Ventruck
I am Jim Jannard...
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Introduction/Disclosures:
Firstly, some of you did catch the previous review I did on these. Long story short, those weren't the correct production samples to go forward with so I had @Oakleynerd take that down since the opinions and reception were all on a product that wasn't representative of what Walleva will offer. If I simply edited that thread, it'd be way wrong to retroactively apply all the remarks (fair share being positive) to a review of the wrong item.
IF you did read that review, a lot of this review will echo that, but I am using a different tint, and there is definitely some changes to the finish and packaging, which are the early sections of the review. They're different enough that I had to put this on a clean slate.
Secondly, I hashed out a long paragraph making it clear before, but I assume most people here get it: I have no business affiliation nor am I receiving any incentives for reviewing these lenses for Walleva LLC (other than having the lenses to test). They originally teased the upcoming Mr. Shield lenses in the following thread:
Introducing Walleva Mr Shield Lenses
They mentioned they were looking for testers, and I inquired, and now this review materializes. Plain and simple. I did this for another aftermarket brand as well on this forum.
Since then, @Walleva LLC has also posted another thread showcasing their intended presentation of the Mr. Shield lenses:
More info about the Walleva Mr. Shield Lenses
What's so special about these? Compared to Walleva's regular offerings, the Mr. Shield adds hydrophobic and oleophobic (repels facial oils) coatings, and is taper-corrected, which creates some hopeful thinking of an aftermarket lens with legitimate optical quality.
This review will be based upon use of the Mr. Shield lenses in Oakley Jawbone frames. The example I have is vented, and has a blue mirror finish.
Contents:
1.1 Presentation and Packaging
1.2. Fit and Finish
1.3 Visual Performance
1.4 Other Aspects/Features
1.5 Final Thoughts
1.1 Presentation and Packaging
1.2. Fit and Finish
1.3 Visual Performance
1.4 Other Aspects/Features
1.5 Final Thoughts
1.1 Presentation and Packaging
The production-ready Mr. Shield lenses come with very elaborate packaging — much more compared to the original sample I handled which just had the basic setup.
For the Mr. Shield, Walleva has a larger hard box containing the lenses in an MF pouch, instruction booklet, and Walleva's own cleaning spray. The box has a magnetic closure and could pretty much fit my Jawbones when the other contents are removed. Pretty spiffy.
While this has nothing to do with the lenses themselves, the packaging is a pretty nice extra for the lenses — which are retailing for $50 on Walleva's website. Original review was done before their availability, but as of this review, they are available for a number of Oakley frames.
Search - shield
1.2. Fit and Finish
One key difference between this and my previous sample is the thickness. The production-ready Mr. Shield is much closer to OEM thickness, and with beveled edges. Big deal to those familiar with aftermarket, as most examples would be unpleasantly-thin.
[OEM on the left, Walleva's Mr. Shield on the right]
Regarding the cut, and fit, these lenses do pop in just like OEM as well. In the context of the Jawbone/Racing Jacket, it's pretty impressive as most aftermarket lenses run a bit tall, not accounting for the pads within the frame, and therefore requiring a bit of a squeeze to clip the jaws shut.
The last thing to touch on in this department is mirror finish, which is impressively consistent. The Walleva's Blue Mirror in particular is a bit of a lighter hue than Oakley's Ice Iridium. If you care so much about hiding your eyes, these will surely do the job.
So in all, the Mr. Shield lenses do come off like a proper premium lenses to start.
1.3 Visual Performance
I don't have optical testing equipment, and so in testing the Mr. Shield lenses I was in contact with Margot from Walleva. She was very responsive with my questions and concerns, and let me see testing documents pertaining to clarity, UV protection, impact protection (ANSI Z87.1), and color balance. I can't distribute said documents since it is property of Walleva and the testing party, DIN CERTO...nor can I really get into complete details.
Most I can say is that refractive and astigmatic power were reported mostly below (and never above) 0.05 dioptres across all the Mr. Shield samples. In layman's terms, it's a very minimal value that should be comparable to higher end lens makers, including Oakley themselves.
Of course, those factors aren't the end-all in determining clarity, but carrying the lenses into real-life usage, I've been impressed. I legitimately need to see a projector slide comparison to catch what's off with these lenses.
Color perception is one of those things I can't doubt, though. If anyone caught my original review of the Mr. Shield, I used the Emerald mirror finish. It was hard to judge those because they had a strong violet tint behind them. They did operate well as some form of contrast lens (yellows/oranges/whites stood out), but in getting this recent set I requested something more neutral to get a better idea of how well these perform. If you know Oakley's Ice Iridium, you know it's near neutral. Walleva's Blue is a tad brown, but the eyes surely adjust in due time compared to the Emerald I originally used. It made for a better impression because instead of isolating colors it just gave me a good share of definition for everything.
So not to be cliche....but these did effectively make things "pop". This is really something you're only going to get out of the closer-to-neutral tints. If this was say, a red or orange mirror finish, I'd anticipate more of a blue tint; if we were talking about a bolder blue or violet finish, I'd expect a stronger brown tint — basically it helps if you're familiar with Oakley's Iridium collection starting on neutral bases.
That all being said, I'm very impressed. Had the Mr. Shield's mirror finish had been tuned more specifically, I could have mistaken it for Ice Iridium because that's the only perceivable difference I could make out (the slightly brown tint vs. more neutral tint). A little too good to be true just because we're all so used to aftermarket lenses being exposed as very below par, but this isn't the first aftermarket lens I've experienced at this level.
While I'm no expert in the optical field to know how to completely digest and dissect the test results, the fact that Walleva did pursue testing, and didn't hesitate to share them with me really does give me a lasting impression.
1.4 Other Aspects/Features
- Hydrophobic coating: check — basically if I showed you a picture of this, you'd see a dry lens anyway.
- Oleophobic coating: check — this is actually pretty impressive. Works until longer wears and heavier sweat.
- Polarization filter: check — I don't know why, but both Walleva samples I've used are really good at not being too noticeable when it comes to downsides, such as screen rainbows and light fluctuation. They are more or less at that same 45 degree angle as most filters are set.
I can't really test for impact because that'd be a waste of lenses. I know per DIN CERTO's procedures it has passed all their tests for Walleva to confidently state that the Mr. Shield meets ANSI Z87.1 standards. I really can't be too sure how much better Plutonite is over the next rendition of polycarbonate, or if we've got the same exact grade of materials compared in this review.
The supplied cleaning fluid and MF lens bag work as they're supposed to. I'm sure it's not exactly the same mysterious potion Oakley offers, but it cleans just fine with no streaks/swirls.
1.5 Final Thoughts
Like I said before, this isn't the first time I've been very impressed with an aftermarket lens to the point it's just short of a 3rd party, direct comparison. So my findings/impressions are surprising, yet not at the same time. Still a case "imitated but never duplicated", but I think the gap to OEM has gotten smaller with aftermarket lens makers having access to manufacturing resources for taper correction.
To keep the formality of my review, I'm not saying the names of other brands I've tested, but if we really, really had to explore this...
Of the two that have been way up there for me (this Mr. Shield being one), it really comes down to preferred tint. Unfortunately, there's no perfect way to determine/simulate what does what until you try it, so you'd have to rely on your familiarity with mirror finishes on neutral bases. I have tried the competitiors' black and red mirror finishes, and the black impressed me much more — just as the Mr. Shield's Blue mirror did compared to the Emerald mirror. I don't mean to get side tracked, but I gotta stress that you have to think of more than just aesthetics when it comes to picking lenses regardless of aftermarket or OEM.
Before, some Oakley collectors picked aftermarket lenses based upon what looked best on their shelves since they probably figured optical quality was a wash no matter what. In this "niche" of premium aftermarket lenses, lenses you'd want to consider actually wearing in place of the OEM ones you can't easily replace, you definitely have to pick more strategically.
So back to the Mr. Shield lenses — in a nutshell:
+Elaborate package for the money
+proper OEM feel and finish
+convincingly premium optical quality and features
-you're kinda guessing how each tint pans out
-not available for most popular retired frames.
While the upfront information from them was a major upside for me, I can't show anyone the DIN CERTO test results, so it's a bit unfair to add this to the positive list. Not sure if Walleva is going to post it up or have a new vid up on their site, or if they'll respond to inquiries.
For $50, it's a very nice overall package with the box and cleaner. Looking at Oakley's online catalog, a lot of OEM equivalents are still available, and I know swearing to the Oakley oath can outweigh value. Still a worthwhile look if say, you've had experience with Walleva's regular lenses, liked the finish and/or tint, and now want better optical quality behind them. I can imagine the Mr. Shield drawing more appeal with completely retired frames and X-Metals where price and availability are bigger factors.
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