Oakleys

bails87

Worth it?

My "graduate account" is about to become a normal account, so I left all of my pay in it, rather than moving some to a savings account like I normally do, to avoid the risk of going into my (no longer free) overdraft. This means I've got more money than normal in my current account, so I want to spend some!

They're not for biking, I'd be too worried about losing them, but just for general sunglasses duties.

I've got a trip to SE Asia coming up, so would actually have some proper sun to use them in. I was thinking polarised Half Jackets


Or Flak Jackets


Don't want to look like a nob in them though! Well, no more so than usual.

Expensive, but money well spent?

rubins4

All the money is in the lenses, the frames are just cheap plastic. I've got a pair of the older 'minutes' and really like them, but def playing for the name. If you wait till you got over there I reckon you could save quite a few quid?

njee20

I think so personally, only get one pair of eyes, nice to protect them!

I've got about 8 pairs of Oakleys, some of which are about 15 years old, with the exception of the paint coming off one pair (known problem on white chrome Radars), they're all perfect.

Flak Jackets are nice, find mine very comfy, wouldn't be a disaster on the bike either I suspect if you were so inclined.

Mancunianfightingcat

Expensive - Yes

Worth it - Probably not!

But I've got 3 pairs, so I'd say get them.

However, I've recently snapped my Titanium Square Wires, luckily Oakley are repairing them FOC, even without the receipt. So it's probably money well spent in the long run.

Get polarised lenses too, awesome clarity and lens quality.

rubins4

njee20 wrote:

wouldn't be a disaster on the bike either I suspect if you were so inclined.

I was reluctant to use mine biking until i scratched one of the lenses to buggery. now i dont give a fook about them. It actually means I am far less worried about scratching them etc, which is actually a welcome break as I just get on and use them, rather than making sure they are not getting damaged.

Mancunianfightingcat

I usually get mine from the Oakley outlet shop in York, not sure if there's a similar shop nearer to you, but may be worth seeking one out as they are a fair bit cheaper. They also do cycling stuff at discounted prices!

.blitz

As above, the money is in Oakley's cutomer services and the lenses. Back-to-back comparison with a pair of mid-range Bolle/Bloc etc there is a noticeable difference in clarity and lack of distortion but they are no better than a similarly priced pair of Ray-Bans.

If you are going to buy some Oakleys you may as well customise them. Don't want have a pair like the other proles do we

kaytronika

Get down to your local Oakley dealing optician and ask their ophthalmic dispensers for advice if you don't want to look a pillock in them. They'll help you find something that fits and looks good.

My wife won't let me wear my Minute out and about because they don't suit me.

From what I've seen the Oakley shops mark up their glasses even more than the opticians do. But if you find a pair that look good with assistance, you can go and find the best price in your own time.

mudsucker

Got an old pair of XXs that i've had for about 6 years. Frames are fine except the nose rubbers keep falling off but the coating on the lenses is starting to come off an the inside and i'm not going to pay about £60 for some new ones being the glasses cost £85!

They are good quality for sure, but prob not worth the money imo. Will prob look at (and through ha ha ) some spies, dragons, dirty dogs, smiths next time.

VWsurfbum

i have Oakley 5's ducati perscription with transition lenses with the custom O in red 8)
i have had 2 other pairs one set of half jackets which were bought for riding and a set of framless ones which i still have but my prescription has changed. for the ammount i have paid for these 3 glases i could of had all 4 of my eyes lasered but i'm too much of a squeeeemer to get it done.

Do it, but like previously said they are cheaper abroad and even in the airport!

Gazlar

yep duty fre oakleys are your best bet, and then you can try them on too to see what they look like first

Anonymous

I love my Oakleys. Fantastically clear optics, and the frames are "sit-on-them-proof" since the arms are designed to pop off without snapping.

Have you checked out Oakley's uk website? you can specify pretty much any frame you want, with any lenses, and even get them laser etched, and they cost about the same as they do in most shops.

dwill

check this place out they seem to be very well priced dont be put off by the address, i have bought a pair of oakley assault gloves and the service was very good.
http://www.polimil.co.uk/acatalog/SI_Eyewear.html

Anonymous

that's a great find, dwill

dwill

check out there address though when i bought my gloves thought i had been had :shock:

bails87

dwill wrote:

check out there address though when i bought my gloves thought i had been had :shock:

Frog island?

Anonymous

dwill wrote:

check out there address though when i bought my gloves thought i had been had :shock:

Can't find their address, only an email addy

RevellRider

I've used Poilmil a few times before, great staff and great service. The Oakleys only are the military style ones so not many colour choices on the frames I'm afraid.

*edit* Yeehaa, they're based in Leicester. I have been to their shop

Anonymous

ah, nevermind, found it!
lol, boing boing!

bails87

RevellRider wrote:

The Oakleys only are the military style ones so not many colour choices on the frames I'm afraid.

Yeah, that's the downside, doesn't seem to be any polarised lenses for the Flak Jackets either. I'll go and try them on somewhere first because they might not even suit me. The posh sunglasses shop in town never even replied to my job application years ago when I was at college, so I reckon they owe me

Yeehaa:
The address is under Terms & Conds

5 Frog Island
Leicester
:?

Gazlar

bails87 wrote:

[

Yeehaa:
The address is under Terms & Conds

5 Frog Island
Leicester
:?

frog island!!! theyre probably on strike like their train drivers, their farmers and their footballers

hoochylala

bails87 wrote:

5 Frog Island
Leicester

Living in Leicester, I can confirm there is a Frog Island near to the City centre!

supersonic

Oddly enough I use Oxigen glasses by Red Frog.

For ten quid are very tough, and good quality lenses too.

*AL*

bails87 wrote:

Worth it?

I wear shades on all but the very darkest days whilst I'm at work (china clay quarry, light reflecting off a white surface similar to being in the Artic)

I've tried endless brands of shades and always end up going back to Oakleys.

The quality of the lenses are beyond compare, my current work pair are 3 year old E-Wire 2.1's and they're not even scratched yet !

Tolk

Hmm, been looking for a pair of new shades, what do you reckon to these : Clicky

Would mainly be used for riding i guess.

Anonymous

i like the idea of oakleys but i look like a prize bell-end in them so i found some ray bans which suit my big shiney wobbly round face.

polarized lenses are the way forward too, loads of sun protetion without being too dark to look through, plus when you look at some plastics you can see weird colours and shapes in them, i dont know why though.

Anonymous

sheepsteeth wrote:

plus when you look at some plastics you can see weird colours and shapes in them, i dont know why though.

It's because you can actually see the stresses in the plastic. You can also see it in the rear window of most cars, where the tempered glass in not equally stressed.

In layman's terms, it's to do with the way light passes or bounces off an object, and how different wavelengths (colours) bend by different amounts through different densities of material.

Polarised glasses are great, but can be odd on a bike since the glare can come and go as your head tilts.

Anonymous

it looks cool is all i know, when i bought them, the guy in the shop had a clear plastic disc about the size of a side plate. when you looked at it normally it just looked like frosted plastic, when i looked at it through my polarized ray-bans the disc was colourful, loads of fruit if i remember correctly.

even if its a gimmick it worked for me.

Where are my stabilisers?

i like the idea of oakleys but i look like a prize bell-end in them

I wouldn't give a toss about that, I look like a proper bug eyed freak in the Jawbones I just bought. Acceptable on the bike, maybe a little odd walking down the street though :shock: . I've got a pair of crosshairs for more "sensible" occasions!

joshtp

very expensive, and prob not worth it, but id still get some if i could afford. They are luuurvely. I esp like the Flak Jackets.

Anonymous

sheepsteeth wrote:

it looks cool is all i know, when i bought them, the guy in the shop had a clear plastic disc about the size of a side plate. when you looked at it normally it just looked like frosted plastic, when i looked at it through my polarized ray-bans the disc was colourful, loads of fruit if i remember correctly.

even if its a gimmick it worked for me.

Be careful with expensive polarised glasses though. I bought my first polarised Oakleys after getting some decent overtime pay.
You can actually look "into" water with them, which is wicked, since they cut out most of the reflected light from the water's surface, and the glare, so you can see the bottom of rivers, fishes etc.
Anyway, I lost them, embarrassingly enough, whilst looking over the edge of the Britannia bridge in to the Menai Straights.
"ooh, cool I can see...... ARGH, I can see my shades falling into the bloody river!"