Review: Barz Optics Sunglass Prescrption Goggles

I've known that I've needed glasses since I was about 15, and have had a variety since then. I've also lived in some very sunny and bright places, like Dubai, Calgary, Melbourne to name a few and I've had to either choose squinting because of glare, or squinting because I'm a touch short sighted. I tried contact lenses a few years back, but reacted badly and came down with conjunctivitis rather badly, and haven't been game since. I'd rather see badly than not at all... They are also inconvenient when it comes to being out and about, occasionally submerged and generally annoying. I eventually decided that what I needed was prescription sunglasses and shopped around.  I looked at several of the brands that one sees professional rugged and bad-ass people wearing, but whilst doing my market research, I came across and Australian company whos products took my fancy.
These are my Barz ARFA goggle-sunglasses.
Originally designed for surfers, they are billed as being fit for a variety of extreme sports, watersports, and industrial use. Rather than having arms like traditional sunglasses, they are goggles, with a elastic strap feeding through eyelets and adjusting at each temple. I can't tell you how many times I have come across snapped off arms of glasses, or had my head smacked and lost my regular glasses. No such issue with goggles! Barz offers a range of frame and lens colours, allowing you to customize the finish in quite a combination of ways.

 They also offer several lens filtering options such as polarization, photochromatic and bifocal prescription as well as single focal prescription lenses. I oped for a black frame, amber lenses and prescription polarized lenses and have never looked back! Not only can I now see in the bright outdoors, but with the added bonus of polarisation, I can see things in a whole new light, so to speak. These are my go-to glasses when ever having to do powertool or spray assisted yard work, whether it is whipper-snippering, chainsawing or metal cutting.

The gasket fitting keeps chips and spray out of my eyes so I can keep watching what I am doing. I've also had great use for these whilst doing burning off, as they also greatly reduce the smoke and heat-glare that would otherwise inhibit my ability to see. This was of great concern whilst the Black Saturday bushfires were raging, and I was living in the forested mountains, and on high alert. Recreationally, I've worn these whilst running around the bush, camping and driving around with the windows down to great success. The UV400 treatment of the lenses fills me with confidence.

One very cool feature that I have not yet had the chance to test out is that the eye gaskets can be swapped out from the vented ones seen here, to a solid ring, to give a water-tight swim-goggle seal. The reason I've not done so is that whilst not only are the gaskets but also the nose bridge user-modifiable (three options for the nose) but the gaskets are a very fiddly modification, and I have had a lot of trouble in hot, still conditions with the goggles steaming up, something I'd rather not make worse. The manufacture is very solid, with great life so far on all parts. I sat on them once and broke one nose-bridge but they have survived considerable abuse in my care.