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Oakley Iridium vs. Polarized Lenses? Differences Explained

Learn what Oakley Iridium and Polarized lenses are, the differences between them and which ones you need!

A pretty common newcomer question we hear is what’s the difference between Oakley Iridium and Polarized lenses. We’ll break down exactly what both of those terms mean and which are right for your sunglasses.

What is Oakley Iridium?

Let’s start with the basics. Oakley Iridium is a lens coating that provides a reflective property on Oakley Plutonite lenses. This means your lenses will look “mirrored” and people won’t be able to see your eyes through your sunglasses. Compare these to non-iridium lenses that tend to appear more transparent and therefore your eyes will be visible behind the tint.

Now it’s important to clarify that Oakley Iridium coating has nothing to do with the color or tint of your lenses or even whether they are polarized (spoiler alert!).

Oakley created the Iridium coating by superheating metallic oxides and fusing them to the lens at the molecular level. This creates a uniform filtering layer that optimizes contrast and minimizes glare. To be clear, Iridium is Oakley’s marketing name for the lens coating, but mirrored or reflective finishes are pretty common across the eyewear industry.

Oakley Iridium vs. Polarized Lenses
Oakley Radar featuring Iridium Lenses that provide a mirrored look

What are Oakley Polarized Lenses?

Now shifting gears, Polarized lenses feature a lens coating to specifically filter out light and reduce glare. This not only helps to protect your eyes from long-term UV damage but also helps you see better in various conditions and reduce eye strain.

Manufacturers create Polarized lenses by applying a special chemical to lenses that help to create vertical openings for filtering light. This means when horizontal rays of sunlight hit your glasses they reflect more light and you see less glare. Think of it like looking out a window on a sunny day. Polarization is when you add blinds to that window which instantly reduces the sun coming in, even when open. We even demonstrated this effect when we showed how to test whether your sunglasses are polarized in under 30 seconds.

Oakley offers polarized lenses on most pairs of sunglasses sold today. Similarly, most other manufacturers do too. Though we should point out there is a difference between Polarized and UV Protection. UV Protection is what you’ll often find on your local gas station sunglasses, but this doesn’t mean they are polarized and likely won’t protect your eyes the same.

What’s the difference between Iridium and Polarized Lenses? Which is the Best?

Now that we covered what Polarized and Iridium lenses are, let’s talk about which is the best! Here’s the good news – You can have both! Most Oakley’s today have lenses available with both the Iridium mirrored coating and Polarized lens technology. Oakley has even gone one step further with their release of Prizm Lenses that enhance contrast!

If you’re a fan of mirrored lenses and want to protect your eyes, we recommend Polarized lenses that feature an Iridium coating in your next pair of Oakleys.

Check out the original thread below and let us know if you have a question on Iridium or Polarized lenses by joining our 35,000+ members today!

Created this site because of the lack of a place for the Oakley Community to talk. Feel free to Message me any time with feedback for the site, tips o...
Two completely different things...

Iridium is the mirror coating they put on lenses. Both neutral and a bunch of different color options. They claim to reduce glare, and they do reduce light trans %, but their main value is they hide your eyes and look cool, if that matters to you...

Polarization means they have a filter that blocks light polarized at a certain orientation. It can be oriented at any angle, but with sunglasses it tends to be light reflected from below you, such as off water, a wet road, or car hoods / trunks / windshields. It truly reduces glare, and reduces the total light trans % without making things darker.

Ideally you get a pair both with iridium and polarized, unless you're sensitive to one or the other.
 
the iridium lens can reflect the sun shine ,like a mirror and it can be produced with any color .the polarized lens is grey usual,but it can't reflect sun light,and the polaroid lens can be coated with mirror film. and the price of iridium lens is higher than polarization.
 
Well, not a proper oxymoron, but yes, contradictory... ;)

Okay, "without making things appear darker"... :D
Any proper oxymoron is just an inherent contradiction in terms, it doesn't have to be an adjective/noun or noun/noun pair. I'd suggest "reduces light transmission" "without making it darker" is inherently contradictory :)
 
the iridium lens can reflect the sun shine ,like a mirror and it can be produced with any color .the polarized lens is grey usual,but it can't reflect sun light,and the polaroid lens can be coated with mirror film. and the price of iridium lens is higher than polarization.
Ummm... polarised lenses can use any lens base, doesn't have to be grey. In the Oakley world, polarised lenses are more expensive than iridium, although in fact the majority of their polarised lenses have iridium too - the two aren't exclusive.