What Is Best Lens For Low Light (dusk) Riding?

[kronin323]

Contrast lenses(especially vr28BIP) makes overcasts "brighter" while making sun look "darker" dont know technically how it works, but if you wait 2-3 minutes after this post, a guy named kronin323 should tell you and me.

lol - I was putting The Kid to bed... bathe bathe night night....

It's simple really - contrast lenses have a base tint that helps you see edges / color variances to give a sharper appearance, typically by filtering out the blue haze. They tend to look some variety of brown / yellow / orange, though OEM Fire are almost maybe kinda greenish and G30 is more pinkish.

A complaint about contrast tints is they can give everything a "wash" of the base tint color. But VR28 is different - at a glance it looks brownish but when you wear them they almost seem to be a true color enhancer. Very pretty.

VR28 BIP is a great all-around lens but the BIP part brings the light transmission % down to 10% and isn't really suitable for dusk.

Standard, plain VR28 is, well, 28% trans (hence the name) and is great for cloudy days, but still may be a bit much for dusk.

I've worn VR50 in dusk conditions comfortably. But if you're really dealing with the last few minutes before it gets dark, clear may still be the best answer.

 

[kronin323]

BTW they do (or did) make VR28 Transitions, go from 50% to 10% if I recall correctly.

The thing with transitions lenses is the tint is activated by UV and most modern windshields filter UV so they don't darken while driving. But on a bike should be ok.

I believe it was @CarGuy who got a pair of VR28 Transitions; maybe he can speak better on their practicality.

 

[paulgrott]

My preferences for very low light cycling are yellow, HI yellow and clear but I am itching to give HI persimmon a go when I can find a lens for my radarlocks.

 

[saulsaul]

I forgot to ask, r u gonna use this 4 nite riding also? If yes then stick with clears.

I ride to work in the morning and home again in the evening. City. Lots of tall buildings. I figured Transitions would make my life easy in the morning as I wouldn't need to worry about choosing which lens to use depending on weather. If I leave work when it's daylight, Transitions should also be good. My issue is leaving work when it is dusk or night. I guess in that case, safety dictates that I should use completely clear.

I've never used a high contrast lens for low light cycling and am intrigued... May have to but a clear and a HI Persimmon in addition to the Transitions. (Oakley is sucking me in !!!)

Super specific question but on the Oakley UK website, for the Flak Jacket XLJ there are two 'clear' lenses with different SKUs but both called 'clear'. Any idea?

 

[saulsaul]

lol - I was putting The Kid to bed... bathe bathe night night....

It's simple really - contrast lenses have a base tint that helps you see edges / color variances to give a sharper appearance, typically by filtering out the blue haze. They tend to look some variety of brown / yellow / orange, though OEM Fire are almost maybe kinda greenish and G30 is more pinkish.

A complaint about contrast tints is they can give everything a "wash" of the base tint color. But VR28 is different - at a glance it looks brownish but when you wear them they almost seem to be a true color enhancer. Very pretty.

VR28 BIP is a great all-around lens but the BIP part brings the list transmission % down to 10% and isn't really suitable for dusk.

Standard, plan VR28 is, well, 28% trans (hence the name) and is great for cloudy days, but still may be a bit much for dusk.

I've worn VR50 in dusk conditions comfortably. But if you're really dealing with the last few minutes before it gets dark, clear may still be the best answer.

Fantastically helpful infor for a beginner - thanks Kronin323. So have you tried HI persimmon or yellow for dusk? I have flak jacket xlj and I can't see G50 available as a replacement. They do that HI Persimmon. Would that be good for very dark conditions?

 

[Pyu76]

I ride to work in the morning and home again in the evening. City. Lots of tall buildings. I figured Transitions would make my life easy in the morning as I wouldn't need to worry about choosing which lens to use depending on weather. If I leave work when it's daylight, Transitions should also be good. My issue is leaving work when it is dusk or night. I guess in that case, safety dictates that I should use completely clear.

I've never used a high contrast lens for low light cycling and am intrigued... May have to but a clear and a HI Persimmon in addition to the Transitions. (Oakley is sucking me in !!!)

Super specific question but on the Oakley UK website, for the Flak Jacket XLJ there are two 'clear' lenses with different SKUs but both called 'clear'. Any idea?

Sticking my neck out here but i believe one is titanium clear and the other is clear clear. I have not tried either.

 

[kronin323]

So have you tried HI persimmon or yellow for dusk?

In my pre-Oakley days I preferred a yellow in dark, heavy rain. I just haven't gotten around to getting yellow lens Oaks because those VR50s are so great.

I have not used HI persimmon but I believe @Rustpot has some experience with it.

 

[saulsaul]

Sticking my neck out here but i believe one is titanium clear and the other is clear clear. I have not tried either.

Useful thanks. I will check with Oakley which is which as I'd prefer the titanium clear if possible.

 

[Carrera1963]

Super specific question but on the Oakley UK website, for the Flak Jacket XLJ there are two 'clear' lenses with different SKUs but both called 'clear'. Any idea?

That is weird, neither is etched with titanium. Interestingly though, a search on 653 brings mainly UK results, whereas 776 brings initially Japanese ones.

Ti clear has lower light transmission than clear, so for night riding you actually want the plain clear, not the Ti.

Forum sponsor ShadeStation has the 653s and are good to deal with.

 

[saulsaul]

That is weird, neither is etched with titanium. Interestingly though, a search on 653 brings mainly UK results, whereas 776 brings initially Japanese ones.

Ti clear has lower light transmission than clear, so for night riding you actually want the plain clear, not the Ti.

Forum sponsor ShadeStation has the 653s and are good to deal with.

Super helpful, thank you.