Kaenon Polarized enters New Zealand market

by Kaenon Polarized Media on 3 Nov 2010 An astonishing and loyal following, and track record in the sport of sailing, has been built in a short amount of time by the California-based sunglass brand Kaenon Polarized.

Worn by the best in the sport, and relied upon for visual advantages and protection by many of New Zealand’s top sailors, the must-have sunglass brand is now available in New Zealand through two exclusive dealers: Occhiali Optical with shops in Ponsonby and Newmarket, and http://www.nzsailing.net/kaenon-xidg31629.html!NZSailing.net, who will sell online as well as in their Gulf Harbour location. These exclusive Kiwi stockists were hand selected by the company to exclusively sell the full range of Kaenon Polarized sunglasses in New Zealand. http://www.nzsailing.net/kaenon-xidg31629.html!NZSailing.net is a specialist in the sailing market with a loyal following, and Occhiali Optical specializes in authentic prescription application of Kaenon Polarized SR-91 lenses and complete Rx products.

Now worn by the likes of Russell Coutts, Brad Butterworth, Ray Davies, Jo Aleh, Barbara Kendall, Dan Slater and Peter Burling for superior visual clarity and detail advantages, and performance frame engineering and comfort.

Kaenon Polarized developed superior and unique lens technology with their patented SR-91 polarized lenses that are also impact resistant and light-weight, and sold with purpose-built lens tints and light transmission levels for the performance-driven sailor and boating and beach lifestyle. Kaenon has been onboard the winning America’s Cup boats, Volvo Ocean Race and Olympic Podiums since the brand’s inception nine years ago.

Founded by former US Sailing Team member Steve Rosenberg and his brother Darren (who were both accomplished sailors), they saw a void in the marketplace and filled it by creating Kaenon Polarized: 'Superior Polarized lenses in Performance frames did not exist 10 years ago,' Steve says. A former amateur and professional sailor on the world circuit, Steve worked for Oakley during and after his professional sailing days to develop key business areas and categories for the sunglass company when he realized superior polarized lens technology was overlooked. 'Current materials such as Polycarbonate, that Oakley and many other sport companies use, have significant inhibitors and drawbacks, especially when married with polarization. Polycarbonate is a dirty lens material – it ranks low in terms of clarity – high for impact. But when married with polarization, it’s like oil and water, it’s simply not a good marriage as the amount of distortion and birefringence is high, resulting in poor clarity and accuracy,' he says.

'They’re Magic,' boasts one of the worlds great sailing tacticians and four times America's Cup winner Brad Butterworth.

'The best sunglass on the market,' says Russell Coutts, winner and current holder of the America’s Cup.

'The clarity, detail and comfort of Kaenon Polarized products are unmatched. For someone like me, in my profession, my Kaenon’s might be the single most important tool I take on the water,' says Team New Zealand tactician Ray Davies.

As a former sailor, Rosenberg had two choices in his day, as he describes it.

'Good glass polarized lenses offered the best clarity and polarization to read the breeze and water conditions, but were heavy and would shatter – not good when I was handling the front of the Flying Dutchman during my Olympic attempt or on a 505. Good polycarbonate offered impact resistance – which is mandatory if you appreciate the only two eyes you have – but clarity and sharp detail continues to be weak in polycarbonate, as does polarized efficiency – it’s low and has too much distortion.

A testament to our optical clarity and accuracy of SR-91, is the fact that Kaenon Polarized is the only polarized sunglass used by Major League Baseball players and on the PGA Tour and only polarized product that has won on the PGA Tour, Australian PGA Tour, European PGA Tour and LPGA. SR-91 is a breakthrough product and an entirely new lens material that does not compromise like the others. Glass is sharp and clear, but heavy and will shatter. Polycarbonate is lightweight and impact resistant, but has low clarity and poor polarized efficiency and CR-39 has good durability, light and relatively clear, but will shatter and is not impact resistant. SR-91 is the only lens that offers the clarity of glass, greater impact resistance and tensile strength of polycarbonate, the durability of CR-39, and is the lightest weight polarized lens on the market,' he says.

For those who wear regular prescription glasses SR-91 is also available in prescription.

Frenchman Bertrand Pace, American greats Cam Lewis and Peter Isler all use and rely on Kaenon Polarized prescription products on the water and in their daily lives. The first brand to develop revolutionary free-form – enhanced digital surfacing design and technology – in wrapped, polarized lenses, each of these international sailors rely on Kaenon’s Freestyle Progressive prescription lenses which offer corrected vision with a built-in no-line reader at the bottom, with accuracy to 1/1000th of a diopter (optical speak for extremely accurate power correction).

Kaenon Polarized prescription products are offered in New Zealand exclusively through Occhiali Optical in Auckland, with two locations – one in Ponsonby the other in Newmarket.

Mike Pasco, proprietor of http://www.nzsailing.net/kaenon-xidg31629.html!NZSailing.net offers Kaenon Polarized online. As a sailing equipment specialist, http://www.nzsailing.net/kaenon-xidg31629.html!NZSailing.net is stocking a wide range of Kaenon Polarized products that all sailors will appreciate and enjoy, men, women and youth, online and at his Gulf Harbour store location. He’ll also be bringing Kaenon Polarized products to the wide array of events his company partners with.