Oakley Polarized Iridium Vs Costa 580 Lenses?

[OakleyAthiest]

You are correct, material thickness does affect overall strength, but it also increases off-axis aberrations. Excellent question on the Oakley Rx lenses. I haven't used or experimented with them, but I would guess they are also polycarbonate. Perhaps someone familiar with the Oakley Rx offerings could chime in. Of course, Rx lenses have variable thickness, affecting the weight and potentially the durability of a pair of sunglasses dependent on the strength of the prescription. I haven't seen that Wiley X video that you mentioned, but would be curious to see it. I have seen photos of Wiley X's that have saved their wearer's eyes from roadside bombs, so that is pretty impressive. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to imply that I think Wiley X's are good sunglasses (I don't), just that they are tough and safety rated. For me, I think a digitally surface polarized trivex lens is the best combination of lens attributes- tough, light, decent optics.

 

[dcl10]

I'll chime in as I am a certified optician. Oakley uses polycarbonate lenses. Poly has the worst chromatic abberation of any lens material. They also use digital surfacing to reduce peripheral distortion, which is good. They use a surface bonded polarizing film, which makes them more susceptible to scratching. Costa 580 P lenses are digitally surfaced trivex- tough like poly, but much better optical clarity. Typical laminated polarizing film which is patented because, as mentioned, it reduces blue and yellow light for better contrast. Smith is doing the same thing with their new Chromapop lenses. Costa 580 Glass have spectacular optical clarity- basically they are the clearest sunglass lenses you can get- a few other lenses are close, e.g. Maui Jim glass or Smith Techlite glass lenses. Sorry to break it to you- I like Oakley because they design some very ergonomic and cool looking frames, but they are WAY behind the curve with lens performance. I think most people just don't know this because they don't have the opportunity to do a side by side field test of leading sunglass brands.

Oakley does not use a "surface bonded polarizing film" film as you say. The polarizing film is in-molded into the polycarbonate. Since Trivex cannot be injection molded like polycarbonate, the polarizing film must be laminated with adhesives like you mentioned. The problem with Trivex is that there is no adhesive currently available that has an identical refractive index of 1.54, so many of the optical advantages of Trivex are lost when they are polarized since this difference introduces some inherent distortion. That's the dirty secret PPG dosen't tell anyone. By itself though Trivex is superior to poly in almost every way, but lenses are the sum of the technologies they employ, not just one of them.

 

[OakleyAthiest]

By itself though Trivex is superior to poly in almost every way, but lenses are the sum of the technologies they employ, not just one of them.

Absolutely, I couldn't agree more. So, Oakley 'in-molds' their polarized film? Thanks for the info- I always assumed that if it wasn't laminated, it must be surface applied. As far as polarized Trivex, Smith's Chromapop lenses aren't laminated. Perhaps their manufacturing process is similar to Oakley's poly? Like you say, optics are a sum of their parts. Personally, I would rather have a little more introduced distortion from a polarized laminate versus inherent material distortion- but in the end it boils down to whatever functions better.

 

[Chunster420]

Oakley does a laser test measuring the curvature and lens shape affect light passing through the lens, they also do a scope test to measure the clarity of their lenses, the lenses are not polycarbonate they are made of an exclusive material only oakley can use called plutonite, and they do an impact test for eye protection. Glass lenses can shatter and really mess you up

 

[ItnStln]

I was wondering this as well. I’m a long time fan of Oakley but I did just purchase my first pare of Costa with 508 lenses.

 

[joecool862]

Oakley does a laser test measuring the curvature and lens shape affect light passing through the lens, they also do a scope test to measure the clarity of their lenses, the lenses are not polycarbonate they are made of an exclusive material only oakley can use called plutonite, and they do an impact test for eye protection. Glass lenses can shatter and really mess you up

Plutonite is what Oakley calls their lenses but they are simply a very high grade of polycarbonate.

 

["TRUMP"]

Oakley does a laser test measuring the curvature and lens shape affect light passing through the lens, they also do a scope test to measure the clarity of their lenses, the lenses are not polycarbonate they are made of an exclusive material only oakley can use called plutonite, and they do an impact test for eye protection. Glass lenses can shatter and really mess you up

Welcome

 

["TRUMP"]

I was wondering this as well. I’m a long time fan of Oakley but I did just purchase my first pare of Costa with 508 lenses.

Welcome

 

[Chunster420]

 

["TRUMP"]

Plutonite is what Oakley calls their lenses but they are simply a very high grade of polycarbonate.

Exactly.

Costa makes a 580P and a 580G. P=polycarbonate and G=glass. The 580G is the one that has extreme clarity simply because its made out of glass. Glass will always be more clear than polycarbonate. Its also more scratch resistant. However, it cant stand up to impact the way polycarbonate does. I have seen several people drop their costas wrong and the lens shatters.

Costa is a local company to me. They are based out of Daytona Beach Florida which is about 40 minutes away. They are extremely popular around here because of tsmhat. All the locals wear them. Literally. @Slojack and i are the only rednecks youll see rocking xmetals around here.