Oakley Sunglasses ReviewsSunglasses & Glasses

Oakley Parlay Sunglasses | Review & Guide

We review the all-new Oakley Parlay Sunglasses to see how this performance lifestyle frame stands up to the competition. Plus we’re covering everything to know about this frame before you buy!

Keep reading for our Oakley Parlay review!

Background and Release

First appearing online in July 2021, the Oakley Parlay sunglasses were released in October 2021. The Parlay released alongside several pairs including the NXTLVL, CMDN, and Ojector sunglasses.

And with some new innovations and design features on the Parlay, we were pretty excited to get our hands on these sunglasses.

Oakley Parlay Highlights

  • Square silhouette full-frame design with two tone color options
  • Dual material lightweight and durable frame made of O-Matter and Aluminum materials
  • Unobtainium nose pads for no-slip grip even when wet or sweaty
  • Plutonite lens material offering protection against UVA, UVB and UVC rays, plus harmful blue light up to 400nm
  • High Definition Optics (HDO) for superior clarity, impact resistance and UV protection
  • Available with a variety of contrast-enhancing Prizm everyday colors
  • Available with Oakley Authentic Prescription lenses including laser etched ellipse logo
Oakley Parlay Sunglasses
The Oakley Parlay features a mixed material construction with an aluminum brow and lower half O Matter frame – Photo: Oakley

Oakley Parlay Sunglasses Review

We reviewed a pair of Polished Black Oakley Parlay sunglasses with Prizm Black lenses and overall enjoyed the frame. But there were still some key areas we thought could be a bit better.

Frame and Design

Starting with the frame, the Oakley Parlay features a full-frame two-tone design that’s fairly simple at first glance. But the frame itself still has some surprises.

The frame is made of a combination of lightweight O Matter material and aluminum, with Unobtainium nosepads for added grip.

One key feature missing on the Oakley the Parlay – Unobtainium earsocks on the temples. Now, this isn’t too surprising since typically about half of Oakley performance lifestyle pairs have Unobtainium earsocks, compared to almost every sport model.

But the Parlay seems like it could really benefit from low-profile earsocks similar to what’s found on the Kato.

Overall, the design of the Parlay isn’t anything too special. It seems to almost be the next generation to the similarly-designed Two-Face sunglasses or Anorak. But we do love the combination frame material that adds some fun to this frame!

Parlay side view and temples

Prizm Lenses

The Oakley Parlay features large rectangular Prizm lenses in its full-frame design. We’ve already covered how much we love contrast-enhancing Prizm lens technology, so we won’t go into too much detail here. But overall Oakley has made Prizm lenses the default lens in any new release sunglasses.

And we’re definitely not upset about it.

These lenses offer superior glare protection plus contrast-enhancing tuned for everyday conditions. And while we had a fairly tame lens with Prizm Black in our Parlay, there are plenty of fun color options like Prizm Sapphire Polarized, and Prizm Ruby.

Keep reading for the full list of Parlay colorways.

Oakley Prizm Black Lens
No lens (left) vs. Oakley Prizm Technology in Black (right) comparison

Dimensions and Size

The Oakley Parlay is a medium to large size frame that looks best on round and oval face shapes. We’ve included the full dimensions below for reference:

  • Frame Width: 134.5mm
  • Frame Length: 145mm
  • Lens Height: 57.5mm
  • Lens Width: 44.2mm

For more sizing information check out our full Oakley Sunglasses Size guide.

Launch Colorways

The Oakley Parlay sunglasses (Product Link) are available in 6 colorways. We’ve included the complete listing below:

  • Matte Black w/ Prizm Grey
  • Polished Black w/ Prizm Black
  • Matte Black w/ Prizm Ruby
  • Matte Rootbeer w/ Prizm Tungsten Polarized
  • Steel w/ Prizm Sapphire Polarized
  • Matte Black w/ Prizm Black Polarized
Oakley Parlay Prizm Sapphire Lens
Prizm Sapphire lenses are great for bright light conditions and add a pop of color to the Parlay – Photo: Oakley

Our Review – Are They Worth It?

The Oakley Parlay sunglasses are a pretty basic full-frame design for a performance lifestyle pair. The two-tone frame material and colors help to add a pop of fun, but we’ll be very curious to see what colorways this pair releases with.

Overall, we don’t have anything negative to say about the Parlay, but they also don’t get us very excited.

However, in Oakley’s defense, this is likely by design. Not every pair can be a wild Over The Top or Mars. People still want pairs of sunglasses they can wear down the street without turning heads.

While these wouldn’t be at the top of our buy list, if you’re looking for a simple fun full-framed design, these may be right up your alley.

Are Parlay Replacement Lenses Available?

While the Oakley Parlay features changeable lenses, Oakley does not currently sell Parlay replacement lenses directly.

Over the last 2-3 years, we’ve seen Oakleys slowly fade away from selling replacement lenses for every pair of Oakleys. Instead, they seem to mainly focus on replacement lenses for sports pairs like the Radar.

But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to buy replacement lenses for the Parlay.

You can still buy replacement lenses for almost every pair of Oakleys through aftermarket suppliers.

To learn more about aftermarket lens suppliers and our complete comparison, check out our full guide to the Best Oakley Replacement Lenses.

Where Can You Buy Oakley Parlay Sunglasses?

You can buy Oakley Parlay sunglasses through Oakley’s website (Product Link) or a local retailer (including Oakley and SunglassHut stores).

But if you’re looking to save on a pair of Parlay sunglasses you may want to wait. That’s because you can often score 20-30% off new sunglasses during Oakley sales (Check out our sales guide to find the next sale).

Otherwise, if you’re looking to buy immediately, you’ll want to look at aftermarket sites like our Oakley Forum Exchange areas or eBay, where you can usually save 30%+ on new pairs.

For more tips and tricks on how to save check out our guide to Never Pay Retail Again for Oakleys.

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