Planning On Making First Purchase - Advice And Thoughts Welcomed

[chris009]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and I guess I'm new to this world of sunglasses. I've used sunglasses for most of my life, but I always used the cheapies. Typically the dollar store type of sunglasses or if I was looking to splurge, I might get a $20 pair. I never understood why anyone would pay hundreds to much much more for sunglasses. Out of my own curiosity, I started looking into it and tried on a friends expensive pair and I was impressed. The biggest thing that I noticed was how sharp my vision was with them on.

Yesterday, I went into a Sunglass Hut for the first time to look at some of the Oakley's they had there (since I never thought highly of expensive sunglasses before, I just never seen the point in ever going in one.

Anyway, I saw some glasses I really like. The main one that caught my eyes was the Polarized Fast Jacket XL. I liked how you could interchange the lenses easily to suit different conditions. It had the dark lenses and the persimmon ones for lower light conditions. The idea of getting specific lenses for nighttime driving popped into my head at the time (I'm not sure if persimmon is good enough for such an activity).

I'm also planning on getting another pair that sort of has that aviator style look, like the crosshairs 2.0 or something like that, but I'll see what I like when I have some around me to try on.

I'm actually sad that it took me this long to find the world of better sunglasses and wasted so much on the cheapies. If you have advice for a first time buyer or thoughts on the subject please share.

 

[Oakley_Sight]

The best advise is to go to an Oakley store, speak to the guy's there & try on different styles to find the ones that suit you & your needs. As you say Oakley's are not the cheepest BUT they are the BEST so TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Good luck in your choice & don't forget to post photo's when you get them BUT beware as Oakley is an ADDICATION & one pair is never enough................

 

[bouncing_boy77]

The best advise is to go to an Oakley store, speak to the guy's there & try on different styles to find the ones that suit you & your needs. As you say Oakley's are not the cheepest BUT they are the BEST so TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. Good luck in your choice & don't forget to post photo's when you get them BUT beware as Oakley is an ADDICATION & one pair is never enough................

this is so true so beware!

but yeah, best advice is to go to an o store or vault and try before you buy as there's really a lot to choose from.

 

[Leverlution]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and I guess I'm new to this world of sunglasses. I've used sunglasses for most of my life, but I always used the cheapies. Typically the dollar store type of sunglasses or if I was looking to splurge, I might get a $20 pair. I never understood why anyone would pay hundreds to much much more for sunglasses. Out of my own curiosity, I started looking into it and tried on a friends expensive pair and I was impressed. The biggest thing that I noticed was how sharp my vision was with them on.

Yesterday, I went into a Sunglass Hut for the first time to look at some of the Oakley's they had there (since I never thought highly of expensive sunglasses before, I just never seen the point in ever going in one.

Anyway, I saw some glasses I really like. The main one that caught my eyes was the Polarized Fast Jacket XL. I liked how you could interchange the lenses easily to suit different conditions. It had the dark lenses and the persimmon ones for lower light conditions. The idea of getting specific lenses for nighttime driving popped into my head at the time (I'm not sure if persimmon is good enough for such an activity).

I'm also planning on getting another pair that sort of has that aviator style look, like the crosshairs 2.0 or something like that, but I'll see what I like when I have some around me to try on.

I'm actually sad that it took me this long to find the world of better sunglasses and wasted so much on the cheapies. If you have advice for a first time buyer or thoughts on the subject please share.

Every person is different, especially in regards to vision and what works. I have a job that is VERY dependent on vision, having the right light around you etc BUT I also feel the need to have my eyes protected while working. I also cannot use Polarized lenses because of this. Polarized lenses try to correct glare/reflections and I need to stare directly into a reflection for my job.. doesn't work, it's like shinning a Surefire into your eye). With that said, I picked up a pair of Fast Jackets as well. I do a lot of shooting, riding motorcycles etc so my needs for glasses and lens transmission change on a constant basis and my face shape makes Fast Jacket XL's look small. I ended up getting regular black XL's with black iridium and permission, and also picked up a third pair of G40 lenses. I do NOT like the Black iridiums for what I do. I think they look great, but the neutral tone "Washes out" the images while I work. Contrast lenses look much better. But, to answer your question, I have used the Permission lenses to shoot at night time as well as driving 50 miles in some mountain back roads during a serious rain storm. The permission lenses worked GREAT. They REALLY highlighted the yellow road lines, as well as the red taillights from other vehicles. I did not find them to darken the image really, only intensify GOOD images. I think they work excellent for night driving. Just my .02 We should all start a petition for VR28 Black Iridium (polarized AND regular) as well as other popular contrast lenses for Fast Jackets. Hell, ANY accessory lenses would be awesome.

 

[chris009]

Hey thanks for the information everyone. I didn't even know there were Oakley stores and I'm lucky enough to have one in my city. I'm going to head to the mall on Monday (when it isn't busy) to check it out.

Thanks for your opinion Leverlution. It's nice to know that the persimmon lenses work for night driving. I almost wish I could sample the glasses and give them a try out in the real world. I don't know much about lenses, but I know that I really like the polarized for driving. What are the G40 lenses like? I really don't know much about lenses and their intended goals to accomplish. What is an example of a contrast lens?

 

[Razerwire]

Never underestimate what a good pair of sunglasses can do. LOL

When I bought my first pair of sunglasses, I thought cheap generics would do. I mean, they're just to cut down the brightness right? I bought a pair of cheapies and it gave me the worst headaches ever. So I immediately went and got some expensive ones and never looked back since.

 

[S-works]

@ chris009

welcome to the world of Oakley, hope u get your first pair really soon and enjoy them like the rest of us...
the first pair is always the hardest to decide.. just buy what u like and what u feel looks good / works well for u... once you've gotten thru your virgin purchase, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and more will be easier.. hahaha!!

But like the others have mentioned... beware of the addiction!! (in a good way).. don't say we didn't warn u!! )

Cheers dude!!

 

[Leverlution]

Hey thanks for the information everyone. I didn't even know there were Oakley stores and I'm lucky enough to have one in my city. I'm going to head to the mall on Monday (when it isn't busy) to check it out.

Thanks for your opinion Leverlution. It's nice to know that the persimmon lenses work for night driving. I almost wish I could sample the glasses and give them a try out in the real world. I don't know much about lenses, but I know that I really like the polarized for driving. What are the G40 lenses like? I really don't know much about lenses and their intended goals to accomplish. What is an example of a contrast lens?

The Oakley store will actually have a display case with large samples of different lens tints in there. "Neutral" or grey based lens's cut down brightness, but also cut down on the amount of every color in the spectrum coming into your eye and for some people things can look dulled down or washed out. Contrast lenses on the other hand also cut down brightness, but they allow more of certain colors to be transmitted back to your eye. They are usually rose (red) or brown based lenses. It's hard to explain, but they will make a cloudy day look sunny, and make colors "POP" a lot more. Excellent for hunting, or shooting etc. even riding a motorcycle (see cars better in the back roads). Some people don't like them though. Last weekend I had someone try them on a cloudy/rainy day while we were shooting and two people I was with said "Ew I don't like them, it's like an optical illusion." The Oakley store shouldn't have a problem setting you up with some contrast lenses and some normal neutral lenses to let you see the difference, especially a new person. VR28 Black Iridium is a very popular lens. It is a contrast lens, but also has the "mirror" coating on the outside so its harder for other people to see your eyes. My coworker has these lenses in a pair of Oakley's he uses for work, and I swear those darn lenses seem perfect in any condition except maybe night time. The only problem with Fast Jackets is because they are so new, you cannot get other lenses for them yet. What you get with the glasses is all you can have for now, unless you buy another pair and share lenses. I had to call and cry to Oakley (I scratched my permissions pretty bad) to get the G40's. The G40 are about 10% darker than permission (40% of light, as opposed to 51% on permissions), and they are a brown based instead of whatever the permission's are. They are really good for a cloudy type day or running around in the woods, but I would never use em at night time. They just seem a little too dark. The permissions are also a lot better for me while shooting IMHO. Whatever colors they enhance is just perfect for me, but I also grew up using cheap yellow safety glasses instead of clear ones.

 

[chris009]

Okay, I understand what you're saying. The VR28 Black Iridiums sound pretty nice. I'll definitely try out as many lenses as I can when I go to the Oakley store. I'll report back.

 

[chris009]

hey everyone, I was at the Oakley store last night and got to see much more. I am a little disappointed though trying out lenses. It's just not the same looking through them in a store versus outside in the sun. I find it hard. I tried the VR28 Black Iridium Polarized and it was hard to say viewing in the store. The guy that worked there said they were by far his favorite lenses. I really like the Ice Iridium lenses.

As for the frames, I thought (from online research) that the jawbones would be great. I liked how I could take out the lenses and stuff. I tried them on and I felt they looked like goggles. Searched around a bit and found the split jacket, which I really liked.

The two frames I want to get are the Split Jacket and the Crosshair 2.0. The only question for me now is the lenses.