Test If Sunglasses Are Polarized: Simple DIY Trick

🧪 How to Test If Your Sunglasses Are Truly Polarized (Simple DIY Trick)

Ever bought sunglasses labeled “polarized” and wondered if they really are? This quick DIY test shows you how to check in seconds. And here’s the real kicker—if you play pickleball, you probably don’t want them to be polarized anyway.

At Blinded Wear Co., we design high-performance non-polarized pickleball sunglasses on purpose—for reasons that most players don’t even know about (yet).

👀 First: What Is Polarization, Anyway?

Polarized lenses are built to filter out horizontal light waves, which reduces glare from flat surfaces like water, snow, and glass. They're awesome for boating, fishing, and driving.

But on a pickleball court, they can actually cause more harm than good.

🏓 Why Polarized Lenses Can Hurt Your Pickleball Game

Here’s the truth: Polarized sunglasses can mess with your depth perception.

That’s a big deal in a sport like pickleball, where tracking a fast-moving ball with millisecond precision is everything. Polarized lenses can:

  • Flatten visual contrast on the court

  • Make it harder to gauge the ball’s speed and distance

  • Interfere with how quickly your eyes adjust to lighting changes

  • Dim your view of textured surfaces (like the net or court seams)

That’s why we intentionally don’t use polarization in our pickleball sunglasses. Our focus is on clear, undistorted, high-contrast vision for real-game conditions.

Want more on how lighting impacts your game?
👉 How Glare Affects Your Pickleball Game (and the Solution)

🔬 How to Test If Your Sunglasses Are Polarized

Want to test your current sunglasses? All you need is a digital screen.

✅ The DIY Test:

  1. Open a phone, tablet, or LCD monitor.

  2. Hold the sunglasses in front of the screen.

  3. Rotate the sunglasses 90° (from horizontal to vertical).

👓 If the lens darkens or blacks out = they’re polarized.

If nothing happens = they’re not.

Try it with two sunglasses facing each other for an even clearer result. If one lens goes dark when turned, it’s polarized.

👌 Why We Skip Polarized—and What We Use Instead

We build sport-specific sunglasses for pickleball. That means:

  • No polarization to keep depth perception sharp

  • Full UV400 protection to block 100% of UVA/UVB rays

  • Anti-fog coatings to stay clear when you heat up

  • Impact-resistant lenses for safety

  • Secure, wraparound frames that don’t slip mid-rally

  • Options for low-light and outdoor conditions

Check out our most popular pair:
👉 Rippled X Pickleball Sunglasses – Shatterproof, UV-Protected Eyewear

🧠 TL;DR: Polarized ≠ Performance

  • Polarized lenses cut glare—but also distort depth

  • That’s bad news in a fast-paced sport like pickleball

  • Instead, focus on UV protection, clarity, and fit

  • All Blinded Wear Co. sunglasses are non-polarized by design, built for performance—not marketing hype

Need help avoiding eyewear buying traps?
👉 7 Things to Avoid When Shopping for Pickleball Eyewear

🛍️ Ready to See the Game Clearly?

🎯 Shop non-polarized sunglasses built for pickleball →

🔗 Must-Reads for Serious Players

Blinded Wear Co.
Built for performance. Backed by science. Designed for the win.

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