There are three fundamental personal items that smart sailors don’t leave the dock without on race days: sunblock, a watch and shades. And even on cloudy days, it’s the shades that matter most. While everyone has their preferred sunglass brand, fit and style, it is impossible to argue that lens quality is the most important element. One person who knows this well is sailor and entrepreneur Ron Rosenberg, who created and launched Kaenon years ago. Kaenon, at the pricey end of the shelf but amazing to the eyes, quickly became the choice brand of top sailors who appreciate comfort, clarity and the ability to see textures (wind patterns) on the water.
Fast forward to present. Rosenberg and his son Jacob (who founded the lens replacement company Tajima Direct) have teamed up to launch a new brand called Basn5. When Rosenberg reached out to offer a demo pair, we happily obliged, so he sent a few pairs to put before the eyes of our sailors at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in Annapolis. Everyone gave them resounding praise.
A few facts, provided by Rosenberg, before we proceed: The lenses are Tajima Polarized Lens Technology, invented by Rosenberg. They are available in prescription. “This is our main calling card and understood to be the finest polarized lens tech in the world,” he tells us.
On the first day of racing in Annapolis, I was driving the media RIB for event photographer Walter Cooper. It was a bluebird sort of Spring day and the yellow lens tint on my demos made every spinnaker color pop. Even white Dacron sails were electric. All day long, I never once found myself squinting. Everything was easy on my eyes. The frames were nice and light, to point that I forgot I was wearing them. All I could think was, man the colors today are just stunning. The following day, I wore a larger frame style with silver tinted lens and while my world was less technicolor, they were equally comfortable. The pair had a much larger frame style, which my colleagues hinted was “not my look,” as they are for larger, rounder faces. I preferred the smaller frame style, which provided plenty of coverage.
The frames, Rosenberg says, are a “completely new material and advanced construction technology. They are, he adds, “extremely durable.” This is the result of decades in the eyewear biz and seeing what and where sunglasses typically fail. The biggest pain point is the hinge. For Basn5, the stacked hinge is “the invention.”
It’s being patented, Rosenberg says, and the engineering is all about structural integrity. “The arms snap open and snap closed. No floppy arms, no falling apart, or loose or lost screws falling out. We reimagined modern sunglasses, in classic contemporary styles and stripped away all the failure points down to essentials. No decoration, no crap. It’s all about fit, function and performance for on the water.”
We loved them, but there’s only way to find out for yourself. Check ‘em out.
