Sunglasses--$200+?
 

I just saw a GCN video on Oakley sunglasses. I can't imagine a pair of sunglasses that are worth $200 or more. What am I missing?

I don't know but my wife swears by some Kate Spade sunglasses that are around $200. She buys a pair and it lasts her 5 years. I buy glasses for $10-20 and probably go through 5 pairs per year so I'm probably the idiot

I really don't get it either. There are PLENTY of options under $50. On a segment of the Today Show, NBC did a funny "study." They had models wear $20 sunglasses and the ridiculously expensive sunglasses... and did man-on-the-street interviews to see which ones people thought were nicer. The $20 glasses won. They also tested them in a lab to see if there were any functional benefits. Nope. Well, if you're selling them, the extra $$$ has a function of improving your margins.

All that to say, I love my $9,000 bike... that I need.

The admiration of total strangers.

Bought digital prescription wrap around Oakley Flak 2.0 XL Prizum Road + spare clear lenses for cycling. Lenses easily change out so are useful both day & night.
I'm surprised with superior clarity all the way to the edges, and for some reason a greater depth of perception than any other glasses I've owned. Maybe it is the digital thing?


See avator

Oakleys are excellent optically and they have fantastic product support.

That said, I'd never pay more than $20 for any pair of sunglasses after my dog destroyed my ray bans. Currently using $18 knock-off POCs on the bike and I can't imagine anything about them that could be improved.

Probably nothing.

I've actually found all of the pricey sunglasses I've used to be functionally disappointing. The lenses are usually hard to clean, scratch easily, and fog readily. And the frames overly rely on static friction rather than geometry to secure the glasses to your head, making them more abrasive than the cheap stuff.

My favorite sunglasses have been in the $12-$25 range.

I always buy mine at gas stations for like $5 and they last years. I replace as needed. I've never seen the appeal of of expensive shades.

I did just get a $50 pair, my company has a Appreciation program and someone gave me points, so I got a decent pair that retails for ~$50 for free. They are no worse nor better than the gas stations ones, although they have a nice case.

Depends on your face and your needs. Some people can get by with anything.

I have wide-set eye-sockets that are fairly deep. To get glasses that block the wind enough to keep my eyes from tearing up in fall/winter cycling is impossible without spending money....the only ones I've found that do the job well are Oakley Windjackets. As with anything expensive and damageable, have to baby them. They also are optically far better than Ali Express jobs. I couldn't find anything cheaper that did the job on Amazon. Tried a few El Cheapos off Ali, and optically they weren't great, and the coverage wasn't there.


Sucks supporting Luxottica, but I don't really have a choice for eyeware that works well for the job.

Maybe impact resistance?

I've had some Smiths and Tifosis, but neither kept the contact lenses from peeling off my eyes on a fast downhill. So agreed that it depends on the size and shape of your face, but I'm not sure you have to spend a ton. I got a couple pairs of dark safety glasses from Lowe's for about $8 and they work great. They fit close enough to keep most of the wind off my eyes but still allow enough air in to keep from fogging up on a cold day. The ones I got were frameless, which was nice, since you don't need to look over or under the top of the frame when you're in the drops. I got them for some crits about 10 years ago and have been using them since. I've been written up a couple of times by the fashion police, but those are pretty cheap tickets compared to a pair of Oakleys.

Go to Lowe's or Home Depot or whatever, try a bunch on and see what might work for you.

Overblown threat, IMO. I've crashed in fake/cheap sunglasses multiple times without suffering any facial injuries. I can see how a direct impact like the one in that article would result in greater injuries, but the odds of that are slim enough that I'm completely comfortable not paying 10x the price for high end glasses and just accepting that risk.

Already did... The best I found were Mike Holmes branded safety sunglasses... But they were barely bigger than any of the other offerings at that price point.

The Windjackets are actually classified as snow goggles in size terms... Which is actually on point. I have some snow goggles around for night winter commuting use and the lens is about comparable

I use either some Tifosi photochromatic glasses or my everyday Maui Jims and they are just fine. FWIW, although my Maui Jims are quite expensive, my optometrist got them for me at his cost ($75) so they were reasonable for me.

A faceplant on any type of sunglasses even with APEL designation is not going to prevent facial injuries. The purpose of the (safety)sunglasses besides sun protection and seeing better, is to keep projectiles from penetrating the lenses and perhaps saving sight. I've seen soldiers with facial injuries caused by their sunglasses from a HUMVEE roll over and those whose eyesight were spared from an IED.

I don't know if there will be any type of projectile that head towards your face on a bike ride (aside from road debris and the occassional loogie from sucking wheel), but if there are and they have enough force to penetrate, I believe you may have bigger things to worry about.

When I was younger I wore Ray-Bans. Now that I (hopefully) know better I wear Foster Grants.

If marketing/advertising didn't work, corporations would't spend billions and billions every year on advertising.

How are you just now figuring out that Oakleys are expensive?

I've got some exciting news for you about the Berlin Wall, if that's the case.

I find that $8 to $15 safety glasses work just fine for me. I bought a set of three, ANSI certified, UVA/B blocking, polycarbonate safety glasses for less than $20 for the set. They look just as good as 90% of the wrap around sunglasses I see other riders wearing and better than some. I have three tints, dark smoke, dark amber and yellow so I'm covered in pretty much any condition. They are sold as being scratch resistant and have held up well for several seasons despite some abuse. I've also used Remington shooting glasses and Dewalt safety glasses over the years and they all performed very well.

They come with four lenses as well.

I use some Rudy Photochromic sunglasses that retail around $180, they dim depending on the amount of light outside and work while in a vehicle (through the windshield). As far as I know I can't get any photochromic sunglasses that function through a windshield for less than $100, as far as I'm concerned, the technology in these ones make them worth more than your standard $20 walmart sunglasses.

One other thing to note, higher end athletic sunglasses are MUCH better at moving wind around your eye to avoid fogging and sweat getting into your eyes.

Just my thoughts.

Having to wear prescription lenses, and wholly unwilling to use Rx inserts, I'd be ecstatic to find a pair of wraparound sunglasses for under $200. My current pair of Nike Terminus were about $240 after insurance, and worth every penny. Anti-scratch, anti-glare, polarized, digital grind.

But $200 for non-Rx? Not for this guy.

That's it. We had a set of lenses we fired a .22 into, never broke.

They are not for everyone, however.

Everyone has their extravagances; be it sunglasses, cars, clothing, or whatever. Non-cyclists would look at how much you have into bicycles and think you're out of your mind. If the buyer feels good about the value, that's all that matters.

Indeed.. I don't ride in that hazardous of an environment.

Well, neither do I, but I have had people in front of me flip up a rock and at 20plus mph...not good. Cars, too. In something like that, Walgreens sunglasses won't cut it.

Like I said, they are not for everyone.