Oakleys – worth the money…..

….or overpriced form over function?

Fancying a pair – I’ll not say which pair, as to avoid a barrage of abuse and they would be more for fashion than sporting activities, so you might ask why I’m bothered about function – still want them to justify the cost from a quality/comfort/optical perspective.

Nicest sunglasses I’ve ever had on my face. And the only ones that don’t seem to cause me to have headaches.

Happier now 😉

Yes.

Had a similar dilemma recently over some evil eye pros, glad I got them now though best glasses I’ve had

If my Radars went missing I’d buy another set.

If anything I think Oakleys are cheaper now than 10 yeas ago.

Just got my first new pair in about 10 years (Gascan S with bronze polarised lenses) for £61 new and am very happy with them. Fantastic optics.

Quick positive responses already, so I presume there will be more….

…but to add to the question – are the polarized lenses worth the premium?

I’ve tried loads, I do every time I need new ones. I’ve not found anything as good.

Except for perhaps Tifosi. My Mrs has some biking style ones. Now personally I don’t think they look anywhere near as good, but the photochromic lenses have better range than my Oakleys, they change quicker AND they work in the car, mostly. All for only US$60.

yes and yes

Yup. Love mine. Even better value if you go for Polarized.

I have three pairs atm, and had another but lost them, my first pair as well I nearly cried!!

I can see why people might think they are over priced, but the fit is fantastic and there’s zero distortion. Life would be wrong without a pair.

my new ones are polarized. Definitely worth it.

edit: sorry, polarised

I use a pair of polarised Oakley Garage Rocks in the car. Remove any reflections on the windscreen, are a delight to wear for long periods and have great lenses.

Rachel

my last custom pair I got for nowt, best glasses I never bought.

Hmmm, a custom pair I’d like – but £185 for my configuration is pushing it a bit!

Polarised are great for driving but a bit of overkill for cycling (IMO). However, they do mess with the display on my car stereo!!

I’ve got two pairs of V1Frogskins that I bought in Innsbruck in 1988 and they are still going strong. And they were getting 25 weeks use a year on snow (and all summer too) up until 1997 when I bought a pair of Fives which I am still wearing now after 16 years 😀
Every day use/mountain biking/skiing/walking/driving etc.

So I would say they are well worth the money yes.

I’ve had stuff like RayBans etc that break/bend/scratch just from wearing them to the pub in summer, but the Oakleys can take a lot of abuse without any issues.

Whoops! Sorry I knew that. My phone autocorrects too that.

Ive got a genuine polarised pair, and a pair of the fakelys. I don’t think the real ones are any better to be honest, and cos they are polarised they make some displays difficult to read.
I was really surprised just how good the fakes are, when I trod on them they fell into pieces, but it all just clipped back together, unmarked.

Mine are prescription with transition lenses. Expensive? Hell yes. But I reckon the best £ for £ improvement I’ve ever made to my cycling. My original Half Jacket XLJs must be 4 years old now and still going strong. I just bought a set of Windjackets too….

2 genuines and one fake pair here. The genuines are ace, the fakes are good too as the genuine lenses fit 🙂

Not sure I’d consider another brand tbh…

I find that since I’ve started wearing Oakleys, I’ve never permanently lost a pair. I used to leave cheap sunnies all over the place and was constantly having to replace them.

Spending £120 – £180 focuses the mind somewhat. Same with Clippa lighters and a nice Zippo – never left a Zippo down the pub 🙂

Spending £120 – £180 focuses the mind somewhat.

It might focus YOUR mind but it does nothing for my wife’s 😡

I’ve lost plenty of zippos!

I lost a zippo- the first present my Mrs ever gave me 🙁

The cost does focus the mind, but none of mine were particularly expensive. most expensive ones were £75 i think?

I’ve still got a few zippo’s from when I used to smoke. People never “borrowed” them, they had there cigarette lit for them and it went back where it belonged 😀

I lost a pair of polarised Hatchets for six months. Eventually I resigned myself to never seeing them again and bought a pair of polarised Straight Jackets. The very day the new ones arrived – the VERY DAY – I found the old pair in the pocket of a dressing gown I hadn’t worn for six months.

The wife still has the Hatchets four years later 🙂

I used a pair of polarised oakleys in the car and they make the working day much more bearable.

Not too sure which model without nipping out to the car, but they are not cycling style.

They make things more high definition for want of a better phrase, and I even keep them on when its dull weather as they make everything so much clearer ( and I’ve perfect eyesight been tested before anyone asks 😉

I agree with the earlier post about them playing havoc with displays on stereo and phone etc because at first I thought my phone was broke till I took the oakleys off !!!

Got some Fakeleys for the bike and they are not too different in vision on the polarised lenses but the genuine ones do have a bit clearer vision but only slightly.

Just to throw an alternative opinion into the mix….

I have been a massive fan of Oakley over the years, M-Frames, Radars, Half-jackets, Minutes, Racing Jackets (plus several others) and at least 3 pairs of snowboarding goggles. The M-frames I also use as safety glasses, but what has annoyed me about them is the lenses delaminating after a few years, like a coating on the inner surface coming off. Considering you pay ~£50 for a replacement lens, I would expect them to last pretty well.

I have therefore started getting replicas from eBay for ~£25 for a frame + 5 lenses including polarised (Radar) which are indistinguishable from the real thing, and aren’t an issue if you scratch them. At that price they can almost be treated as disposable.

I know the lenses won’t be as good as the genuine article, but from a value POV I can’t fault them.

Cheers, Rich

The Fakleys route looks interesting – and my Oakleys use goes back to E-wires.

The Jawbones can be had for £15-20. You could fit genuine lenses if you wanted the “better” lens and you’d still be a third the cost of the full price option.

Oakleys are massivly overpriced for what they are – but – they are easily the best sunglasses I’ve ever worn (and I wear them every day out here).

Oakley’s for riding

Maui Jim’s for poncing about.

IF you want a good pair of sunnies:

http://www.mauijim.com/

Can’t comment on the polarised lenses but in this house we have 2 pairs of original straight jackets, a pair of original five’s, 1 pair of splice, 1 pair of half jacket XLJ, 1pair of square wire titanium, 1 pair of original half jackets.
For us Oakley sunglasses have been good the coatings on the lenses do peel though if your a sweaty person .Have a look at places like polimil.co.uk if you aren’t swayed by fancy lens and frame colours. I bought most of the families sunnies in sales so never paid full whack for any of them but would pay as I like the fit and optical clarity ( they generally look pretty cool too)

Got 2 pairs:
Radar for on the bike (relatively cheap to replace if I kill them)
X-Squared polarised for everything else (very expensive and I don’t want to kill them in any way shape or form)
The optics are fantastic but polarised really are the mutts..

ive got minutes and jawbones.

my seeing specs need replacing – im going to go for oakleys for them too now as a glasses wearer ive yet to try any as comfortable as any oakleys ive put on my face.

I have a pair of SPLICE that I bought back in 2000.
Wear mine pretty much daily.
Wouldn’t even consider another brand as the fit is perfect for me (fat head)

From a purely optical point of view, if you are thinking of oakley money check out Maui Jim’s, optically far superior for similar money

i have a pair of half jackets i bought at least 15 years ago the optics are great and the lens has saved my eye in a crash where the same bit of rock as scratched my lens took a chunk out of my cheak bone.

The customer service is excellent the leg socks have worn out a couple of times and i have lost nose rubber bits Oakley have always just sent spares through the post after a phone call . They are worn daily and have outlived a number of quality “smart” sun glases i have bought for non casual wear .

I have some I bought for wearing off the bike. Frankly tho they are too expensive to risk scratching, leaving on the roof of the car, on the ground etc so I have cheaper glasses for riding.