light conditions, choose a pair from the Mile High range, which are supplied with no less than four sets of lenses as standard, plus a carry case, head securing strap and cleaning cloth. Each pair includes our famous light-enhancing set for dull days, or early morning / early evening use.

Photo: Dave Mathews and Bruce Kavanagh of the British Hang Gliding team

Both Aspen and Moritz benefit from removable foam / rubber inserts, which provide extra lenses of wind and light blockage from the peripheries of your vision - Moritz, Aspen and Falera all have vented lenses, giving them an anti-fogging capability. If you're worried about head security, check out the removable side-arms on Moritz, which can be replaced by a retainer strap.

Note: All of the sunglasses shown here are comfortable beneath a helmet.

If you need prescription paragliding sunglasses, choose Aviate from the Mile High range or, for polarised lenses plus a completely clear option (which still blocks 100% UVA / UVB), select Pro Performance Plus. We will be happy to add your prescription lenses at a modest extra cost - see individual product pages for more details.

Altius sunglasses are suitable for any strength of prescription, but please make sure you provide an accurate PD for greater strengths (for information on PD, see below).

NEAR ADD

This is the distance between the centres of your eye pupils, as measured across the front of your glasses. PD is measured in millimetres, and will usually be in the range of 58mm - 70mm. 

Although your PD is measured as part of a standard eye test, it is rare for opticians to put it on the printed prescription they give you. Opticians will often withhold the PD in order to discourage customers from buying eyewear elsewhere. Because the PD is not considered to be part of a basic dispensed eye test, opticians in the UK are not obliged to reveal your PD on demand (if you are not in the UK, your local laws may vary).

If you do not know your PD and your optician will not give you the information, you can easily measure it yourself. with your regular glasses on, ask someone to hold a ruler across your glasses and measure the distance off, in millimetres, from eye pupil centre to eye pupil centre. Don't worry about accuracy too much as an error of a millimetre or two will not make much difference.

If you have a fairly small prescription requirement, i.e. under plus or minus 2.00, the PD has a very wide tolerance of up to 8mm. It is more important for us to know your PD if you have a stronger requirement. If your prescription is very small, you don't know your PD and you do not have anyone to help measure it, do not worry - we will set the PD at the national average of 63mm and it will work in the vast majority of cases.

WHAT IF MY PRESCRIPTION DOESN'T WORK?

In most cases, even when a PD has not been submitted, we will be happy to fix any problems free of charge. It is our view that opticians are wrong to withhold the PD from loyal customers, and so we will always fix matters free of charge when we can.

Problems with our prescription eyewear are extremely rare, and are getting rarer! In the last year, less than 2% of all prescription sunglasses we made had problems.

MY PRESCRIPTION IS JUST OUTSIDE 4.5 - CAN YOU DO IT?

We often get asked and our answer is that we'll do it at your risk. What this means is, if we make them and they do not work, we will only provide a partial refund. This is to ensure we can cover our costs of paying the lab to effect the optical work. The refund will vary depending on the cost of work carried out, but as an example, for a single-vision pair of Rx sunglasses you will lose around £23.00.

We will only allow the above if the prescription is very close to our suggested limits, and the customer PD is not greater than 68mm.

WHY DON'T YOU OFFER VARIFOCALS (PROGRESSIVES)?

In order to make progressive lenses, the exact vertical centre of your eye pupil needs to be marked on the lens. In other words, you would have to put on the sunglasses you buy from us and then have someone put a mark on the blank lens at the point that corresponds with your pupil centre. Obviously this is a process which cannot be carried out remotely, hence we do not offer the service.

CAN MY OWN OPTICIAN MAKE THESE INTO VARIFOCALS?

The simple answer is 'yes.' If you feel you really varifocal (progressive) lenses, buy the glasses only and take them to your optician, who should be able to help.

MY OPTICIAN DOESN'T WANT TO DO THE WORK

Then go somewhere else. there is absolutely no reason why a reputable optician should refuse to add your prescription lenses to our eyewear.

One thing to look out for - opticians and optical labs often use alcohol-based cleaners (e.g. Solution 30) to finish lenses. Such cleaners will damage and crack a plastic insert. If you buy the glasses only and take them to your optician, please make a point of asking them not to use an alcohol cleaner.