Author Topic: Sunglasses (Read 6093 times)

Nick1911 · « **on:** March 16, 2012, 02:32:21 PM »

It has recently come to my attention that people often pay upwards of $200-$300 for non-perscription sunglasses.

Personally, I wear sunglasses from walmart, they rarely set me back more then $20.

What do you wear, and why? Thoughts on the matter?

Viking · « **Reply #1 on:** March 16, 2012, 02:37:33 PM »

None at the moment. Used to have a pair of Ray Bans that cost me the equivalent of...$80-90 at the time. Then I lost them when I was drunk, bought a new pair for $50. Considering a pair of Julbo Sherpa mountain glasses for my next pair.

Nick1911 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 16, 2012, 02:43:37 PM »

Side note: It looks like we've already had this conversation.
http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=17612.0

Fail on me for not searching.

dogmush · « **Reply #3 on:** March 16, 2012, 03:14:41 PM »

My eyes are very sensitive to UV, and brightness, and I live in FL. And drive boats for a living. So I have sunglasses on my face 10 or so hours a day, all day, every day. I need my glasses to be comfortable, tough, wrap my face and actually block all the UV light. In addition to that I prefer polorized.

Much like scopes, camera's and every other kind of optic you get what you pay for with sunglasses lenses.If you want actually opticlly clear lenses, with coatings that don't peel off, stop all UV and are mounted in comfortable and rugged frames you have to pay for them. I went through literally scores of those cheap sunglasses before I sucked it up and bought good ones, and the difference in comfort and useability is night and day. They're just not really comparable.

That said, if your eyes and environment are such that you don't need good lenses, rock on you can spend that money on other things. But for some of us good eyewear is as much or more an everyday use tool as my knife, or car.

I wear a pair of Maui Jim's that I paid $265 for unless I'm in uniform, then I wear a pair of US Standard Issue Oakleys that set me back $125. The Maui Jim's are indeed twice the glasses the Oakley's are.

ETA:
These are my Go-To sunglasses Hands down the best pair I've ever worn.

wmenorr67 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 16, 2012, 03:28:21 PM »

Oakleys for US Standard Issue, Polarized Half Jackets.

All the time.

41magsnub · « **Reply #5 on:** March 16, 2012, 03:52:05 PM »

Relevent to my interests kinda... eye Dr appointment this afternoon to get an updated prescription before I push the button on some fancy sun glasses. Haven't decided on what yet. I'm tough to fit since my head is ginormous.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #6 on:** March 16, 2012, 04:13:10 PM »

These are just about perfect:

Available at most hardware stores (probably Walmart and Kmart, too), for about 8 bucks. Lightweight,* so you can shove them up on top of your head and forget about them, or hang them from the front of your shirt, or put them in a shirt pocket. Plastic hinge lasts forever (may need to tighten the screw occasionally). Plus, they are safety glasses for working or shooting.

I never buy glasses with metal hinges. They tend to be flimsy and get twisted or broken. Plastic hinges molded in to the frame, with a metal screw, are ideal.

*I tried some $20 dollar sun/safety glasses a while ago. They had butch-looking frames, but they were heavy and slid down onto my eyes or out of my pocket. Light is right.

Scout26 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 16, 2012, 04:15:31 PM »

I might break down and get some when I go get my eyes examined. They've gotten really bad. To the point I have to wear cheaters to read and play on the computer. I blame ~~getting old~~, ~~Chemo~~, Fistful.

vaskidmark · « **Reply #8 on:** March 16, 2012, 05:08:29 PM »

I'm about to poke around it what used to be my wallet to see about a pair of Rx sunglasses - they'll need to be UVA-UVB/polarized and bifocal.

I'm already toting one set for regular vision + another for reading, and those big clunky things that go over your regular glasses for sun protection.

Carrying three sets of eyes, let alone juggling them every time I look down as opposed to up/outwards, is for the birds!

The eye doc says presbymyopia but I've never been a religion-joining person so I think he's full of it.

stay safe.

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #9 on:** March 16, 2012, 05:26:17 PM »

I usually don't wear sunglasses. When for some reason I need to wear them while driving, I have some old aviator-style dark ones.

For motorcycle riding, it's very difficult for me to find a pair that don't distort, and fit such that I don't get any wind in my eyes. I don't like spending a lot, so I'll spend a lot of time going to motorcycle shops to find the right ones. Then I make sure they last.

If it turns out that contact lenses won't work for me for riding, I'll have to spend $$$$ on prescription wrap-around sunglasses.

Lee · « **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2012, 05:41:33 PM »

Oakley polarized half- jackets. On my second pair...going on 10 years probably. I laid the first pair down somewhere and never found them. Won't happen again. There's generally nothing I dislike about them. A little warm on the face sometimes, but that's OK because I wear them all year. The clarity of the lens is great, with less eye/vision fatigue IMO. Very good wind protection and they are tough as nails.

birdman · « **Reply #11 on:** March 16, 2012, 05:49:04 PM »

Quote from: Lee on March 16, 2012, 05:41:33 PM

Oakley polarized half- jackets. On my second pair...going on 10 years probably. I laid the first pair down somewhere and never found them. Won't happen again. There's generally nothing I dislike about them. A little warm on the face sometimes, but that's OK because I wear them all year. The clarity of the lens is great, with less eye/vision fatigue IMO. Very good wind protection and they are tough as nails.

Polarized Oakley titanium square whiskers....5yrs now.
Zero distortion, stylish, comfortable, and strong as hell.

Twycross · « **Reply #12 on:** March 16, 2012, 06:40:18 PM »

For several years I wore a set of unknown brand that I picked up in a Walmart for 6.99, and they worked fine. I've recently upgraded to Oakley polarized flak jackets, and it's a significant improvement, though I'm not sure if it's worth the price difference.

Scout26 · « **Reply #13 on:** March 16, 2012, 07:02:38 PM »

Quote from: vaskidmark on March 16, 2012, 05:08:29 PM

The eye doc says presbymyopia but I've never been a religion-joining person so I think he's full of it.

stay safe.

Sure it wasn"t rectalocularmyoypia that he said?

MechAg94 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 16, 2012, 07:14:17 PM »

As soon as I finished the next day follow up appointment for my Lasik surgery, I stopped at Bass Pro Shops and got some polarized fishing glasses, Sea Shark or something like that for about $20 or $30. They work great IMO and fit decent enough though the polarization makes it hard to read the in-dash navigation sometimes.

Having worn glasses for years, I find I really hate the idea of wearing sunglasses that look or fit like regular glasses and I find I really like them to wrap around the sides a bit.

BlueStarLizzard · « **Reply #15 on:** March 16, 2012, 07:53:40 PM »

Four sets, two I wear regularly.

One is a set of cheap, fashion avaiters I picked up at Rugged Wearhouse a couple years ago. They are small and actually fit me, which regular avaiters don't.

The other pair is a $200 doller pair of polerized Oakleys I got 8 years ago for skiing. They didn't work out so great, because there wire frames and wind cuts behind the lenses and I tear up. Ended up wearing my Spyder googles all the time, instead.
I do like them and they have lasted pretty well, despite abuse. The only real wear and tare has been some scratches on the lens and the rubbery stuff on the earpeices has gotten a little funky.

I don't really notice a diffrence in visual acuity from one pair verses the other, but I will say the oakleys are still going strong and the fashion things are about ready to die...

BlueStarLizzard · « **Reply #16 on:** March 16, 2012, 07:55:30 PM »

On a side note, still eyegear but googles instead of sunglasses: BIG diffrence between cheap scott googles and a good set like my spyders.

Boomhauer · « **Reply #17 on:** March 16, 2012, 08:00:33 PM »

I've never found a pair in the cheap section at the store that fit decent.

Quality eyewear is worth the money. Notice I said quality, not necessarily price. Oakleys are good. Revision is also good. Personally I wear Revision Sawflys for sunglasses and eyepro. They fit well, don't squeeze my head, and take one hell of a beating. Very strong lenses, too.

230RN · « **Reply #18 on:** March 16, 2012, 09:55:33 PM »

Several of the cheapest I can get, except for one brown-tinged polarized pair which I keep for special circumstances, like snow-covered clear sunlit days for when I know I'm going to be driving into the sun.

This, 'cause I lose them off the roof of the car or step on them or sit on them or they disappear for their own nefarious reasons.

I wear a billed cap a lot, too.

Fly320s · « **Reply #19 on:** March 16, 2012, 10:00:46 PM »

I wear non-polarized Oakley Half Jackets at work. I have a polarized pair for off work as well as Native for range use.

French G. · « **Reply #20 on:** March 16, 2012, 10:19:08 PM »

Well, I'm on a $25 Bass pro shops set now. I have had two priceier pairs, set of low end Oakleys that I got at a Christmas party, left at a beach house I think, but given the other pairs my dog stole from my car and ate, not sure. Had a set of switch lens Rudy Project that I bought at a shooting match for shooting, really nice glasses, destroyed them from use. I'll probably get another nice set when I can afford them. On the other end I wear safety glasses everyday and shooting, Wal-mart, $4, throw away at the first scratch. I like good UV protection even in the clear since I have proven that whether from reflection or something my $350 welding helmet does not block all UV, had quite the red face excpet the glasses area after a round of heavy duty welding. Of course the long T-shirt that is fine for light TIG work did not think much of 26 volts worth of MIG either, burned man boobs, ow.

cosine · « **Reply #21 on:** March 16, 2012, 10:58:49 PM »

Inexpensive sunglasses give me a headache. I don't wear glasses, and actually don't know how my eyes are, but I've always had trouble with inexpensive sunglasses (I also sometimes get a headache when wearing cheap safety glasses)

http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=32173.0

I was looking at more expensive sunglasses last year, with the hope that buying some of a bit higher quality would be easier to wear for a long period of time. I spent a couple of weeks going to the mall and looking at Ray-Ban and Oakley but didn't find anything I really liked. I ordered a pair of ESS 5B sunglasses in November and have been wearing them without any problems. What convinced me was they didn't have the $200 price tag of Oakleys or Ray-Bans, and they had all the features I was looking for: impact rating, polarization, and a case.

Boomhauer · « **Reply #22 on:** March 16, 2012, 11:01:58 PM »

"Inexpensive sunglasses give me a headache"

That's another thing. Really cheap glasses often have optical distortion. It might not be immediatly noticable but you'll probably end up feeling it later. The more expensive glasses are optically correct.

zahc · « **Reply #23 on:** March 17, 2012, 12:30:28 AM »

I consider myself picky with sunglasses, but there are some excellent safety glasses out there that are lightweight with low distortion in the 10-dollar range. Stihl has some.

I agree there is a big difference between wearing sunglasses occasionally/sporadically and wearing them all day/every day. I used to work at a marina and sunglasses can be a pretty big deal.

Also, I specifically prefer non-polarized glasses unless I am specifically trying to see through windshields or waterglare (like for bedding bass etc.). Polarizing glasses are a detriment for general use IMO.

erictank · « **Reply #24 on:** March 17, 2012, 05:03:13 AM »

Quote from: Avenger29 on March 16, 2012, 11:01:58 PM

"Inexpensive sunglasses give me a headache"

That's another thing. Really cheap glasses often have optical distortion. It might not be immediatly noticable but you'll probably end up feeling it later. The more expensive glasses are optically correct.

This.

Plus, I used to lose the cheap sunglasses all the time, in a year or less from date of purchase.

I've had my $300 Oakleys (X-Metal, and I'm pretty sure the lenses are polarized) for over 10 years now. Lightweight, wraparound, they look good, and they don't give me headaches. Put it all together, and they're WELL worth the price.

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Author Topic: Sunglasses (Read 6093 times)