Rowers have a requirement for lightweight, wrap-around sport sunglasses that are tough enough to withstand all that can be thrown at them on the water. The lenses need 100% UVA / UVB protection and should either be polarised or have a mirror finish to reduce glare on the water, whilst increasing definition in the rower's view at the same time. Rapid Eyewear sunglasses can meet the demands of the most rigorous rowing conditions.

Photo: Durham University Eight in action at the 2012 Henley Regatta, where they finished as the leading British crew

Every pair of Rapid Eyewear rowing sunglasses comes supplied with a head securing strap, sturdy carry case and lint-free cleaning cloth. Use light-enhancing lenses for dull days, or early morning / late evening work-outs; beige polarised lenses for hazy, light cloud or intermittent sunshine; grey mirror for bright, sunny days.

If you are worried your sunglasses might get into the water and sink without trace, consider the pair called Float - the description says it all!

For prescription rowing sunglasses, choose Pro Performance.

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.