Anyone use shady Ray sunglasses

[FutureFly]

Viper, Oakley ray ban being the popular brands but Has anyone used shady Ray prescription non polarized sunglasses for flying for a more affordable brand yet quality set of shades?

 

[Eric Pauley]

Prescription sunglasses off Zenni work great and are even cheaper. The whole market is a racket; why pay more than you have to?

 

[FutureFly]

I was just looking at Zenni last night. Debating if I should go with gradient grey tint for flying

 

[Half Fast]

I was just looking at Zenni last night. Debating if I should go with gradient grey tint for flying

Personal opinion (and worth only slight less than you paid for it):

Gray tints are usually recommended for flying as they don't distort color. I think that's a good suggestion if you're flying at higher altitudes. Up there the air is clear and the sun is bright and you're usually not navigating by pilotage.

Most of us private pilots, though, are flying below 10,000' much of the time, often quite lower. At lower altitudes the air isn't as clear; there will be haze, smoke, etc. Also, we're often flying VFR and using pilotage, so we have to look down through whatever obscurants are in the air and see the ground clearly. Amber tints filter out some of the blue light and provide better vision and contrast through haze.

So, in my humble and oft ignored opinion, you should choose the tint based on the type of flying you do. If you'll be low most of the time, go with amber. For me, an amber tint works very well.

On a related note, also think about the gradient you want. I had my lenses custom tinted by my optician. My gradient is pretty drastic, being quite dark in the upper third and almost clear in the bottom third. I really don't want tint when I'm looking down at my panel or trying to read a display on an iPad or phone.

 

[Clip4]

Plenty of prescription sunglasses available at lower prices.

 

[Brad W]

I haven't flown with them, or even worn them...but I did order a couple pairs of Shady Rays as gifts for my kids (on sale for Christmas) and have tried them on. They seemed good overall...decent frames and the lenses are nice. Just a quick impression.

I ordered some prescription glasses from Zenni once (or it might have been another comparable site, but I think it was Zenni) I wasn't impressed with the frame quality at all but the lenses were fine. they serve their purpose but the frame felt "cheap" to me....

Regarding tinting and gradient...I bought some Flying Eyes with grey tint non-prescription bifocal readers while at sun n fun. I haven't flown with them but use them driving in my car. They have a lighter tint at the bottom and it's great for looking down into the car, and I can imagine they would be great in a cockpit.

 

[Eric Pauley]

I ordered some prescription glasses from Zenni once (or it might have been another comparable site, but I think it was Zenni) I wasn't impressed with the frame quality at all but the lenses were fine. they serve their purpose but the frame felt "cheap" to me....

I purposefully bought the absolute cheapest Zenni frames possible for my daily glasses. I've gotten compliments on them! They are creaky plastic but I love that I don't have to care for them at all because they cost $7. I have a pricer pair of sunglass frames that are all metal and feel fine. You just have to embrace the cheapness of it.

 

[Brad W]

Yeah, It is nice not having to care.... and at $7 you can easily buy in bulk and have extras stashed everywhere!
On the other hand I just don't like wondering if they are going to break every time I handle them

 

[Eric Pauley]

Fwiw I have about 10 pairs of Hangtime frames. I even have multiple pairs of prescription foggles that I custom fit to my plane with duct tape. Never had any mechanical issues with any pairs.

 

[FutureFly]

Personal opinion (and worth only slight less than you paid for it):

Gray tints are usually recommended for flying as they don't distort color. I think that's a good suggestion if you're flying at higher altitudes. Up there the air is clear and the sun is bright and you're usually not navigating by pilotage.

Most of us private pilots, though, are flying below 10,000' much of the time, often quite lower. At lower altitudes the air isn't as clear; there will be haze, smoke, etc. Also, we're often flying VFR and using pilotage, so we have to look down through whatever obscurants are in the air and see the ground clearly. Amber tints filter out some of the blue light and provide better vision and contrast through haze.

So, in my humble and oft ignored opinion, you should choose the tint based on the type of flying you do. If you'll be low most of the time, go with amber. For me, an amber tint works very well.

On a related note, also think about the gradient you want. I had my lenses custom tinted by my optician. My gradient is pretty drastic, being quite dark in the upper third and almost clear in the bottom third. I really don't want tint when I'm looking down at my panel or trying to read a display on an iPad or phone.

Thank you for the detailed info. Regarding the amber gradient… does it change the way you see some colors or give an amber hue to everything?

 

[Half Fast]

Thank you for the detailed info. Regarding the amber gradient… does it change the way you see some colors or give an amber hue to everything?

Not that I've noticed. What it does is filter out some of the blue so there's better contrast when looking through haze or dust or smoke. Try on a pair of each at a store and see what you think.

 

[FutureFly]

Not that I've noticed. What it does is filter out some of the blue so there's better contrast when looking through haze or dust or smoke. Try on a pair of each at a store and see what you think.

Will have to!! Thank you!