Sunglasses – how much do you pay?

Following on from recent PSA for 50% off at Vision Express. Got me thinking about sunglasses. I don’t tend to spend a lot on them as I either lose them, (mostly) scratch them or break them so getting a nice/expensive pair seems like a false economy. However I am slightly tempted to get a nice pair of Oakleys as I’ve never had a pair and if I was ever to get some then half price is as good a reason as any. These will not be for biking as I have some cut-price Adidas Evil Eyes for that. Are Oakleys really that much ‘better’ than cheaper brands or is it all just marketing that drives the lure? Are the optics that much clearer? I like Bloc sunnies as they fit me well and look good but nowhere near the price of Oakleys. Just wonder if I’ll be slightly underwhelmed by them even at half price, which are still nearly twice the price of the Blocs I like – was thinking of Flakjackets FWIW…

Have spent money on Oakleys and other high end brands in the past only to either drop and scratch them or leave them on a bus.

Bought some Siroko glasses last summer for gravel cruising. They look the part, but only cost ~30€.

The GF continues to spend decent mullah on shades and jumps in the sea/river and loses them.

My go to now is Decathlon. 15-25€ for something that can be scratched or lost is much more palatable than 80€.

Lost a set of sunnies the other week in the Biergarten. I say lost. I think I was so drunk I just got up and walked home. Had to go there the next day to pick up my bike because I forgot how I arrived.

I’ve spent a fair bit over the years on mostly Oakleys.  I look after them, and resell those that I lose interest in,   As they remain in good condition resale value is decent.  I’ve had pairs for years so feel I get my moneys worth.  Oakley customer services have also been great.  I think over the years I’ve had 4 replacements sorted (3 they replaced the entire glasses, one the lens) no questions asked.

Having said this I’ve rarely paid full price, just waited for sales, or outlet stores. I’d really struggle to pay over £100 (only pair I paid over this for are my photochromic jawbreakers which I use on the road, which I picked up with a discount).  I really struggle seeing how prices have more than double over recent years for designer sunnies.

I’ve just taken advantage of the PSA.  Pair of Raybans for the Mrs and I’m trying some Persol for a smart pair.  All for £50 less than the list price of the Persol glasses.

I only buy Oakley and few select other higher end brand glasses. As mentioned if looked after the resale is good. I find spending more money does get you much better optics/lens quality.

And being expensive I look after them.

Cheap glasses are shite

I’ve used cheap sunglasses in the past and found the lenses scratch too easily and generally don’t last too long. Admittedly I never looked after them as well as I should.

I’m on my second pair of ray ban in 18 years, the last pair broke when I sat on them (bent frame and lenses popped out). I’ve had my current pair around 8 years and they still look like new, always put them in the case when not using them and generally look after them better than I did with the cheapies making sure I never put them lenses facing down.

Is it good value? For me yes it is but ymmv.

If you need Rx sunnies, then VisionExpress might be good, but does the offer include Oakleys and other top end.
i need Rx sunnies, and oakleys have always delivered a comfortable fit, great vision correction and proper polarization etc. 5th pair at the moment (each pair lasting 5 years or so, and a couple of pairs on the go currently)
they don’t fall off so they don’t get lost, gritty etc. MTB, road, skiing, sailing, driving, beer drinking etc – they’re not the cheapest, but always great value. Latest pair the lab got the prescription slightly off, but they got sent back twice to Oakley for that to be corrected.
For me anyway it’s a question of paying a bit more for a topnotch product, getting that value as long as you look after them

Worn Oakley for 20 years, bought a pair of sungods a couple of years back, they’re awesome too.

I look after my stuff, aye they get scratched now n again, but I don’t lose stuff really, so they don’t work out as expensive cos they last me years.

I bought a pair of Oakleys after a PSA on here a good few months back. They cost me about £80 with 50% off

I also have some Bloc sunglasses which are about £80 rrp

The lenses in the Oakleys are fractionally better, but hardly anything in it. Overall build quality I would say the Blocs are better

The Oakleys are no where near twice as good, I wouldn’t consider them again unless massively discounted

The last pair of sunglasses I had before these (Bloc) ones, I dropped into a river off a bridge while messing about with the kids (they were precariously perched on top of my head at the time).

This is fairly typical of the fate that tends to befall my sunglasses, so Oakley’s are most definitely not on the shopping list.

My stupidity and clumsiness are expensive enough, without elevating them into a higher price bracket

The current sunglasses I use all the time are Oakleys (for the first time) – most I’ve spent on glasses, and TBH I’m not that impressed. The arms had rubber coating that’s coming off, and optically I’m finding it hard to tell the difference between them and cheaper glasses. I’m not sure I’d bother again.

Owned a couple of pairs of Oakley’s years ago. Have a Google as they’re now owned by Luxottica who own loads of other glasses brands. From memory they basically forced Oakley’s price down by refusing to stock them in their retail space and then buying the company cheap. So for that reason I’m out.

https://boingboing.net/2019/03/12/luxottica.html/amp

Plus I’m rubbish at losing sun glasses and only really use them when driving in summer. Got some cheap polarised ones from Lomo. Can’t honestly tell the difference in optical quality to the Oakley’s I had.

I’ve only ever had cheap glasses. They seem fine to me. Optically I can’t tell I’m wearing them other than the tint. Really can’t see what spending more gets me.

Spent lots on Oakleys and Raybans over the years.

Never lost or damaged a pair, thankfully. Usually get at least 5 years out of a pair, got an old spare pair of E Wires that must be over 20 years old somewhere. Cost per year works out pretty reasonable.

I don’t spend masses, but do notice the difference between cheap and better glasses. I too end up scratching or loosing them on occasion.

Best I’ve had were some Nike golf(!) glasses, and they were only £35 in a sale. Really nice to look through and comfy.

This year I’m ‘rocking’ a pair of Julbo glasses (£40) that are the second pair I’ve had. They are nice to look through and comfy enough, plus bigger than many to cover my fizog so I don’t get the eyebrows above lens look… They seem to tread the line between value and quality well.

never been a fan of oakleys, to me they still look like 1990s oakleys.

had rayban justin for 5-6 years now, box in the car, worn them alot, still look like new (£45 on a very good day to £70).

beach holidays i go for a cheaper pair as sand, sweat, salt water and sunscreen seems to knacker my glasses

for MTBing / Gravel i like the melon optics alleycats, the clear (light orange) lense is great for night riding and overcast, the purple/green lense is great for summer, feel naked without them now.

lifelong spectacle wearer till i had the laser eye surgery 10 yesars ago, i decided to buy myself some nice Raybans as it was a luxury i never had before… ive since had many pairs of various designer brands. my eyes are quite sensitive to light, and wind! so it does not have to be mega sunny for me to get em out. budget usually around £120-150 which i dont think is bad for the amount of use they get… go-to’s are Oakley Holbrooks for day to day, Rayban’s for more formal occasions.

Also impressed with the Melon Alleycats for riding!

You think Oakley’s look dated, and wear Raybans? Lol!

Got some Five Squared delivered by a whopping £44.50 delivered. Like the style but if they’re not all that then I won’t be that upset for that price 🙂

I spend quite a lot per item – but spend rarely….

Since the age of 21 – I have had 3 pairs of casual sunglasses – and just bought my 4th pair at 46. My last pair I bought in 2011! So my last pair of Oakleys bought at discount – for around £100, have cost me £10/year.

I spend similar amounts on riding glasses but have only bought 3 pairs of ‘premium’ glasses in the last 20 years and I lost 1 pair of those in a fairly serious crash. I’ve only spent full price on one pair of glasses though – so my annual cost of glasses is around £7 over that period.

I haven’t lost a pair (Yet…! Touch wood!), and look after them, so don’t feel it’s a waste.

I lost a my Oakley Twoface shades a couple of months ago and got another pair. The new pair has polarized lenses. I was annoyed to spend extra but they are truly outstanding. I think this is because I am colour blind and the just seem to turn up the colour and clarity. The whole world now looks more polished and shiny. They really are superb.

This isn’t an advert for Oakley, this is an advert for polarized lenses, especially for dudes who have rubbish colour sight.

I’ve not lost any of my casual sunglasses so don’t mind paying a bit for them (up to £100 anyway) but I don’t think it’s particularly worth it to pay for a big name – as long as cheap ones have UV protection, don’t fall apart, the lens are half decent and you like the style then cheap makes sense. My main ones are Oakley Gauges (were on sale), before that some tarty Hugo Boss ones I also got on sale (relegated to use in the car now). Also have some Oakley e-wires somewhere (bought ages ago) but they look a bit odd these days

Paid £££ for top of the line Revo years back. Amazing glass. Heavy glass and frame was std quality only.

My current 2 pairs are Serengeti from TKMax Bristol for under £30. Really good lens if you like rose tint.

I have some prescription Julbo ones for bike riding, think they were about £300. As a regular glasses wearer I may be a bit more careful with them than some of the folks above.

never been a fan of oakleys, to me they still look like 1990s oakleys.

What the whole range? they do shit loads of styles.

I’ve got about 5 or 6 pairs of Oakleys, love them. They don’t always cost silly money either if you have a good look around or buy on PSA’s and sales.

Last sunglasses I got two prescription pairs for £40! Never had prescription sunnies before as been too scared of losing/breaking them but at that price it’s fine.

Total game-changer for me.

I honestly have no idea how people manage not to lose sunglasses. I must have bought 20-30 pairs at least over my lifetime and I only have 3-4 left. 😩

Aussie mate who’s spent his life on the beach swears (profusely) by Maui Jim.

I wear Cébé – they’re part of the Julbo group and are very good for the price ~£40

I also have some Oakley Sliver that I got from CRC half price a few years ago but they’re not very robust so they live in the car. The Oakley lenses are excellent and I can see why people love them but at full price they’re silly money even for the basic styles

My max for shades these days is about £20.00, maybe a bit more if I really like the style. I’m too ham-fisted for anything more expensive than that.

@nobeerinthefridge

i’m not a fan of 90% of raybans, but the Justin shape is a classic, so many companies produce similiar, like the oakley holbrook

oakleys remind me of loud americans and a spoilt fatheaded lad at school who had 10 pairs.
just had a look i actually like a few styles, its the ones with the bulky logo i dislike, had a quick google the ‘jawbreaker’, doesnt help the snobbery of roadies i know who will only wear oakley.

all imho, we all have different shaped heads and looks :0)

I like Raybans too, and many Oakley’s, there’s loads that don’t scream US golfer.

Persol here 💅

 there’s loads that don’t scream US golfer.

Here’s the other reason I don’t wear Oakley. They are favoured by US golfers, the sort of fat arsed white American good ole boy tourist, Your common garden variety SF gun-nut  wannabe, and middle aged business cows who somehow think wearing shades designed for sports make them look edgy, and a host of “larger” mamils for whom signaling they they do sports is more important that the actual doing of those sports

By all means wear them for what they’re designed for…cycling whatever, but I think rule #22 applies.

“I don’t tend to spend a lot on them as I either lose them, (mostly) scratch them or break them so getting a nice/expensive pair seems like a false economy.”

This, exactly.

I think the most I’ve spent is £40, but my riding glasses are now £12 Ebay jobs. Polarised, photochromic lenses. I’ll just replace with the same when they get damaged or scratched.

The only time I treated myself to some expensive Smiths glasses (I was in France on holiday feeling flush), I left them behind at a rugby tournament.. Found some replacements the same on Ebay, so bought them and crashed wearing them on the bike and now they have a big scuff on one lens!

This lens distortion bollocks cheap glasses are supposed to have, as mentioned in reviews of £200 glasses on this site, is utter nonsense.

Wearing sports sunnies for casual use does look very 1990s/Clarkson, let’s be honest.

But I’m sure Oakley make plenty of casual styles too.

Personally I don’t wear sunglasses enough to justify pricey ones, and my £10 Carnac jobbies from PX are very nice for the price.

My wife got some Polaroid ones in a ski resort in 2019. I was surprised how good they are and they weren’t expensive

I can confirm that DeWalt cheapies from Screwfix are indeed sh*te. They get scratched just from being looked at.

Quelle surprise 🙂

My go-tos are Dirty Dogs with the brown polarised lenses at around £40 which seem to have just the right amount of tint for riding in and out of shade/trees/etc in the UK.  The downside on the cycling ones is that the rubbery eartip bits slide off all too easily if you’ve stuck them in your helmet for a sweaty ascent or sundown.  Do the Oakleys and other brands not suffer from this?

I too have got bored of spending money on Oakleys only to lose them

Got some O’Neil polarised atm and they’re great,
lenses are brilliant and tbh seem sturdier than my last Oakley set

https://www.mandmdirect.com/01/mens/o-neill

Went to watch the football away and the weather went unexpectedly sunny. Had to buy some emergency sunglasses. A pair of wayfarer shape £1 glasses from the poundshop fulfilled my requirements.

A year later they’re still going strong, I’d genuinely recommend them to anyone!

I’ve got all sorts from £2.99 Aldi cheap cycling glasses, Uvex safety glasses, Bloc (£30) & Tifosi glasses (£50) and recently bought some half decent Raybans for general wearing, rather than ‘sports use’.

The cheap ones are good, the expensive ones are good. There is no way that the Raybans are more than 35x better than the cheap ones, but they are nice glasses & were bought with some money I received for my birthday. They won’t be thrown into a rucksack or left at the bottom of a descent somewhere in the grass, so I don’t mind spending a bit more money one them.

I’m too old to be wearing ‘sports’ glasses when not doing actual sport. You can get away with it when you’re young, but as you get older you just look like a bit of a div (IMO, of course).

To those gasping in horror at spending north of £100 on sunglasses; as a prescription specs wearer, sunnies cost me significantly more than that. Oakleys are significantly more expensive than many other brands, yes, but in my experience, just optically better quality. I’ve yet to find a better service for prescription sports glasses. My wife has some clear varifocal specs that cost over £500. I once knew a bloke who had such bad eyesight, his lenses (just the lenses, mind) cost over £600. EACH. So think yourselves lucky that you have decent eyesight, and look after your eyes. You’ve only got one pair…