oakley - overpriced or worth it

shiznit76

Hi, just been riding with a new pair of oakley radars with prizm lenses, to be honest, don't see massive difference compared to the wee £20 northwave glasses i had been wearing. So, what do people think, oakleys are they overpriced and well marketed, or good value for money. I know the pros in the main all wear them, but does that actually mean they are best glasses on the market?

ayjaycee

shiznit76 wrote:

Hi, just been riding with a new pair of oakley radars with prizm lenses, to be honest, don't see massive difference compared to the wee £20 northwave glasses i had been wearing. So, what do people think, oakleys are they overpriced and well marketed, or good value for money. I know the pros in the main all wear them, but does that actually mean they are best glasses on the market?

Oakley sunnies being worn by pros is part of the Oakley marketing strategy but personally, I don't like them. I will however concede that the optics are pretty good BUT I do not believe they are any better than my Rudy Projects or Sungods (both of which I prefer because they are not Oakley). Only you can decide if the price of Oakleys is worth it and if they suit you.

gsk82

Oakley make great sunnies. I've been trying for a couple of years to find a new pair, but unfortunately their current range has nothing in it that appeals to me and fits me.

navrig2

I bought a pair of Radar Locks for my 50th, 7 years ago. I still have them and wear on all rides. The cost about €150 in a fancy shop on Fuertanventura. I knew what I'd have to pay in the UK and that at this price it was a reasonable deal but I had the Euros burning a hole in my wallet from a previous holiday.

The following winter I took them skiing and the lanyard lace thing I used wore the coating off the lens when in my pocket. I claimed under the warranty and Oakley replaced the lens no questions asked (they have a rigorous process to confirm the glasses are genuine).

For the 5 years prior to buying the Oakleys I usually had to buy a cheap set of glasses each year (say £20). Typically they would snap after a year's wear. My riding mates typically buy "Joakelys" from Ebay at about £10-15. They too usually last a year or so.

I have replaced the grips on the legs at £10.

So at 7 years they have not quite paid for themselves however they are as good as new and showing no sign of wear. I expect them to easily outlive 10 pairs of cheap alternatives. On that basis they offer VFM.

Not sure how they compare against Rudy Project glasses - quite fancy a pair of these as the design and colours look good.

Performance wise the Oakleys are great. Comfortable, don't steam and are hard wearing. I also have a pair of Specialised Arc titanium framed glasses with reactolite lenses. I love these and they cost £50 2nd hand from this forum. However they steam up at the drop of a hat so I can't use them. My wife wears them.

Are Oakleys worth it?

Maybe!

Matthewfalle

I wear Arnettes and they are just as good in lense quality and manufacturer back up in replacing damaged lenses, frames etc.

Oakley are good but nothing so wonderful ahead of others.

turbotommy

I wear them and like lots of things about them but they are overpriced for what they are in my opinion. A friend of mine rides with a pair of dewalt safety glasses and does just fine. I know oakleys are full of all sorts of clever tech, but it must be nice knowing if you trash your shades it’s only £5 or whatever to replace em.

StillGoing

Overpriced and paying for a name. I've used Tifosi, Rudy Project and currently Salice all at a fraction of the price of Oakleys. Never had a problem with the lens, fit or breaking. Only problem is daughter that keeps taking a fancy to them and giving them a new home.

grenw

I'm in 2 minds on this one. Sure you pay for the name but mine have been worn on every ride (mtb and road) for the last 6 years). Hundreds of rides. No other kit has done this and if I lost or broke them I'd happily buy another pair.

redvision

I have owned a pair of radars and radarlocks for a couple of years and have to say I have been underwhelmed as I didn't notice any difference in optics to my old dhbs. Although i did notice a huge difference to the choakleys I bought several years ago

One thing I can compliment them on though is the strength of the frame. When I crashed in October one of the injuries was a badly broken nose which was actually caused by the radar frame (ok, so by a bus pushing the frame into my nose) but whilst I suffered, the radars were fine.

SJH76

Oakley's never really fit my face shape. I currently have Rudy Project Tralyx which are very comfortable and came with photochromic lenses so I can wear them in all conditions and still see clearly. And they still cost less than overpriced Oakley sunglasses of similar design

crescent

Never owned a pair of Oakleys but I do like the look of some of them. I'm not sure I would spend that kind of money on something that, based on previous experience, I am quite likely to drop when out on my bike so I'll just stick to my £9.99 Bolles out of Screwfix. I have a pair of Ray-Bans that I use for driving, they are absolutely superb. I bought them for £90 back in 1991 and they are still going strong, so expensive glasses can work out as good value.

cougie

Love my Oakleys and I have about 6 pairs. If they break Oakley will replace them. Of you look after your kit then they'll last forever. I can't tell any difference with the prizm lens compared to the normal lens and I can't tell a difference between Oakley lenses and third party replacements.

Sure they're expensive but you'll get years of wear from them.

ayjaycee

Crescent wrote:

.............I have a pair of Ray-Bans that I use for driving, they are absolutely superb. I bought them for £90 back in 1991 and they are still going strong, so expensive glasses can work out as good value.

Spot on - I spent a lot of my working life in hot and sunny climes when good sunnies were pretty much an essential and have always worn either Ray Ban (with the usual Bausch & Lomb lenses) or Randolph Engineering. IMHO, those two are the best lenses on the market. My oldest (Ray Bans) are probably from the mid-1970s and still going strong - even the newest ones (Randolphs) must be 25 years old and are still good.

chasingtrails

I went to buy anything but Oakleys around 20 years ago - I just didn't like the fact that they seemed very overpriced.
Came back with a pair of Oakley Half-Jackets because they fitted comfortably & nothing else did (including other Oakleys).
They're still going now!
So I guess, just buy whatever fits well & does the job. If they're uncomfortable you won't use them.

The other pair I have are the full framed Rad8 glasses - they seem good, not quite as comfy on me, but still good. They're anti scratch on the outer surface & anti fog on the inner which seems to work well. You can choose normal or photochromic, and while the photochromic lenses don't appear to go that dark, they do keep the glare down - https://www.instagram.com/rad8mtbglasses/
http://www.rad8.co.uk

top_bhoy

Overpriced.

The lens have good optical vision but;
1) I find it pretty difficult to remove or change the lens on the Radar.
2) I've found that the lens coating is all too easily damaged.

Whilst my el cheapo pair has clear vision, I concede they aren't quite as good optically as the Oakleys. However, this optical benefit of the Oakleys is completely negated in heat because a thin film of sweat and suncream generally coats the lens surface. With all these issues being taken into consideration, I don't feel they're so good for the premium being asked to pay therefore I'd be unlikely to consider further purchases of Oakleys.

flasher

Have you seen the price of 100%, POC & Smith, Oakley seem reasonable in comparison!

cougie

Very true ! Oakley are now a cheaper option !

Beatmaker

I've tried loads of different glasses brands, and goggle brands for DH and snowboarding. I always end up back on Oakley. As pointed out above, nowadays Oakley are cheaper than many fashionable alternatives.

cq20

I don’t use them for cycling (Aldi stuff is good enough for me) but do use their goggles for skiing (in poor visibility) and IMHO their skiing goggles are overpriced and worth it.

chippyk

Flasher wrote:

Have you seen the price of 100%, POC & Smith, Oakley seem reasonable in comparison!

Got some bright yellow POC Crave from Sports Pursuit for £80 the other week and they are on Wiggle for under a £100 in some manky colours

ayjaycee

ChippyK wrote:

Got some bright yellow POC Crave from Sports Pursuit for £80 the other week and they are on Wiggle for under a £100 in some manky colours

CK - Maybe I'm just not a bright yellow sunglasses kind of a guy but if you consider them OK to wear, I'd hate to see what you thought were manky!!

chippyk

ayjaycee wrote:

ChippyK wrote:

Got some bright yellow POC Crave from Sports Pursuit for £80 the other week and they are on Wiggle for under a £100 in some manky colours

CK - Maybe I'm just not a bright yellow sunglasses kind of a guy but if you consider them OK to wear, I'd hate to see what you thought were manky!!

Dark green.

cougie

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/poc-crave-sung ... jcEALw_wcB

Barf Green?

They do make Oakley look worth every penny I reckon.

top_bhoy

Flasher wrote:

Have you seen the price of 100%, POC & Smith, Oakley seem reasonable in comparison!

I noticed that too recently during my search for new sunnies but it doesn't mean Oakley aren't overpriced only that POC & Smith are more grotesquely overpriced.

One plus for the Smiths sunnies though. I did like the look of the method adopted by them in their PivLock lens design...avoids the non-user friendly flexing and bending method required when changing an Oakley lens.

StillGoing

Oakley overpriced? Definitely when compared to the likes of Rudy Project, Salice etc. It would all depend on the quality of the lens for me. I tried some of the BBB glasses with the reading strip at the bottom for long sighted types like me. While, yes I can read the Wahoo now, the sun screening is abysmal. I'd be better off wearing my prescription specs. Instead I'll stick with the Rudy's and Salice with minimal data on the screen so I can read it without glasses.

philbar72

I tried them, found them ok, but then went with rudy project and have never looked back....

step83

I found the Prism lenses worked quite well, finally managed to source an RX insert holder for my jawbreakers so no need for contacts finally. Tried a few but they fit my face shape well. Had a few pairs my currents are alright just just not quite as flush to my face.

meursault

+1 for Salice.

They are Italian, which is all you need to know.

Wayne Plunger

I went with Oakley as at the time they appeared to be the only people offering prescription cycling glasses where the lenses were as per normal glasses. The others I looked at appeared to be offering a detachable "over lens"

The problem comes I suppose when your prescription changes.

step83

Wayne Plunger wrote:

I went with Oakley as at the time they appeared to be the only people offering prescription cycling glasses where the lenses were as per normal glasses. The others I looked at appeared to be offering a detachable "over lens"

The problem comes I suppose when your prescription changes.

Works to a point obviously, if say for example you have a wrap around lens then the possible prescription options are less, so my -5 is a no no one a Jawbreaker but fine on say Frogskins or similar flat lenses.

Wayne Plunger

Step83 wrote:

Wayne Plunger wrote:

I went with Oakley as at the time they appeared to be the only people offering prescription cycling glasses where the lenses were as per normal glasses. The others I looked at appeared to be offering a detachable "over lens"

The problem comes I suppose when your prescription changes.

Works to a point obviously, if say for example you have a wrap around lens then the possible prescription options are less, so my -5 is a no no one a Jawbreaker but fine on say Frogskins or similar flat lenses.

Yes mine is a full wrap around and Oakley were the only ones I could find doing it. They were expensive but I was a bit daft instead of doing mail order with them and sending them my prescription I went through my opticians who will have put their mark up on them.

You live and learn!!