I’ve got a cheapo £15 pair with interchangeable lenses.
They’ve been ok… lenses are a bit scuffed now though.

Xmas is coming and I’m wondering if I should ask Santa for a better pair (preferably that fog up a bit less).

Recommendations?
Or do you not reckon it’s worth it?

I have several Oakleys. I also have several Chinese fake versions. My main ones in use at the moment are fake Jawbones with genuine photochromic Oakley lenses.

Is it worth it? Debateable. IMO, some of the more expensive ones look better and resist scratching a little better. Whether that’s worth it is really up to you. VFM probably not though.

I have lost a few of mine and my head is too big for oakleys which are made for midgets only 😀 and cost the earth – luckily I’ve found that the bloc stealth glasses fit me great and are cheap and now have several pairs after buying a job lot of 5 frames so I’ve set up the dark glasses for when its sunny, the amber glasses which are great for dusk and the clear glasses for the night.

I really like them 8)

Have some expensive ones for road but I’d be reluctant to use them off road considering the state of the ones I do use off road. Nowadays I just go the screwfix safety glasses route for off road.

Edit…

have lost a few of mine and my head is too big for oakleys

Blimey, how big is your head? I thought oakleys were made for people with large heads (which is why they do the asian fit) and most are way too big for me.

NO, i use bolle safety glasses from screwfix, ive used alot more expensive glasses in the past, only if you are a bike tart, ive also dropped quite a few pairs and ruined them, so for £10 bolle glasses are a no brainer, they are slighty tinted so good all year round, wouldnt use anything else

My stock eye protection for many a year has been Bloc Stealth with 3 interchangeable lenses, however at the weekend I got a pair of Endura Pacu Glasses wore them through mist rain and into bright sun and they will now be my glasses of choice.
So answer yes an expensive set of glasses are worth it.

So answer yes an expensive set of glasses are worth it.

I’d say they are more mid priced than expensive 😉

I have a pair of Specialized Helix with adaptalite lenses .

They are by far the best glasses that I have used ( fit and function ),and it makes me more than a bit sad that they can’t be replaced.

Don’t know what I will get when they are done.

There’s more than a bit of “self fulfilling prophecy” about this. Buy an expensive pair of glasses and you’ll find yourself being a lot more careful with them, both in terms of overall care and where you put them, so they will outlive a pair of cheaper glasses. I have prescription Oakleys that are 5 years old – and I always wear glasses when riding.

Law of diminishing returns applies. People sit at different points on the curve.

Vision is so important to mountain biking*, I wasn’t prepared to compromise so went near the top of the curve and bought Oakleys with Oakley prescription lenses. I’d rather compromise my bikes a bit than compromise vision quality and eye safety.

YMMV

*if you doubt this, try riding around at full speed with your best eye shut.

It’s like anything else – generally, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys.

Cheap gegs are OK if you don’t mind having to replace them every six months or so when the lenses get scratched, frames snap or whatever.

I love Oakleys, but they are definitely one of those investments that may seem like an enormous expense at the time but it really is worth it in the long run IMHO. The optical clarity of the lenses is far superior and they are more scratch/breakage resistant (except the Iridium lenses, you have to look after these like your life depends on it). Spares are easily available too.

As for them only being made for midgets, not true. Depends what model you get – if you have a big head, go for Radars. I have a pair of Radars for on the bike and a pair of Oil Drums for casual. Both are great and well worth the wonga.

Buy an expensive pair of glasses and you’ll find yourself being a lot more careful with them, both in terms of overall care and where you put them, so they will outlive a pair of cheaper glasses

I’m still using a blue iridium lens from time to time. It’s the best part of twenty years old.

Are the more expensive glasses really worth it?

Depends how good your eyesight is + the law of diminishing returns strongly applies.

Although safety specs can be fine I find the optics are usually pretty bad especially for objects in the distance. There seems to be a pricepoint where you begin to get reasonable lenses and then if you carry on spending you get good lenses/coatings/styling/lightweight etc. Personally when I wear Oakleys for example everything looks really good and going back to less expensive glasses can be quite a surprise but I soon get used to them, especially for riding where comfort/stability/protection are higher priorities than ultimate optical clarity.

So a lot depends on you. If you’re the sort of person who notices a fingerprint on their lenses you won’t be disappointed with some top-end glasses. On the other hand if you’re a bit careless or don’t mind scratched or dirty lenses or throwaway frames there’s not much point in spending ££££££££££££

I have a pair of photochromatic Rudy Rydons. Are they worth it? Yes to me because they have an Rx insert. I can’t have Oakleys or most others as my prescription is too high. Rx glasses have replaced contacts on and off road and I am delighted with them.

Before, when I did use contacts (or none!) I rode with some Decathlon glasses taht were about £20 and just fine. It’s the Rx that make them worth the money, not the glasses themselves. But photochromatic is so much better than tinted.

Thanks for the responses!

I think £100+ Oakley’s are OTT for me. I want something I can chuck in my pack (in the case) but not worry too much about them getting scuffed (so scratch resistant lenses would be good if nothing else).

The Bloc Stealth glasses look good… and a decent price too.

Vision is so important to mountain biking

I am definitely quicker without my contacts in. Not saying this is a good thing necessarily..

I do think Oakleys are worth the investment (I’ve had great backup from them too) but equally I’ve used some cheap enough to change every 6 months glasses that were as good (on a per ride basis).

I wear my ray bans for casuals and the bloc stealth are a good compromise – the glass is not as good, but for £20 they are great – might try out the radars but whichever oakleys I’ve tried on at the airport the arms push against my temples and I know from experience this gives me a headache.

I’m a big lad 6’2″ and 16 stone of pure muscle… <cough> although my fighting weight was 14.5 stone 😀

BOLLE Safetys here!.. £7 off ebay… Super clear & comfy.. Even look trick too!.. Do it

bolle contours for the win.

I’m gonna dispute the buy cheap. I bought my oakleys in 1995 and am still using them. they cost about 125 quid but divide that by years of use, they’re a bargain.

ok – prepared to give it a go on the oakleys, been having a look – does xl mean that they are wider or is it just a longer lens (so more coverage for below your eyes)?

If the latter can anyone recommend a wider pair of oakleys?

This thread needs Houns. And a photo of his Oakley branded display cabinet full of Oakleys.

I’m gonna dispute the buy cheap. I bought my oakleys in 1995 and am still using them. they cost about 125 quid but divide that by years of use, they’re a bargain.

I’m a bolle safety spec user. More than good enough for the job. Wear similar ones all day at work and never had trouble with the lens quality.

My issue is that I lose glasses rather than break them. Never really had a scratched up pair of the safety glasses. Lost plenty when I’ve stuck them in my helmet or pocket and then dropped them. Not sure I could justify £125 for one pair. That’s be 17 pairs of cheapo ones which given 12-18months out of each would see me right for a long time.

I use £2.99 safety glasses. I’ve had expensive glasses, they weren’t any better but they were 20 times worse when I lost them.

Course, not all £2.99 safety glasses work well

Ive got some giro ones that I got on sale and tbh been as good as my genuine oakleys for a fraction of the price

Also got some of the super cheap fakelys and they are also pretty good but have scratched a bit, which is fine as a just lob them in my pack and dont worry about them, whereas im too precious with my oakleys

overall id say get some mid priced ones from giro, endura etc

Slight thread derail here, I’ve so far not been able to find a pair of sunglasses or riding glasses that fit my slim face and it’s starting to annoy me, wet road rides and trail centres are the worst. This is the first I’ve heard of the ‘asian fit’ that Oakley do and tbh it sounds like that’s what I need. Normal unisex size glasses are too wide across my temples and I can normally fit a finger inside the frames each side!

However I don’t want to spend £100 on some glasses when their sole job is just to keep the worst of the spray out of my eyes. A few of my mates wear bog standard safety specs from Dewalt or similar that look like sports glasses but cost less than £20. Does anyone know if any cheaper manufacturers have an ‘asian fit’ or equivelant? Or am I forever destined on fast wet descents to be squinting like a retard trying to read the newspaper?

Quick edit: a few searches on eBay bring up the BBB BSG-30 glasses listed as a ‘slim fit’ for people with smaller faces. At around £17 with a selection of lenses these seem to be just what I’m after, have any of you eyewear experts out there had any experience of these?
Sorry to the OP for the tangent!

My issue is that I lose glasses rather than break them. Never really had a scratched up pair of the safety glasses. Lost plenty when I’ve stuck them in my helmet or pocket and then dropped them. Not sure I could justify £125 for one pair. That’s be 17 pairs of cheapo ones which given 12-18months out of each would see me right for a long time.

at 125 quid divided by 18 years of use it comes to 6.94 per year and still going. M frames rock. end of. oackley warranty also rocks. I’ve sat on mine and snapped them and no questions they replaced them in full. I also cracked a heater lens and again pretty much no quibble replaced, cost me 8 quid for postage and I got free nose piece and some of the ear socks.

I ride with them ALL the time and over the 18 years on average riding 3 times a week.

If you loose them you loose them and theres no accounting for that of course, but I guess you could claim on your home insurance maybe, but either way I wouldnt buy anything else. And no I dont work for them, yes when i bought them I as sceptical, but am a happy customer.

ti_pin_man – Member

at 125 quid divided by 18 years of use [b]1 lost pair a year [/b]it comes to 6.94 [b]£125 [/b]per year
fixed that for you

😀 as the poster said, he loses them rather than breaks them!

Oakley fixing your m-frames time and time again over 18 years is a great story but does not help for models that they discontinue and run out of spares for. Thusly when i snapped a hinge on my not-actually-that-old ‘sideways’ and emailed european customer services as per website, I was told politely “sorry nothing we can do”. I suppose could have gone for a discount on a replacement equivalent pair, but a) they didn’t even offer, and b) a few other pairs of someone else’s glasses still seemed better value as I seem to be a frequent scratcher, snapper and loser of glasses.

so stop loosing them 😉 get some of those tags that thread around your head, it’ll also stop you sitting on them, MTFU. 😉

I’ve just tried the cheap Bolle workwear ones and find them poor in low light / night riding.

Have used Madison D-Arcs for ages and they have the advantage that you can buy spares for them – single lens, nose bridges etc.

I’ve just ordered some Sunwise Equinox £26 with 4 lens. A British company.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Sunwise-Equinox-Sunglasses-With-4-Interchangeable-Lenses_36335.htm?utm_source=Tredz+National+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d20a8d631a-Fathers_day_week_246_12_2012&utm_medium=email

High quality riding glasses do not have to be Oakley-expensive. I have two pairs of Tifosi glasses. A photochromatic pair that I’ve had since 2008 which still look new, and another I bought last year with interchangeable lenses. I think I paid less than £50 for each pair.

ti_pin_man – Member

at 125 quid divided by 18 years of use it comes to 6.94 per year and still going.

So if you can make them last about another 20 years it’ll work out the same price as a pair of safety glasses every year. Though over that sort of timescale you should really be taking into account interest and inflation 😉

I’ve got expensive glasses – Raybans with polarised lenses and my script. Oakley’s with Rupp and Hubrach transitional script lenses. I find that I look after them more than cheap ones.

julianwilson – Member
This thread needs Houns. And a photo of his Oakley branded display cabinet full of Oakleys.

5 more pairs in it since this pic 😳

Slight thread derail here, I’ve so far not been able to find a pair of sunglasses or riding glasses that fit my slim face and it’s starting to annoy me, wet road rides and trail centres are the worst.

Well, according to Oakley you then have ‘Condensed Cranial Geometry’ 😀
Oakley Fives are the only ones I am aware with a narrow fit (other than the Asian Fit stuff but that may have other issues.
A cheaper alternative I use that suit a narrower fit is a pair of ‘Dirty Dog’ Fudge polarised glasses. Not sports specific but I haven’t had an issue with them fogging up.

The Endura glasses have an adjustable arm in that it can be bent in and over your ear to help retention.
They go fairly clear in fact enough so to ride at night, as I did last night. Not sure how fast the transition is for going in and out of dense wood land have yet to try that.