I'm looking for some really DARK sunglasses to take to Africa with me and to wear on other trips where I'm in very sunny places. I find that in really bright/strong sunlight I end up squinting even with my current sunglasses on (especially noticed this in Australia last year). I've tried lots of different kinds (Maui Jim, Ray-ban, Revo, Bolle) but none of them are dark enough for me. Does anyone have any suggestions? How they look is less important to me than how much sunlight they block.

I have only owned two pairs of sunglasses for the past 12-14 years. Both pair were purchased at an eyeglass store (pearle, eyemasters, walmart).

The first pair I had tinted for sunglasses without prescription to wear with contacts. The second pair have prescription.

You can buy any frame that fits your face/head/ears well and have the lenses tinted as dark as you need. I recently got the second pair in time for my trip to South Africa. They are Ray-Ban and they are very dark and fit perfectly! The style I chose are not the small fashionable frames - more the bigger kind of retro-Jackie-O style frames which keep out more of the sunlight.

In a similar frame (pun intended) of mind, would it be best to take a beat-up pair of sunglasses, or a quality pair? I've found that in some circumstances it's better to bring a cheap pair that won't be missed if they're lost or fall into a body of water. But since we'll be traveling by car most of the time (East Africa in the summer), is it best to err on the side of quality?

hlphillips2 -- In my experience this is a no-win situation. Every single time I've brought expensive sunglasses on vacation I've lost them despite best efforts. When I bring the cheapos they always make it home just fine. Same with umbrellas.

Lisa, we seem to have the same karma!
You mentioned Bolle, but I wonder if sunglesses for skiing might work better for you since they wrap around. My experience has been that darker tints are usually readily available in ski shops.

Or sundowner's suggestion of the custom route, since you can dictate the darkness of the tint.

I use one of the string things around your neck on the ski slopes or at the beach. Haven't lost them yet (knock on wood).

Almost lost my new pair on safari because I wasn't using the string thing and slipped the ear piece in the neck of my shirt. In all the excitement of sneaking up on a flock of vultures they fell off. My guide, Rod, picked them up for me but ended up losing them again. I didn't know until the next morning that he lost them. We drove over to where we had been and backtracked until we found them. Lucky!

As long as you don't need prescription lenses, I agree, go with a cheap pair and these can be as dark as you're comfortable with.

If for some reason you actually need glasses to "see" and don't want to spend for prescription sunglasses, try the "magnifying" ones available in drug stores, walmart, target, etc. Get in the magnification that will allow you to see - and they do have them in tinted sunglass colors - some darker than others.

Since I'm not likely to be reading alot while on holiday, I only take these inexpensive "magnified" glasses, 1-pair each clear and sunglass tinted and they suit me fine for this short period.

I just picked up my new prescription sunglasses and had requested when they do the tint that they aim for as dark as they could possibly achieve.

They are DARK!

I would imagine they could create custom tinted lenses for you with a blank prescription, as it were, if you wanted to wear them with contacts?