Aftermarket Lenses - Revant/Walleva/Fuse/Ikon/Linegear...etc

[htrap2294]

Hey guys,

What's the current thinking around what's on average the best aftermarket brand to go with? Ikon, Fuse, Revant? Something else?

Oakley.

 

[starfly]

That's not an aftermarket brand. Thanks for your helpful post.

 

[TechGuy77]

If it's your only option left I suggest Ikon or Revant Elite. They are both taper corrected but I don't know how good the optics are, seem good, No headache. No one has tested that I know of. I've used both and think they are of good quality. Not as good as Oakley OEM though, I go Oakley every chance I get.

 

[htrap2294]

That's not an aftermarket brand. Thanks for your helpful post.

Oh, but it is helpful. What's going to happen is you're going to buy the aftermarket stuff that someone recommends.

Then, somewhere down the line, your conscious will be like: "Why didn't you just buy the OEM?"

Then, you'll remember just how good the OEM lenses were.

You'll be back to square one. Trust me.

 

[starfly]

If it's your only option left I suggest Ikon or Recant Elite. They are both taper corrected but I doubt know how that fairs for how good the optics are. No one had tested that I know of. I've used both and think they are if good quality. Not as good as Oakley OEM though.

Thanks. It's for an older pair of Oakleys I have. And I do like that most aftermarket brands apply an anti-reflective coating to their lenses, something oakley does not do (trust me, I've compared Oakley to Maui Jim and Ray-Ban, and Oakley does not have an anti-reflective coating on their lenses, or if they do it's very weak as I can always see my own eye reflections in bright sunlight wearing Oakley BIP, not so with Maui Jim).

 

[starfly]

Oh, but it is helpful. What's going to happen is you're going to buy the aftermarket stuff that someone recommends.

Then, somewhere down the line, your conscious will be like: "Why didn't you just buy the OEM?"

Then, you'll remember just how good the OEM lenses were.

You'll be back to square one. Trust me.

Well, in terms of clarity and distortion, Oakley lenses are very good. But they don't apply AR coatings to their lenses, or the coating is very weak, so I always see internal reflections in the lenses, which after trying on some Maui Jims I now can't unsee. So their lenses are very good, but they're not the end all be all of lenses. They could be even better. Beats me why they don't apply those coatings to their lenses. That would elevate them from very good to almost perfect.

If you don't believe me, walk into any Sunglass Hut today and compare Oakley to a Maui Jim, by letting light reflect onto the back of the lens. You'll see the difference, it's quite obvious. Even Ray-Ban has those coatings on their lenses. Why does Oakley not do that? Would improve visual clarity even further as you will not have reflections interfering with your vision.

 

[htrap2294]

Well, in terms of clarity and distortion, Oakley lenses are very good. But they don't apply AR coatings to their lenses, or the coating is very weak, so I always see internal reflections in the lenses, which after trying on some Maui Jims I now can't unsee. So their lenses are very good, but they're not the end all be all of lenses. They could be even better. Beats me why they don't apply those coatings to their lenses. That would elevate them from very good to almost perfect.

If you don't believe me, walk into any Sunglass Hut today and compare Oakley to a Maui Jim, by letting light reflect onto the back of the lens. You'll see the difference, it's quite obvious. Even Ray-Ban has those coatings on their lenses. Why does Oakley not do that? Would improve visual clarity even further as you will not have reflections interfering with your vision.

That is an issue - that's true, but are you comparing Iridium lenses to one that are not? Or comparing apples to apples?

 

[starfly]

That is an issue - that's true, but are you comparing Iridium lenses to one that are not? Or comparing apples to apples?

I was comparing BIP lenses to Maui Jim and Ray-Ban Polarized (non of the regular non-polarized lenses appear to have these coatings, but all the polarized ones from Ray-Ban do and all Maui Jim lenses are polarized and have these coatings).

 

[htrap2294]

I have Revant Elite lenses that I switch out sometimes. They're great but they have their own issues. One, they're not oleophobic protected or if they are the coating is weak.

It's extremely annoying to try to remove the fingerprints.

 

[htrap2294]

I was comparing BIP lenses to Maui Jim and Ray-Ban Polarized (non of the regular non-polarized lenses appear to have these coatings, but all the polarized ones from Ray-Ban do and all Maui Jim lenses are polarized and have these coatings).

I'm pretty sure it's the Iridium that's reflecting. It happens in mine too but in a non-Iridium lens it does not happen.