Anyone Use Aftermarket Lenses In Their Oakleys

[mountainbikermark]

I've got a couple of older pairs of Oakley sunglasses that could use new lenses because I didn't know wearing them in and around pools would cause the lenses to pit until the damage was done.
Well the Half Jacket XLJ lenses are no longer made so I went to Amazon looking for a possible replacement since some sellers carry older stuff.
What I did find was a company called Revant still makes them for that pair and my 19 year old M Frames at a huge discount over oem ones so I tried a set for the Half Jackets.
I'll be totally honest, other than them being about 1/8mm thinner they are incredible . The clarity is right up there with the originals, so much so I ordered a set of black stealth polarized for my M Frames to compare with the ones on them. Same 8% visible light transmission, same just wow clarity and blocking of glare and they're actually the larger version of the Heater that comes down further on the cheek and wider side cover, giving 0 light bleed when bicycle riding, fishing and other sports activities.
The reason I'm writing this is to pass on on top of their already lower price they've got a 15% discount on their polarized lenses as a fathers day special.
In some reviews there were complaints of them being a little thinner and not being easy to install but I found them acceptable because though thinner they don't wobble in the frame a bit and I didn't have to bend the frames to the fear of breaking point like the oem lenses.
I paid $200 for my last replacement M Frames lenses but $36 , shipped, for the same polarized titanium mirrors I ordered today after discount.
Amazon carries more than just those 2 styles so here's a link to the company's page
Amazon.com Revant

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[Jeffrey]

Nice find..

 

[cr6]

Thanks MBM! LOVE my half jackets... .wearing them at the pool now.

I'll have to try these lenses....just can't beat that price. Great find!

S5 tap'n

 

[Miller6386]

Thanks MBM! LOVE my half jackets... .wearing them at the pool now.

I'll have to try these lenses....just can't beat that price. Great find!

S5 tap'n

You're sitting by a pool and that's the best photo you could post for us......... Tisk Tisk Tisk lol

I really need to invest in some real sun glasses. Mine consist of dark safety glasses lol

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[cr6]

Next time I'll include the pool in the background. I figured you seen one pool, you've seen em all. (and no Miller, the bikini babes weren't out yet) LOL

S5 tap'n

 

[Miller6386]

Next time I'll include the pool in the background. I figured you seen one pool, you've seen em all. (and no Miller, the bikini babes weren't out yet) LOL

S5 tap'n

I wish the pool at our complex was that nice. This place goes down hill daily. Glad we are out of here in January. Finally got enough cash stock piled for a down payment on a house. Been shopping for a nice fixer upper with at least 10 acres. Nothing that I really love so far.

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[cr6]

That's a good investment and 10 acres is perfect.
But yeah, I lucked out when I found this place. I've been living here for about 6 years now and absolutely love it.
I've gotten to know the apartment manager really well and he has let me go month to month for the past 2 years (as we've been looking into buying a house as well) without any penalty or added costs. Two great clubhouses, a nice pool and they keep everything so well maintained, honestly, I haven't been in a real hurry to leave as of late.

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[mountainbikermark]

Here's the Titanium Mirrored polarized. I was grilling after work, enjoying a cold Gatorade after working in heat all day.

My favorites so far, the Stealth Black Elite HC3 (high velocity impact resistant ) polycarbonate lenses.

I ordered a set of Midnight Sun so I can have the same neutral tint in a polarized but a little more visible light allowed . Not sure how I'm going to feel wearing dark red lenses since I don't like to stand out in crowds.
They'll look something like this

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[cr6]

I've had the first two types over the years. My last two pair have been polarized black Iridium, which have been my favorite lens so far. I've had a number of brands over the years, but nothing beats the clarity of Oakley. Expensive, but well worth the money imo.
Never been a fan of the red or colored lens for "sunglasses", but have a similar looking pair of Oakley snowboarding goggles. They're called Persimmon if I recall correctly. I have another pair for cloudy conditions that have a more yellowish tint.

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[mountainbikermark]

My M Frames came with polarized Black Iridium and my Half Jackets came with Transitions, the reason I got them in the first place. They pitted after years of wearing by and in my local pool but unlike the polarized where the mirror literally popped off in tiny scratch like pieces over a few weeks . It was more of a very dirty window that just wouldn't come clean . I can still see just there's a fog like haze that will not clean off.
I've got a pair of Radars I use for work that have the Transitions because I'm in and out often , work nights, etc and wanted 1 pair of do all glasses that double as low impact safety glasses at work. I'm not sure which Radars they are , they have like 50 that all look alike and have very similar sub names and unlike Oakleys of old I can't even tell men's from women's anymore .
Anyway we'll see if I look like some kind of angry demon in the red lenses. If I write back suddenly children started running to their parents screaming and crying when they see me I'll know those aren't going to work. They're supposed to be the same inner tint as the polarized Black Iridium just not block quite as much visible light. My oem ones block 93% visible, stealth black,92%, titanium 90% and red I just ordered 82(?)% . I just don't like the ones that change the tint of things. It gets my mind all weirded out when green is blue, red is green, etc. That's why I don't like wearing my fishing glasses unless I have to. They've got that "golden" hue that brightens everything up while toning it down and it _7#;$ with my depth perception bad. Same with "rose" and "bronze". Green ain't so bad but finding green tinted polarized glasses isn't easy since Maui Jim went away from that tint years ago.

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[cr6]

That's strange, I never had a pair of Oakleys flake off like that. But I imagine that had a lot to do with them being transition lenses.
I remember back in the day, Oakley used to replace your sunglasses for free absolutely no questions asked, whether they broke or got scratched.
Those days are long gone, but I find that I really take care of them now that I have to actually pay to replace them.

That's pretty sweet that the can make prescription Oakleys, I had no idea. Obviously, it makes sense. I just never thought about it I guess. lol


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[Miller6386]

Alright I'm going to jump back into this wagon. As someone who has never had a pair of expensive name brand glasses is there really an advantage to buying Oakley? I've always just bought the $5 glasses off the rack at the gas station but I have never had a pair that was really comfortable. I've never been a big advocate for having to have name brand things other than my electronics so to drop that kind of cash on designer sunglasses for me is a huge jump.

As I said before my sunglasses now are just dark safety glasses. I don't wear sunglasses like I should and am always in the sun squinting.

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[mountainbikermark]

Alright I'm going to jump back into this wagon. As someone who has never had a pair of expensive name brand glasses is there really an advantage to buying Oakley? I've always just bought the $5 glasses off the rack at the gas station but I have never had a pair that was really comfortable. I've never been a big advocate for having to have name brand things other than my electronics so to drop that kind of cash on designer sunglasses for me is a huge jump.

As I said before my sunglasses now are just dark safety glasses. I don't wear sunglasses like I should and am always in the sun squinting.

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For me it's not the name but bang for buck. How much do you spend on uncomfortable sunglasses a year? I spent $200 on a replacement lens in 2012 that was on a pair of glasses I paid $200 for in 1996 . That averages out to just over $21 a year for shades that are so comfortable I forget I'm wearing them often. I used to pay $24 (plus ship) a pair for Tifosi brand that'd last about a month before they'd break in a crash or whatever. My wife about had a cow when she saw how much I spent when I replaced the lens that was my fault it pitted so badly until I showed her the math.
The Half Jackets were discontinued and knocked down to $60 and I bought those in 09 (maybe 2010?) bringing me to still under the cost of 1 pair of Tifosis after shipping cost since I stopped buying them last century.
The clarity is almost like putting on prescription glasses, when the lenses are clean, and they've added some kind of coating that makes goo, sweat and fingerprints come off almost by itself.
For that matter a cheap pair of polarized sunglasses ($20 at your local big box sporting goods store) will bring out the depth in stuff that no $5 pair can match and are reasonably comfortable for wearing an hour or less at a time. I got a pair last year at my local fishing supply store so in case I lost them while kayaking I wasn't out much money. The new lenses in the Half Jackets mean I can wear glasses that are so light and comfortable I can be on the water for hours and not get that ear, nose or forehead pain now.
I guess it's all in priorities but for me, as I wrote before, it's about overall long term value. It's why I stayed with Verizon when nobody else was with them and for so long after they became so popular in central Virginia that network congestion rivaled AT&T. Until they shut down their 1 LTE cell and 4 cdma at the same time in my radius while both T-Mobile and AT&T were adding cells and capacity in the same vicinity and cost less per month. Verizon got to where $1 a month for data wasn't a good value because I had 0 signal.

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[cr6]

IMO, there is a night and day difference between inexpensive and really quality sunglasses. Growing up and spending so much of my life on the beach and boating, I was always on the search for sunglasses that both looked good, but more importantly provided protection for my eyes. I was in HS when I tried on a buddies Oakleys and I was instantly hooked...the clarity, brightness and definition was amazing.
I've tried everything from Ray Bans to Revo and everything in between. Ray Bans were really nice, but still didn't compete with the quality of Oakley imo. The problem with trying on sunglasses in the store is you can't get a true sense of how good they are until you get outside in the sun. It's hard to explain.
I'm certainly no expert in sunglasses, I can only tell you what I like and what works for me. I can say with all honesty that there is a huge difference between quality sunglasses and a cheap 10-20 dollar pair from Wal-Mart. For me personally, they are well worth the cost. I also find that the more money I have spent on my sunglasses, the more careful I am with them.

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[mountainbikermark]

The red lenses came today. They're gonna be perfect for cloudy days and the hazy days of Virginia summers. They cut the glare and brightness without seeming dark like my 10%, or less, visible light allowing ones do but don't change any colors like many others do.

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