Expensive sun glasses- do you buy?

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Yes. Although I may be in the minority in that I want a good glass polarized lens in neutral gray. So that leaves me in the $150-200 range and the only ones I really like are the Revo. Awesome optics and you definitely can tell the difference. Paid $180 for my last pair in 2010 and accidentally left them in the Olive Garden on Mother's Day. But I'm wearing an older pair with a cracked lens and they are working fine. Sometime I'll get them replaced.

I tried a pair of the cheapies that my wife had (a unisex style) and they had plenty of artifacts and fuzziness that I don't get with the good ones. Coud be poor polycarbonate or something but I took them off after 30 mins.

I'm 38, work in IT and still have 20/20 vision so I want to keep my eyesight perfect. A good pair of sunglasses is an investment to me and I'm not out to impress anyone (the style I had was basic black).
 
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Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
Originally Posted By: andrewg
No. Expensive sunglasses acre pretty much a huge trend where I live (rains a lot...go figure). Most folks here where them as a fashion or status statement. The more expensive....the more attention they get. I see them as a pain in the rear to keep track of anyway. 99% of the time I have no use for them. I prefer to see things as they are mostly....unless it's while driving into the sun with all that serious glare. I even hiked in Arizona and prefer not wearing them.


Even in rainy Western Washington,I wear sunglasses virtually every day of the year. There is a ton of glare coming off wet roadways.

Yes....but only when the sun comes out AFTER a rain. Typically I think it stays dull and grey most of the time when it's a rainy day.


Hardly

You'd be surprised what a QUALITY pair of glasses will filter out even while its raining.
 
Still on the same pair of black metal Ray Bans i have had for years. They have Bausch & Lomb on the glass if that gives you an idea of their age.

I have another pair here same vintage but they need an arm and i cant find one, otherwise they are in great shape.
Best sun glasses i ever owned and worth every penny, i don't know about the new ones though.
 
There is a shelving manufacturing factory near me that used to make the store display cases for Oakley sunglasses. This place would charge thousands of dollars for each display case. Are Oakeys a quality product? Of course. But because the glasses are American made and not in some Chinese sweat shop, and because they spend thousands of dollars on a display case that will be used for a couple of years and then thrown out, that's why your Oakley sunglasses are priced so high.
 
Think of your Oakley's as an investment for the protection of your eyes from the sun's rays as well as protection from corneal abrasion due to projectiles, kids fingers, dirt/metal/foreign objects, etc.

I shoot often and challenge myself at IPSC matches regularly and I have friends in the shooting sports/military/LE who prefer Oakleys' for their protection from hot shell casings, shrapnel, or the occasional ricochet off a steel plate. Oakley has set the bar high for impact resistance.

I have a pair of Oakleys and Zeiss Scopz that I would never leave home without.
 
Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: Stewart Fan
Originally Posted By: andrewg
No. Expensive sunglasses acre pretty much a huge trend where I live (rains a lot...go figure). Most folks here where them as a fashion or status statement. The more expensive....the more attention they get. I see them as a pain in the rear to keep track of anyway. 99% of the time I have no use for them. I prefer to see things as they are mostly....unless it's while driving into the sun with all that serious glare. I even hiked in Arizona and prefer not wearing them.


Even in rainy Western Washington,I wear sunglasses virtually every day of the year. There is a ton of glare coming off wet roadways.

Yes....but only when the sun comes out AFTER a rain. Typically I think it stays dull and grey most of the time when it's a rainy day.


Hardly

You'd be surprised what a QUALITY pair of glasses will filter out even while its raining.

Fashion more than purpose for me. Just another thing I don't need. I drive to work 5 to 7 days a week and can't recall the last time I had any glare issues. Now if I was hiking in the mountains with the expected glare off the snow patches...ok, then it's a tool I would need. Wearing expensive sunglasses on an overcast day (while it's raining?) makes little sense other than the 'cool' factor (which is what of course what most people care about in these parts). Just another item marketed to the masses as something we all must have....my opinion.
 
I have light colored eyes and the associated sensitivity that goes along with it. For years I wore cheap sunglasses as a honor to ZZ Top........until a friend allowed me to borrow his pair of Costas for a day. The following week I bought a pair of Costa Swordfish for $280 and never looked back at the cheapies. That was 5 years ago. I sent them back to Costa once to have the lenses changed after I wore them in the surf at the beach and they became scratched.

About 2 years ago I bought a pair of polorized Oakley Monster Dogs to use at work for safety glasses as they are ANSI Z87.1 certified and I couldnt stand the cheap safety glasses in the sunlight any longer. They are holding up great and only cost $100. I would do both pairs of these sunglasses over again in a heartbeat. The Costas are awesome for fishing as well.
 
The main thing is that it is smart to wear sunglasses outside that give 100% ultraviolet protection from sun...doesn't matter how much you paid for them. I was raised in Florida and a few years ago I did have to have an eye surgeon cut off my eye a pterygium growth that I probably got from sun exposure over the years. The eye doctor cut the pterygium off with a diamond tipped scalpel and he charged me almost $1000.
 
I paid $600 for my last pair of prescription Maui Jims.

I spent 5 weeks sailing in the tropics last winter and they were brilliant.
 
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I paid $600 for my last pair of prescription Maui Jims.

I spent 5 weeks sailing in the tropics last winter and they were brilliant.


From your post I am assuming that you've achieved a high level of financial success? If that is the case, I would think that spending some serious money on sunglasses is not really a budget concern....am I correct? More power to you.
 
I have a few pairs of Serengeti Drivers around. They will save your eyes, worth every penny and they can be had for well under a hundred bucks online.

As far as prescription goes, those can be as expensive as you are willing to pay. My Daughter grinds lenses, so your degree of difficulty is a real factor!
 
I've found that cheap sunglasses simply aren't as good as more expensive ones. They're heavier, less comfortable, the optics aren't as good, etc. My brother gave me a pair of Nike glasses he was replacing with prescription ones about 10 years ago, they were a revelation to a guy who'd been going through cheap pairs every couple of years. Those Nikes lasted about 5 years, another pair lasted another 5. They were very lightweight, sat comfortably on the nose, and had a frameless appearance that I like.

When it came time to replace those I went with a pair of Smiths, which I liked because they have replaceable lenses so when they get too scratched up or otherwise worn out I can just swap out for new ones at about 1/3 the total price. A little heavier than the Nikes but I think they'll hold up better. The Nikes and Smith have all been in the $100 range which strikes me as a good sweet spot for getting good quality at a decent price.

jeff
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I paid $600 for my last pair of prescription Maui Jims.

I spent 5 weeks sailing in the tropics last winter and they were brilliant.


From your post I am assuming that you've achieved a high level of financial success? If that is the case, I would think that spending some serious money on sunglasses is not really a budget concern....am I correct? More power to you.


I spend a lot of time out on the water and in the tropics so a good set of polarized sunglasses is a must. They also live in a salt bath so they must be corrosion resistant.

I don't consider the cost out of line with the quality and use I'm getting. Most of the guys I boat/sail with seem to be spending about in that range for a good set of prescription sunglasses.
 
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Most I've ever paid for a pair of sunglasses was probably about $15. I use them while I'm working, so they get scratched and/or broken frequently. I go through several pairs a year, so there's no way I'm buying expensive ones.
 
I use Brown 3 polarized prescription sunglasses from a company called Hildago (google them) which makes glasses for helo pilots flying to the oil rigs in the Gulf. They actually tell you what the lens tints are good for. I like the Randoph frames which were issue in the military for years. They also carry spare parts. AS a side note I recently bought a bike helmet which has a face shield which does NOT conflict with polarized lenses. Finally!
 
I spent a couple hundred bucks on some polarized Oakleys about three and a half years ago before a trip to Australia and Hawaii. I feel like I've gotten my money's worth, but I'm also careful when I handle them.

About a decade ago I was over in the desert with a pair of cheapos I brought with me and I picked up a set of Oakleys on sale for $30 (they were real Oakleys) and the optical difference was staggering. So I'm a believer in quality sunglasses.

Protip: if you're going on vacation somewhere tropical where you want to see into the water, get some polarized lenses. They block the glare coming off the water and allow you to see through to the ocean floor.
 
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