Sunglasses

Ventucky Red

Ventucky Red

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Jan 9, 2013
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Jon
What have been your go to for sunglasses for flying. My 20 year old Randolphs are pretty much beat and I don 't see meyself spending $300 for a new pair.

Recomendations?

And.... gobble gobble...
 
Nobody likes my cheap ass solution.
 
Flying Eyes. Had Maui Jims before, but the polarized lenses don't play well with some (most?) displays. With the ear cup style headsets (as opposed to in-ear headsets like my QT Halos), the Flying Eyes sunglasses have been awesome as legs are thin and flexible. VERY comfortable to wear with my Bose X on.
 
Gas station polarized. Just don’t tilt your head.
 
Knock off Randolph’s from the flea market.
 
Bill said:
Nobody likes my cheap *** solution.
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I do. More than $15 is too much. Whatever difference is academic. They do just as good of a job of UV protection. Just stick with non polarized.
 
Bill said:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-11327-Vir...ocphy=9010590&hvtargid=pla-348612295870&psc=1
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Lol I buy those by the box and wear them as everyday sunglasses. It's handy to always have a pair of safety glasses on me, and when they get scratched/ broken/ lost, I'm not out much and grab another pair of of the box. If you buy them in bulk they're a couple dollars a piece.

In the plane though I have a pair of American Optical "original pilot". They were $150 when I bought them, but it looks like they've nearly doubled their prices to match Randolph and ray-ban now. To me the only thing that matters is a bayonet style temple to make them easy to don and doff with the headset in place. Unfortunately I've only been able to find those on the expensive "pilot" glasses, hence I have the one expensive pair that doesn't leave the plane.

Flying eyes aggressive youtube marketing annoys me, but I must admit the magnetic sunglasses they offer for the prescription glasses looks like a great solution. I don't think I'll pass my next medical without a prescription glasses restriction, so they might be in my future.
 
Every off-the-rack pair I tried was too dark in the bottom third of the lens. My optometrist ordered RayBans with clear lenses for me, and then the optician tinted them exactly like I wanted. Amber progressive tent with a very aggressive progression. Quite dark in the upper third, moderate in the middle, and almost clear in the bottom third. He also put on a UV blocking coating.

Then I applied stick-on reading lenses to the bottom:
https://www.amazon.com/Hydrotac-Bif...stick+on+bifocal+lenses&qid=1669405757&sr=8-5

Works quite well for me and was ultimately cheaper than prescription RayBans would have been. It blocks bright sunlight coming from above, lets me see well through haze over the cowling, and gives me sharp focus for instruments and charts.
 
Ventucky Red said:
What have been your go to for sunglasses for flying. My 20 year old Randolphs are pretty much beat and I don 't see meyself spending $300 for a new pair.

Recomendations?
Click to expand...

Love my Randolphs for flying/driving - Just send them back and for $25 they'll make them good as new - https://www.randolphusa.com/pages/tune-up-service

I do like my Maui Jims for fishing but polarized is PNG for flying.
 
Find a local mom & pop optician shop - NOT a chain store: the mom & pop will be happy to dye lenses in a pair of glasses you already have, or swap in new lenses in a frame you have and like. Or sell you a new pair. The "name" brand sunglasses are truly nothing special, except you get to pay for the name.

If you have single vision lenses just about any place can fit them well enough. If you are using multi-focals, or have an astigmatic correction, or other complex prescription, run away from the chains, especially in the states where the optometrists have kept the opticians from being licensed.

Heads and faces aren't symmetrical, and in complex prescriptions a trained and/or experienced optician/optometrist can get the optical centers correct. They actually have to know how to measure PD and adjust the frames on delivery.
 
donjohnston said:
Serengeti Aviators. Work great on sunny or overcast days.

I don't like cheaping out on tools (I consider sunglasses for flying a tool).
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I've had the same pair of Serengeti Drivers for 30+ years and like them very much. Back then they had Corning lenses (excellent quality), but I don't think that's true anymore. Anyway, they're too dark for me to use for flying, as were the new Serengeti Aviators I tried on. When the lenses are too dark, my pupils dilate too much and I don't focus well on nearby objects like instruments and charts. That's why I ended up with a custom tint (post #16).
 
I have rayban, with trizac lenses, and IR protection added. The IR protection prevents "blacksmith cataracts".
 
I’d get polarized with a amber or green lenses, they make picking up edges of clouds easy

I have also only found one aircraft that polarized had a issue with
 
A shop can "build" you a pair that suits you - choose a high-end frame you like, and its quality will be superior to the mass-market but so-so quality frames from "names" like Ray Ban, Serengeti, Oakley, etc. There are no secret formulas in sunglasses - the hype is simliar to sneakers.
 
Another up & coming name in aviation shades is Method Seven. Don't have them myself yet, but have a couple flying friends that really like theirs.
 
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