Good quality sunglasses manufacturers?

[Kabob]

Alright, my wife informed me that another friend right up the street had a Costco membership. Turns out he also had a Sam's Club membership where he bought his Bolle's so I grabbed both cards and we headed out.

First stop was Costco, they didn't have alot of glasses. A few Bolle's, a few Maui Jim's, a few Serengeti's, but nothing really struck my fancy. Then we headed to the mall and hit the Sunglass Hut again. I probably tried on half their sunglasses with my wife giving me the thumbs up/thumbs down. Revo, Maui Jim, Ray Ban, etc...nothing really did it for me. Then I tried on the Oakley Flak Jacket XLJ's again...and they're by far the most comfortable for me and I like the clarity. Maybe the build quality isn't the best out there but I do like 'em a good bit.

Anyone know if the Polarization for Oakleys is between layers or a film on the front?

 

[rcpratt]

Love my new polarized Oakley flak jackets, but they're certainly expensive. They were a little too sporty for me at first but they're comfortable as hell and the look has grown on me. Mine are plasma frames with the VR28 iridium lenses (brownish red)...have to look at the colors in the store, online doesn't do their colors justice obviously. I forget what brand my non-sporty ones are, but they were pretty cheap.

I'm pretty sure it's not a film on the front, but if it is, I haven't had any issues with it peeling after about 8 months.

 

[Kabob]

Yeah, they're pricey but they're by far my favorites.

 

[Jeffg010]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxdMjC2BTwc
Blue blockers are the best everyone knows this.

 

[Capt Caveman]

After owning many brands, I only buy Oakley now for sunglasses and prescription frames.

 

[fatpat268]

After owning many brands, I only buy Oakley now for sunglasses and prescription frames.

I only wish I could get a prescription with iridium lenses at a reasonable price (if you can even do that).

I talked to the eyeglasses place nearby, and they're an oakley dealer, but the prescriptions were done with normal black/grey lenses and not the iridium mirror finish. Not only that, but damn they wanted almost 500 bucks for the glasses.

I'll stick with my contacts for now (god i hate contacts though).

 

[cressida]

I just bought some Maui Jims but a lot of the brands mentioned in this thread are good as well. Just try out different kinds and see what fits well and looks good, then go for it!

 

[MetalMat]

I wear these, they fit me well but I saw an awful lot of people in NYC this weekend with similar sunglasses

 

[AndroidVageta]

Nice glassed but the ones i want seem to be $175 everywhere i looked. Where can i find $110?

I got all mine at Wal-mart in the Optical department.

 

[dr150]

Serengeti.

$110 will buy you any design you could want with polarized, anti-glare, scratch resistant mineral glass lenses with Italian made or Japanese made titanium/steel frames.

I personally own about 10 pairs of all colors and designs...I will NEVER go back to anything else.

http://www.serengeti-eyewear.com/index_en_na.cfm

Seconded.

Serengeti's stand up to anything in the market. Their lenses are state of the art.

What I suggest you do is order several pairs of whatever you like on sunglasshut.com (which carries a huge amount of styles not available at their retail stores) and then return the pairs you don't like at your local Sunglass Hut FREE of charge. I know of people that have ordered 20 pairs before they've settled on something.

In terms of quality, besides Serengeti, Revo and Persol (what celebs wear in droves) stand out, but many sunglass salesmen I know say people get tired of the heavy glass and frame of the Revos. Persol (Made in Italy) is also glass but lighter than Revos, well priced, and amazing quality (way better than Ray-ban). Revo's heavy weight sunglasses (and bland styling) is the achilles heel of the brand.

Maui Jim is also good. Also much lighter than glass frames with their polycarb lenses. They also have a legendary warranty system. They'll usually replace your broken pair free of charge.

Among other brands that are great are Mosley Tribes (what celebs wear, GREAT quality, fair value), Oliver Peoples (legendary celeb brand (Pitt, Jolie, etc) and fantastic quality, frames complement MANY faces which is the reason why they're so damn popular in the entertainment industry), Barton Perreira (expensive celeb brand from ex-employees of Oliver Peoples), DITA (lots of rap artists and athletes wear their fashion foward yet elegant styles). You can't go wrong with any of these--they are durable and include the latest tech--plus they make PIMP styles.

Stay away from other "luxury" brands (i.e. Armani, Gucci, etc) as you're OVERPAYING for the name which is stamped on a sunglass made in a generic mass produced factory than true quality. The above brands I mentioned trounce this other stuff on a dollar per dollar quality basis.

IMO, modern Oakleys are notorious for scratching too easily which is a HUGE achilles heel--they'll look like shit after a while. If you sit on your glasses, then this is the brand for you as they are far and away the best for designing "lego" frames that can be put together after being crushed.

Also stay away from Costa Del Mar. Good quality, but their warranty system is legendary dogshit. You break them, forget about getting them warranteed. Many people have sworn off the brand b/c of their scam warranty.....

 

[dawp]

Actually...I do. But she's on the other side of town :thumbsdown:

actually I think you can go in and look around without a membership, you just can't buy anything until you join.

 

[jlee]

I only wish I could get a prescription with iridium lenses at a reasonable price (if you can even do that).

I talked to the eyeglasses place nearby, and they're an oakley dealer, but the prescriptions were done with normal black/grey lenses and not the iridium mirror finish. Not only that, but damn they wanted almost 500 bucks for the glasses.

I'll stick with my contacts for now (god i hate contacts though).

According to Oakley's site (I'm looking at government sales though), you can get prescription iridium lenses in black, emerald, fire, gold, ice, or VR28 black. Black, gold, ice, and VR28 black have polarized iridium options as well.

 

[fatpat268]

According to Oakley's site (I'm looking at government sales though), you can get prescription iridium lenses in black, emerald, fire, gold, ice, or VR28 black. Black, gold, ice, and VR28 black have polarized iridium options as well.

Maybe I have to check out another oakley dealer, and check out about that.

Oakley's website is pretty vague on the subject of prescription sunglasses and their price. No doubt it'll cost an arm and a leg though. :\

 

[dr150]

Maybe I have to check out another oakley dealer, and check out about that.

Oakley's website is pretty vague on the subject of prescription sunglasses and their price. No doubt it'll cost an arm and a leg though. :\

Oakley rips you off on RX. First, you have to pay retail price on the Oakley sunglasses and then the exorbitant RX fee. If your RX is too strong, they won't even touch it.

The solution is to use these guys (where pro athletes go for their RX sunglasses):
http://www.heavyglare.com/

HeavyGlare.com has access to the most technically advanced machines than Oakley's older machines. That means they can wrap a heavy RX in wrap frames AND at MUCH CHEAPER prices than Oakley. They can do any tint, any material and give you a sharper lens at the corners than Oakley can. You can price shop your sunglasses on the internet (or have them price match it) and mail your sunglasses to them for the RX - win/win! :thumbsup:

 

[mmntech]

For non-polarized, Zurich Sunglasses are pretty impressive. They're designed for pilots.
http://www.zurichsunglasses.com/

 

[fatpat268]

Oakley rips you off on RX. First, you have to pay retail price on the Oakley sunglasses and then the exorbitant RX fee. If your RX is too strong, they won't even touch it.

The solution is to use these guys (where pro athletes go for their RX sunglasses):
http://www.heavyglare.com/

HeavyGlare.com has access to the most technically advanced machines than Oakley's older machines. That means they can wrap a heavy RX in wrap frames AND at MUCH CHEAPER prices than Oakley. They can do any tint, any material and give you a sharper lens at the corners than Oakley can. You can price shop your sunglasses on the internet (or have them price match it) and mail your sunglasses to them for the RX - win/win! :thumbsup:

Thanks for the link, I'll definitely consider them :thumbsup:

 

[Imp]

I wear these, they fit me well but I saw an awful lot of people in NYC this weekend with similar sunglasses

Look like Ray Ban 3025s. Just like movie sta!

I'm looking for a pair of those, but they're overpriced here in Canada (what isn't?). Heading to New York on the weekend, hope I can find a place selling a legitimate pair for $60 less.

 

[skace]

I love these: http://www.oakley.com/pd/6426

But yes, they do scratch easily.

 

[BurnItDwn]

http://www.sunglasswarehouse.com/
under $20, work very well. Much better than $5 gas station sunglasses.

I only wear them when I drive, style is of no importance to me.

 

[Kelvrick]

Yea, oakleys are expensive, but they give me a little more piece of mind with the shatter resistant materials. I lost my last pair of flak jackets (black frame, black iridium polarized lenses) while clothes shopping and just ordered this set from amazon. Prime should get them here by Thursday.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

It says 210 now, but I just ordered them this morning at $167.27. Weird.

 

[PricklyPete]

I'm a huge fan of Kaenon. Had my current pair for ~5 years now and still look like new. Will likely pick up another pair soon just to get a newer design and keep the old ones purely for car/activity duty.

 

[MyThirdEye]

Revo or Ray Ban. Buy yourself a nice pair of croakies so you won't every break them.

On a side note, croakies are awesome.

 

[kag]

I wear these Ray Bans, but please don't copy me.

I wear the exact same model but gunmetal frame and gray lenses.

 

[tailes151]

Serengeti.

$110 will buy you any design you could want with polarized, anti-glare, scratch resistant mineral glass lenses with Italian made or Japanese made titanium/steel frames.

I personally own about 10 pairs of all colors and designs...I will NEVER go back to anything else.

http://www.serengeti-eyewear.com/index_en_na.cfm

Where are you buying them for $110? I can't find anything near that price on their website.

 

[tailes151]

Where are you buying them for $110? I can't find anything near that price on their website.

Bumpity bump