BOTH lenses are polarized. The Hi Amber is polarized and a Hi-intensity lens. They are both good all purpose lenses, with the VR28 giving you more natural colors but still with increased contrast. I have the Hi-Amber polarized in a pair of Crowbars now, and sometimes they are almost too much: The colors are intense and things really POP out of the snow-scape. They look killer, though, if that is something you are after. They can be very good when the light is low but variable and I like them in the trees. One thing to check out is the Lens simulator on the Oakley site, which will give you an idea of what the slopes look like out of the different lenses. Bring on the snow...

The Hi Lenses and the Polarized lenses are both treated to cut glare. Obviously, the Polarized will do the job better, but the transmission is higher on the Amber lens. My preference is the Hi Amber, but if possible, take a trip to your local Oakley "Vault" or distributer and get a hands on feel for both lenses.

They are both a good lens, but it kind of depends what youre looking for. The VR28 polarized is 14% visual light transmission while the HI Amber is 25% VLT, so similar, but obviously the VR28 is going to be darker overall.