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Darker lenses similar to Prizm Trail?

Makten

Oakley Beginner
52
58
Hello, new member here, so please forgive me if this topic is beaten to death or something. :blush:

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. :rolleyes: 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? :headbang:

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). :cool-20:
 
Prizm Road Black is uncommon, and not offered on many frames at all, but it seems to fit what you're looking for. Prizm Field is quite similar to Prizm Trail Torch...there are a lot of rose lenses out there and they overlap. I don't think you'll find them to be high enough VLT% I'd also look at Prizm Dark Golf, it's a great lens similar to a Tungsten but contrast is tuned up a bit more because it's a sport lens.

Honestly though, in a lifestyle frame, look at Prizm Jade. The green Iridium coating gives the FOV a rosy tint that's pleasant and versatile. It seems like you're looking for a rose-based contrast enhanced lens, which is what Prizm tends to do, but not the sport look. If Sapphire was to 'cold' and Ruby is too 'hot', Jade might be your Goldilocks lens.
 
Prizm Road Black is uncommon, and not offered on many frames at all, but it seems to fit what you're looking for. Prizm Field is quite similar to Prizm Trail Torch...there are a lot of rose lenses out there and they overlap. I don't think you'll find them to be high enough VLT% I'd also look at Prizm Dark Golf, it's a great lens similar to a Tungsten but contrast is tuned up a bit more because it's a sport lens.

Honestly though, in a lifestyle frame, look at Prizm Jade. The green Iridium coating gives the FOV a rosy tint that's pleasant and versatile. It seems like you're looking for a rose-based contrast enhanced lens, which is what Prizm tends to do, but not the sport look. If Sapphire was to 'cold' and Ruby is too 'hot', Jade might be your Goldilocks lens.

I have only tried the regular Prizm road, and if the black is similar but darker, I don't think I will enjoy it. It's also "cold" with a very purple hue. The thing is; pink and purple are pretty far from the orange/red of the Trail lens. Sapphire being "cold" is most likely not due to the blue iridium, since it would filter out more "cold" (blue) tones, if anything. I think it's the base tint of the standard Prizm lenses that is simply not "warm" enough for my . liking. 😕
Ruby is the opposite of "hot", in my opinion. Every time I wear them and take them off, it's like "wtf, everything looks better without this crap!". 😄 They look awesome from the outside though, so I only use them on occasion because of that, haha.

But yes, of the daily Prizm lenses, Jade looks best from the examples I've seen. However I wonder if the difference from Sapphire is great enough. They do share the same base tint, if I understand it correctly. That's why I'm more interested in the sports lenses that have more "extreme" tints, with a few reddish ones.

I did some more research yesterday and found that Prizm Snow Sapphire looks a bit similar to Trail. Darker, more pinkish, but still a lot more red and orange than most other lenses. 🥰

As for frames, I own a pair of Crossrange that is considered both a sports frame and a fashion frame, so the selection of lenses is much greater than for Frogskins. That might be my ticket to get the lens I want in a frame that looks good enough for casual use. 🙂


Edit: Oh, and just to make it clear, this talk of "cold" lenses only applies when the sun isn't out (which is quite often here). In full sun, I love the Sapphire and I can tolerate the Ruby.
Since I'm a photographer I might do a photo comparison and upload some images to show what I'm talking about.
 
You said you were looking for 15% range, but checkout prism shallow water. It brightens stuff up like prism trail but still functions as a sunglass lens for average light days. They are great in the winter and on days when the sun hides in the clouds and peeks out randomly. I think they are closer to the low 20% range.
 
This is actually a very interesting question. I was mountain biking yesterday and experienced a similar situation. The sun was very bright yesterday and I was riding a trail that was very mixed with open areas but also areas covered by dense trees.

I was wearing Prizm Road Jawbreakers and for the open areas it was just a bit on the bright side, but for the tree covered areas it was just a little bit too dark and it didn’t push the browns that much. I have experienced this exact situation a lot of times before because I ride this specific trail a lot since it’s very close to where I live. What would be ideal is a darker version of Prizm Trail that still manages too push the browns and the greens enough in slightly darker areas like the dense tree covered areas.
Prizm Trail is persimmon based and this orange-ish base pushes the browns more than the greens I think, but correct me if this is a wrong assumption.
I haven’t got a pair with Prizm Dark Golf or Prizm Shallow Water so I don’t know how these lenses push the Browns and greens. Dark Golf should push the greens more than the browns because it’s designed for golf and golf courses are shades of green. Prizm Shallow Water should push the browns more because shallow water is brown-ish most of the time, at least in Europe it is.
For Prizm light transmission rates I’ve checked the Oakley website: Dark Golf is 22%, Road is 20%, and Shallow Water is 15%. Shallow Water is not persimmon based, but looks more like an amber brown-ish base So Shallow Water might be smart choice for trail riding, but only if it’s able to push the browns enough when there is less light. I’m curious of this is the case with Prizm Shallow Water
 
Between the two, I went with Prizm Trail Torch because it is a little more even with its light transmission profile. The red iridium coating makes it better for exposed areas, but still being suited to shadows under canopy. I don't care for the high contrast of regular Trail. I use Trail Torch, and if it's quite overcast or foggy, I wear Prizm Low Light.
 
Between the two, I went with Prizm Trail Torch because it is a little more even with its light transmission profile. The red iridium coating makes it better for exposed areas, but still being suited to shadows under canopy. I don't care for the high contrast of regular Trail. I use Trail Torch, and if it's quite overcast or foggy, I wear Prizm Low Light.

How is Prizm Trail Torch in bright light conditions? For me Prizm Road sometimes is too bright on the eyes when riding under the bright summer sun. I have no doubt that Trail Torch works under canopy, but I’m wondering if Trail Torch isn’t too bright for sunny conditions when you have to ride to the trail in unexposed areas?
 
How is Prizm Trail Torch in bright light conditions?

It is ok, not great. It is better than regular Trail or anything with a higher VLT% The Iridium coating helps, and I'd rather have a higher VLT and just deal with bright areas knowing the lens will perform at its best in the filtered light stretches.
 
This is actually a very interesting question. I was mountain biking yesterday and experienced a similar situation. The sun was very bright yesterday and I was riding a trail that was very mixed with open areas but also areas covered by dense trees.

I was wearing Prizm Road Jawbreakers and for the open areas it was just a bit on the bright side, but for the tree covered areas it was just a little bit too dark and it didn’t push the browns that much. I have experienced this exact situation a lot of times before because I ride this specific trail a lot since it’s very close to where I live. What would be ideal is a darker version of Prizm Trail that still manages too push the browns and the greens enough in slightly darker areas like the dense tree covered areas.
Prizm Trail is persimmon based and this orange-ish base pushes the browns more than the greens I think, but correct me if this is a wrong assumption.
I haven’t got a pair with Prizm Dark Golf or Prizm Shallow Water so I don’t know how these lenses push the Browns and greens. Dark Golf should push the greens more than the browns because it’s designed for golf and golf courses are shades of green. Prizm Shallow Water should push the browns more because shallow water is brown-ish most of the time, at least in Europe it is.
For Prizm light transmission rates I’ve checked the Oakley website: Dark Golf is 22%, Road is 20%, and Shallow Water is 15%. Shallow Water is not persimmon based, but looks more like an amber brown-ish base So Shallow Water might be smart choice for trail riding, but only if it’s able to push the browns enough when there is less light. I’m curious of this is the case with Prizm Shallow Water

Thing is, I'm satisfied with Prizm Trail for my mountainbiking. Even when it's sunny, since most of the riding is under trees anyway.
I could have been clearer, but I want something with similar color profile, but for casual use. And for that, I want/need a darker lens, preferably with iridium (which isn't gonna be easy to find though). :cool-20:

While I understand what you mean, the word "push" is a bit misleading. The lenses can only "pull" certain colors, and if browns look brighter through a lens than without the lens, it must "pull" other colors more so that brown stands out. In the case of Prizm Trail it seems like some wavelengths that overlap reddish and greenish stuff in nature are pulled. This makes you able to distinguish different types of ground that normally look roughly the same, like grass and soil.

Now, I don't really need these properties for everyday use. I'm more after the warm, cozy look I get through the Trail lens. It makes me feel good! So, I suppose a lens with similar base tint but a bit different purpose will do fine. Such as Prizm Golf or Prizm Field. The latter is probably significantly darker and has at least a subtle iridium coating.

I haven't tried shallow water but I wonder if it isn't more like Tungsten; more brown (yellow) than persimon/pink? I do like Tungsten, but I'd prefer something with more red and less yellow. I think.
 
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