Darker lenses similar to Prizm Trail?

[Makten]

I feel like we’re both looking for the same lens. The warmth & reduction of blue light is very comfortable for me.

I wonder if there is some practical reason for not making darker "warm" lenses with iridium. Seems like most of the red/brown lenses don't have it, which is a pity. I'd love to combine aesthetics AND the look from inside that I want.

PDW maybe? Probably way too dark for anything but full sunshine though. Or PSW which should be similar to Tungsten.

Same for me.

I had Prizm Black Polarized and had to send them back because of this. But regular Prizm Black I can get on with. Prizm Daily Polarized are still my favourite day to day lens. I like Dark Golf and Road Black, depending on sun brightness as well. Next purchase will probably be Trail Torch.

Interesting! So, I wasn't wrong about the difference in tint then. I'll see if I can find some Prizm Black to try out, but the stores around here don't even know what they are selling and there is no easy way to check what Prizm lens a frame has. Just says "Prizm" and the clerks look like you are from outer space if you ask them.

 

[cacatman]

Hello, new member here, so please forgive me if this topic is beaten to death or something.

I have a little stash of Oakley shades with different lenses, of which I like Prizm Trail the most. That was the first one I got, for mountainbike riding.
Later I've added other frames with Prizm Ruby, Prizm Sapphire, Prizm Tungsten, Prizm Low light and a standard Violet iridium (bought Frogskins super cheap and later switched the lenses to Tungsten).
While I like Sapphire and Tungsten for sunny weather, Sapphire is a bit too "cold" for shadows and/or cloudy. Tungsten is obviously better but nowhere nearly as nice as the red/orange hue of Trail. Ruby, I don't like at all. Very strange colors, almost washed out, yellow/greenish and also a bit "cold" since they suppress reds (probably due to the red/yellow iridium).

What I would want is a lens that is at least in the same ballpark as Trail, but much darker. More like ~15% VLT and preferably with Iridium. The Trail lenses make you look like a total dork since the eyes are as visible as with clear glass. And, they have too high VLT for when the sun comes out, even though it's never extremely bright up here (Sweden). But OTOH they bring out colors that makes a dull day feel like it's sunny, and the way they separate reds from greens is unreal. I want to wear them all the time!

I've found two lenses that might be up to the task; Prizm Rose Gold and Prizm Field. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to find professionally executed photos (without auto white balance) through these lenses, so everything comes down to guesswork. Oakleys own example images are waaaay off on all lenses I own and have tried. Not even the base tints are correctly specified. Do they want people to be disappointed and buy another set of glasses, or what's the deal with not providing accurate descriptions and examples?

Any suggestions? My favourite frame is Frogskins, but the selection of replacement lenses and complete glasses isn't great. Other "lifestyle" frames would be OK, but I'm not wearing anything too sports oriented. It just doesn't suit me.
I'd love to hear from someone that has tried the new Prizm Rose Gold, since it actually comes with Frogskins frames (albeit pretty expensive still).

This may help....

🦘Excel File of Comprehensive List of Oakley Lenses, & Lens Transmission

Last edited 11th May, 2021 by @cacatman Download the Excel Spreadsheet with ALL the information from my Dropbox link here. Dropbox - Lenses.xlsx Introduction Ever wanted to know what lens you've got? Or what is the best use of the Oakley lens you've got? Look no further. It's been grouped in...

www.oakleyforum.com

 

[Makten]

This may help....

🦘Excel File of Comprehensive List of Oakley Lenses, & Lens Transmission

Last edited 11th May, 2021 by @cacatman Download the Excel Spreadsheet with ALL the information from my Dropbox link here. Dropbox - Lenses.xlsx Introduction Ever wanted to know what lens you've got? Or what is the best use of the Oakley lens you've got? Look no further. It's been grouped in...

www.oakleyforum.com

Thanks! I've seen it before but had forgotten about it. Not sure it helps me though since I'm more after a particular FOV look than "technical" properties. For example, if violet iridium really is a neutral lens, it says nothing about the FOV since the iridium makes it act yellow to the eyes (pretty nice lens actually).

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I was at a store today to try the Holbrook frames. Thought that they might fit me and allow a greater selection of lenses. But they didn't look very good on my face, unfortunately. Nor did any of the other non sports frames in the store. Frogskins are the only frames that are spot on, but they only come in strange colors and with older lenses or just a few Prizm ones.
Crossrange seems to be the platform for me if I want to experiment. But, same there; hard to find the lens you want in a non-stupid frame color. I don't understand why they don't offer black frames with any lens you'd like. Oh well...

 

[Makten]

I couldn't resist Prizm rose gold, so I bought a cheap pair of Frogskins Lite. Not very fond of the lenses unfortunately, but I love the frames, which was a bit of a surprise.

These lenses are right in between Prizm Tungsten and Prizm Ruby. Less horrible than Ruby but less nice than Tungsten. The FOV is yellow/brown/greenish (NOT "rose" by any means), but IMO too much red is filtered/reflected out by the inconvenient color of the Iridium, which makes them a bit dull and boring compared to Tungsten. They feel a lot darker than both the other lenses and they cope very well with glare, so perfect for full sunshine. But, as with Ruby, they lose all the luster as soon as the sun goes behind a cloud, and suddenly the contrast is too high and they appear too dark. And I miss the reds.

I find them acceptable, and probably others will like them. It's a pity that the people at Oakley don't seem to match the Iridium with the base hue of the lenses for some reason. I can imagine the bronze lenses would be amazing with a blue or green Iridium. Just saw that there is a Prizm Violet now. Might have to check that out. Too.

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This is how I rank the lenses I own for now:

#1: Prizm Trail – Lovely! An overcast day will appear like a sunset. But not for everyday use if you don't want to look like a dork (as see-through as window glass). Note that they do come in different thickness depending on the frame, so some are darker (and more orange) than others. Mine are pretty thin and very transparent.
#2: Prizm dark golf – Almost as nice as Trail, and dark enough to pass for everyday use. Tons of pop and exactly the right colors are filtered out. Works both for rain and shine, street and woods. But, anyone can see your eyes straight through them. Doesn't look bad though.
#3: Prizm Tungsten – A little more green and less red than PDG, but pretty similar. A lot darker and therefore better for bright light. This is my to-go lens. Works for everything and looks pretty good from the outside too.
#4: Prizm Sapphire – Only for sunshine, but at that, it shines. Very crisp, clear and poppy, but also "cool". Which to me makes them not-so-nice for cloudy conditions. Dense Iridium makes it almost impossible to see through them from outside.
#5: Prizm Rose Gold – I would probably love these if I hadn't tried the more red lenses. They are good. Just not my taste. Also very dense Iridium. Almost totally opaque and even a flat frame like Frogskins will not show your eyes. The Iridium is also very uniform from edge to edge.
#6: Violet Iridium – A greenish/yellowish FOV that I don't care for, but I don't hate it either. Not as dense Iridium as #4 and #5, but almost.
#7: Prizm Black Polarized – THE letdown. The lens that everyone seems to love. But I just hate it. Everything appears cold, gray, sterile. No pop. No nothing. Just bleh. They are not even dark enough for when you really want a dark lens and the polarization isn't very effective either. WTF? Edit: I've tried regular Prizm Black in a store and they seemed different. Better, nicer. Like Sapphire but more neutral. There's something strange going on with the Polarized ones.
#8: Prizm Ruby – Green pops. That's about it. Nothing else. Everything looks green or gray. But yes, they look fantastic from the outside. I will never use these again. Ever.

I got Prizm Low light too, but they are specialty lenses. I only use them when mountainbiking and I know it's gonna be dark before I get home. Actually, I think clear lenses would be better for just when you barely see what you're doing. But, when you fire up the lamps, the Prizms are nice again.

 

[xtc14]

@Makten, regarding the Prizm Black Polarized, I've a set of Jawbreaker with this lenses and I indeed find it's not that dark, do you find the regular Prizm Black to be darker in comparison to the Polarized version? I'm thinking on getting another Wind Jacket 2.0 frame with Prizm Black.

 

[Makten]

@Makten, regarding the Prizm Black Polarized, I've a set of Jawbreaker with this lenses and I indeed find it's not that dark, do you find the regular Prizm Black to be darker in comparison to the Polarized version? I'm thinking on getting another Wind Jacket 2.0 frame with Prizm Black.

I don't have Prizm Black, so I can't compare them. Just noticed that they did appear more vivid than PBP (that I have) when I tried them.

 

[steveadorjan]

Have you tried the Prizm Sapphire Snow in the end? I'm also looking at sth. similar to Prizm Trail with lower VLT and the Prizm Sapphire Snow Radar EVs seemed to have a similar FOV to the Prizm Trail in the store

 

[Makten]

Have you tried the Prizm Sapphire Snow in the end? I'm also looking at sth. similar to Prizm Trail with lower VLT and the Prizm Sapphire Snow Radar EVs seemed to have a similar FOV to the Prizm Trail in the store

No, but it's on the list of lenses that could potentially be "the one". Unfortunately all the interesting lenses are only available in sports specific frames, that I just can't wear. That would be Crossrange then, but I don't want more lenses for one single frame and buying the complete glasses is too expensive if I don't know I'll like the lenses. Right now I use them for Dark golf, that I like a lot.

By the way, I'm starting to like the Prizm rose gold a bit better. As long as I don't compare them to something I like better, they're quite nice.

 

[KarlBlessing]

Trail lenses make you look like a total dork since the eyes are as visible as with clear glass.

Wasn't aware that was considered dorky... Love my trail lens and been ok when the sun is out (here in western michigan which isn't exactly that bright compared to other parts of the us).

I ended up getting trail lens because I wanted the higher VLT when I was in the trails especially when the cloud cover ended up thicker.

My go to when it gets mostly sunny and if I'm not mainly using them for trail purposes has been the shallow water polarized.

Though an alternative is Trail Torch, it mellows out the amount of red/orange light coming in so can move into sunny conditions without such an overkill in brightness, despite being just 1% darker in VLT it feels considerably darker in use, and without the contrast being nearly as punchy as the trail lens. Road is similar to trail torch but down to 20%.

However I think even the trail torch is still going to have some visible eyes.

Rose Gold should be highly reflective tho and it's next in my list for getting that bronze base but with that gold look.

 

[WildWires]

Prizm trail and prizm deep water might be good bets. Just need to try on some lenses and see what works best for you. i also really like prizm dark golf. that might not be dark enough for you and will make you look dorky .