Oakley Sunglasses

[Groundpounder]

I'm buying a pair of perscription Oakley sunglasses, and I am trying to figure out which lenses to get. I'd was thinking of getting the "black iridium" colored lenses. I tried them out in bright sunlight, and they worked great, but was wondering if they would be too dark for using when it was cloudy. Does anyone have a pair of Oakleys, and if so what lens color do you have and how do you like it?

 

[flyboyzz1]

I had some forget what kind but they hurt my head when I had a headset on. Ive heard that from others too.

 

[VampyreGTX]

Also, don't polarized lenses interace with the polarized screens on flight systems making them almost impossible to see from certain angles?

 

[aucfi]

I have a pair of Arnettes which are polarized and they do distort the radios a good bit. I usually have to look beneath the lenses to see what is being displayed.

Most of the GPS LCD screens I’ve flown with are unaffected by them.

Polarized glasses are worth it though. Cuts through the glare and haze and helps protect your eyes.
au

 

[VampyreGTX]

I wasn't saying polarized lenses aren't good, I loved mine. They were amazing. I have just had issues with them and radios and even older GPS units. I think most are made to not be affected as much by the polarized lenses.

 

[WizardPilot]

I just tilt my head a little bit to the side to see the old polarized screens. The new GPS are usually LED or liquid crystal screens adn you should not have a problem. It was cloudy/stormy here in utah yesterday and I popped the sunglasses on and I could see fine. They work great. I recommend the polarized black lenses.

 

[I'm42]

I have the brown lenses -- I think that they're the driving lenses. They work great in the clouds as long as it's not really dark. I can't wear them underneath my headsets, so I just tilt them to rest over the top of the ear cups....no vision distortion.

 

[Cardinal]

I've got the Grey Oakley lenses and they're fine. They have the same transmission profile as the Black Iridiums but let about twice the light in. Cruising along in the tops, when it's ridiculously bright, there is no perfect solution, I turn the EFIS tubes up to their brightest setting and they're still readable, but I wouldn't want any less tint, cause it's still really bright out. I think the Grey is a good happy medium. Never have to squint underneath them, but miss them when they're gone.

As for wearing them under a headset, it's very difficult to wear any pair truly "under" the headest, with the earcups clamped over the frames. Even if the frame is very thin metal, they'll be bowed in against your head which does wacky things to the lenses and the nose brace. What I and every other Oakley wearer I've seen do is simply slide the straight frame over the top of the earcup. This cants the lenses down just a few degrees but avoids all head clamping sensations, and ya get used to it within a minute. No pain.

 

[Cardinal]

Our heated windshields get really interesting when viewed through polarized lenses, FWIW.

 

[ms6073]

Sounds like you are considering the Oakley Minutes (M-Frames do not work well with headsets that have earcups that clamp the side of your temples:

http://oakley.com/o/o1223d

http://oakley.com/cms/media/4/42050bf49d100.png

 

[ParrotheadPilot]

I've got a pair of the Oakley A Wire. They're all scratched now but I'm getting new lenses soon. I have the Black Iridium lenses and they work just fine when you're under the clouds. I've got a pair of David Clarks and they work pretty good, however they do start to hurt after about 2.5 or 3 hours.

I also have a pair of white Arnette sunglasses. I just got these a couple of months ago for a ski trip I took. They worked great instead of big goggles on the slopes, and also work great in the airplane. They have never hurt my ears, and the seal is pretty good.


Neither of my sunglasses have polarized lenses, and both work great under the clouds.

http://oakley.com/o/o1245d

 

[Groundpounder]

I ended up getting the model called the Monster Dog, with the black iridium lenses, non-polarized. I have a big melon head, so I need big glasses, and these fit great. I tried them on with a headset at the pilots shop I was buying them from, and they seemed alright. We'll see what they feel like after wearing them for a few hours.

http://oakley.com/o/o1236d