Hiking is a great way to exercise, challenge yourself, or enjoy time with friends and family. Whether you prefer casual day hikes with your dog at the local greenway, or scaling high-altitude terrain with nothing but your wits and your backpack, our list of the Best Hiking Sunglasses includes the top options in frames to shield your eyes from UV light and provide obstruction-free views.
Different trails require different types of gear. While your fashion-forward designer sunglasses are perfectly suitable for easy daytime outings with friends, the impassioned adventurer needs activity-specific sunglasses with boosted eye protection for hiking, trekking, or backpacking. For lower altitude hikes, a pair of lightweight shades in a sleek, wrapped profile offers superior eye protection from sunlight at the periphery. For glacier hiking or mountaineering, choose sunglasses with side shields and rounded rims for optimal coverage from blowing snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. Wherever you hike, sunglasses are essential to help you see clearly and avoid damage to your eyes from the sun’s rays.
The Best Hiking Sunglasses of the Year:
Maui Jim is celebrated for making high-quality sunglasses that look good and provide award-winning protection from harmful UV rays. The Maui Jim Seacliff 831 sunglasses exemplify both of these qualities, making them an easy pick for the Best Hiking Sunglasses. These aviator-style frames are crafted in lightweight metal for durability, and the plastic-coated temple tips curve inward for optimal comfort behind the ears. Maui Jim’s proprietary lens technology offers ultra-clear, distortion-free views so you can take in every bit of the scenery.
We love Oakley for a lot of reasons, chief among them the performance technology they use in ultra-lightweight and durable shades to suit any sport and activity. The Oakley Turbine is our choice for the Best Polarized Sunglasses for Hiking, thanks to lens options that include Oakley’s Twin Toric technology in HDO™, Polarized, and Iridium™ lenses. Each lens type provides enhanced glare reduction in bright, sunny conditions, and improves contrast. When you head out to the trail, opt for the Oakley Turbine and enjoy a wide, crystal clear viewing field.
With their sleek, wraparound profile and streamlined semi-rimless design, the Nike Skylon ACE sunglasses are a durable, reliable pair of sunglasses at a price point that won’t break the bank. Our choice for the Best Hiking Sunglasses Under $100 features a lightweight performance plastic construction, with temples that contour around the head and widen slightly at the rounded tips for elevated comfort. Whether you’re scaling a steep mountain path, or sticking to flatter terrain, the Nike Skylon sunglasses will protect the health of your eyes in style.
Tackling a fourteener is not for the faint of heart, but if you’re the type to scale high mountains, your sunglasses need to be as ready for the elements as you are. The Oakley Clifden sunglasses are specifically designed for the unpredictable and often windy conditions on mountains, making them our choice for the Best Sunglasses for Hiking at High Altitudes. The mountaineering-style rounded frames feature convenient, vented side shields to block wind and flying debris, and the comfortable head strap adjusts easily for a secure fit. Head to the highest heights wearing these durable sunglasses from Oakley.
Taking on a glacier is only for the especially intrepid adventurer, but the Revo Traverse sunglasses are engineered to help you see every inch of the climb clearly. Our pick for the Best Glacier Sunglasses, the Traverse boasts the silhouette of classic mountaineering glasses without the extra bulk for optimal comfort. The frames come standard with NASA-based polarized lens technology for reduced glare and increased contrast, and the leather side shields provide protection from the wind and snow. Take to the ice confident in the safety of your eyes wearing the Traverse sunglasses from Revo.
We understand sunglasses for days spent in the open wilderness need to be as tough as you are, which is why we chose the Wiley X WX Helix sunglasses as the Best Sunglasses for Trekking. These universally flattering rectangular shades feature a slightly wrapped profile in close-fitting frames that offer optimal protection from sunlight at the periphery. The lightweight performance plastic construction and shatterproof lenses meet or exceed the ANSI safety ratings for high-speed impact resistance, and the slick shark fin temples add an air of retro-chic cool. Look and feel your best on your next long day trek wearing the WX Helix sunglasses from Wiley X.
Backpackers need lightweight, durable gear that compresses easily and doesn’t take up too much space. We chose the Ray-Ban Justin sunglasses as the Best Sunglasses for Backpacking for their sleek, Wayfarer-style profile and hypoallergenic propionate construction engineered to endure the mishaps of days on the trail. Protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful UV rays and look great doing it wearing these fashionable sunglasses from Ray-Ban.