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Anyone know of a study comparing the optical quality of different sunglasses?

K

KingNothing

Diamond Member
Just got a pair of Bolle's for $150...they fit well and feel good and all, I'm just curious if the optics are as good as Oakley.
 
if i'm not mistaken, both Bolle and Oakley use polycarbonate as the material. The optic of polycarbonate is pretty bad comparing to plastic (CR-39, high index 1.67, Spectralite,...) and glasses. The major advantage of polycarbonate is that they are easy to manufacture and have high impact resistance. If you have high prescription, the polycarbonate, however, becomes an unfavorable choice of material due to its high chromatic aberration index.
For optical glarity and scratch resistance, Glass is the best choice, but glass lenses are about 2-3 times heavier than the polycarbonate ones.
Now, let us assume that they are all polycarbonate, the lenses from Bolle and the ones from Oakley shouldn't have that much of a difference in quality since both are good brand. There are obviously differences between a pair of Bolle and a pair of $5 sunglasses that you buy at CVS, for example. The U.V coating on those cheap sunglasses usually doesn't last more than couple months, leaving your eyes vulnerable to UV radiation from the Sun.
 
This could be biased, but Oakley kicked arse. (I have a few pairs myself and love them).

I'm not sure if the magazine is real or not but anyway, here are the results of an optics test performed by "Private Pilot Magazine":

Link
 
bump for more info...

Is there such a thing as a frameless (meaning only a frame across the top) pair of sunglasses with polarized glass lenses? I really like the look of the frameless.
 
I bought a pair of Oakleys shortly after I graduated high school in 97. They had broken twice before my first fall semester @ college was over. Furthermore the lenses scratched very easily (no warranty on these
rolleye.gif
). I bought a pair of Ray-Bans a couple years later and then another pair of Ray-Bans to get polarized lenses (both pairs have glass lenses). I wear my polarized sunglasses nearly every day and they still look brand new.
 
I paid $150 for the pair of Bolle's I have now, if the lenses aren't high quality then I'll return them and get a different brand.
 
IIRC Revo has some of the best lenses out there. I've worn Ray-Ban for a long time without any complaints. They're excellent sunglasses. They are pretty heavy tho. I think I'll spring for a new pair in a few months but I'm undecided as to what to get.

EDIT: Typo
 
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