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.
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!