Black Iridium Polarized Vs OO Black Polarized

[Lumbergh]

I have a custom order in for the holbrook with oo black iridium polarized lenses. I've read some people say the oo is less mirrored than the black iridium polarized and I've read people say the oo is more mirrored. I had tried the black iridium polarized lenses and they were too flashy for me. Can I expect the same thing from the oo? I can modify my order as far as I know.

This thread is over 2 years old.

 

[sunglassfiend]

This thread is over 2 years old.

Lol yeah, but still very relevant. Found this thread when I had the same question. From my experience the OO Black has a slightly red tint to enhance contrast. Still unsure which I prefer.

 

[Manny2_0]

first off
oo bip is not more mirrored than reg bip

to me
oo bip is for sure a diff. tint, I don't know how to describe it but it is easier on the eyes, it does have the slightest rose hue to it
however it is not as dark.... at least to me

 

[AndyO]

Here's the straight dope...

Black Iridium Polarized uses a standard Grey Polarized base tint with a Black Iridium thin-film (mirrored) coating. It is far and away the most popular polarized lens that Oakley sells and it works great for the vast majority of people who want a neutral contrast polarized lens for bright sun conditions. It's a fantastic lens.

But before getting into the difference between this lens and OO Black Iridium Polarized we must understand how a polarized lens is constructed:

The vast majority of polarized lenses do not actually have any "tint" in the lens material itself. The tint is contained within the polarized film which is sandwiched or laminated within/on an otherwise clear lens. If you look at the exposed edge of a polarized lens at the right angle you can see this clearly (no pun intended). Oakley uses a unique injection-molding process to form the lens material around the polarized film under extreme pressure to create an optically-correct geometry with absolute minimal distortion. Back to the question at hand...

OO Black Iridium Polarized lenses use a Light Grey Polarized film which is - as you might expect - a fair bit lighter than their standard Grey Polarized film. But instead of injecting clear Plutonite resin around the film they use a derivative of the G40 rose-colored base tint material to add contrast and reduce the light transmittance (making the lens darker than it would have been otherwise).

The end result is both lens tints are nearly identical in overall light transmittance (9-10%) but with the OO version having a subtle increase in color contrast thanks to the G40 lens material surrounding the filter.

Side note: In practice the Light Grey polarized film used in OO Black Iridium Polarized is not as efficient at blocking polarized light waves as compared to standard Black Iridium Polarized with the darker film. The difference is about 5% (99% efficiency in Black Iridium vs. about 94% in OO Black Iridium). This means that more polarized light will pass through the OO version.

This is bad if your goal is to block the maximum amount of polarized light while looking through water surface while sighting fish.

However, it can also become a benefit in some situations as the LCD screens used on most (perhaps all?) electronic devices have a polarized filter as well which can appear blacked out when looking through a 99% efficient polarized lens. So if you're going for a jog with a wrist mounted heart rate monitor or digital watch, you won't have to rotate your wrist all the way to 90 degrees perpendicular to your natural arm path to actually read the screen.

Some fishermen and boaters may also prefer the OO version for ease of viewing depth finders and GPS devices as well.

Horses for courses, hopefully some of you find this info useful.

 

[Carl]

I know this is an old thread, but I found it while trying to decipher the difference between the various current Black Iridium Polarized tints, that is original BIP, OO BIP and VR 28 BIP. Andy's comparison of BIP and OO BIP was the most thorough and authoritative explanation I found, so I'm giving this thread a bump in case others may be pondering the same choice as me. I notice that the Oakley website currently does not list OO BIP--only BIP and VR28 BIP. Does anyone know if the OO BIP tint has been discontinued?

The reason I was shopping is that I lost my Whisker prescription sunglasses with BIP lenses that I'd had for several years and loved, and wanted to determine if I should reorder the same thing or something different. I live in Texas and use the glasses mainly for driving, running/trail running and hiking/backpacking. I ended up opting for the OO BIP in large part because of what Andy said about the lesser polarization of the OO which makes it easier to read LCD screens, and I don't fish. Another website says OO BIP is 11% light transmission rather than 10% as it may have been when Andy posted, but I'm assuming that is not very significant and that there will be little noticeable difference in my eye comfort during extended exposure to bright sunny conditions between the BIP and OO BIP. If that's the case, I believe I may also appreciate the incremental additional contrast that the OO is said to afford over the BIP.

 

[Rustpot]

I believe most of the different specialized contrast tints are being phased out for Prizm varieties.

 

[Dallas O Hog]

Will test out as I have BIP and OO Polar for my split jacket ao will see this week how it goes

 

[supersharp]

Will test out as I have BIP and OO Polar for my split jacket ao will see this week how it goes

I missed out on that. OO polar for a split jacket would be sweet. I need to find these lenses. Wish they would do a Prizm daily polar for a split, but alas, I believe that will not happen.

 

[Chuck Wilkins]

I get ocular migraines which in my case are mosty brought on by glare. I also play a lot of golf and do a lot of driving. I use the g30 lenses for golf( I realize that they don't really block glare) only for eye protection from rays from the sun. I tried the new prize lens and don't like them at all--not enough light transmission--When I drive I have always used Oakley m frame or Radars with black iridium polarized lenses. About 2 weeks ago I bought a pair of m2 frame g30s--went out and played a round with them and wasn't able to focus as well as with my old ones. When I got home I put the 2 together and the new ones were significantly darker than the originals. They will be for sale somewhere soon--Just like the prizms were about a month ago. Now for the black polarized--Just got a new pair of Radar pitch bip--took them out in the car and they were terrible--not nearly enough glare blockage and too bright--When I got home I found this post and have a couple of questions--What the hell happened--how can I tell if I am getting the original bip lenses and the original g30s. I noticed on the boxes that they say assmebled in USA--Is it the two 00's in the model number? As you can imagine with my condition which is not bad--If I get too much glare, I begin to get light prizms dancing around in my field of vision--I need lenses that really block the glare and don't let too much light in--thanks

 

[OakleyFrankFMJ]

I get ocular migraines which in my case are mosty brought on by glare. I also play a lot of golf and do a lot of driving. I use the g30 lenses for golf( I realize that they don't really block glare) only for eye protection from rays from the sun. I tried the new prize lens and don't like them at all--not enough light transmission--When I drive I have always used Oakley m frame or Radars with black iridium polarized lenses. About 2 weeks ago I bought a pair of m2 frame g30s--went out and played a round with them and wasn't able to focus as well as with my old ones. When I got home I put the 2 together and the new ones were significantly darker than the originals. They will be for sale somewhere soon--Just like the prizms were about a month ago. Now for the black polarized--Just got a new pair of Radar pitch bip--took them out in the car and they were terrible--not nearly enough glare blockage and too bright--When I got home I found this post and have a couple of questions--What the hell happened--how can I tell if I am getting the original bip lenses and the original g30s. I noticed on the boxes that they say assmebled in USA--Is it the two 00's in the model number? As you can imagine with my condition which is not bad--If I get too much glare, I begin to get light prizms dancing around in my field of vision--I need lenses that really block the glare and don't let too much light in--thanks

The first question is where are you buying your product from?