where do you get your sunglasses?

woodstock

woodstock

Final Approach
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Bummer, I broke my sunglasses - the ones from my solo. they were el cheapos but they were cute and I like the bigger styles - even wraparounds - more protection from light.

I gotta get a new pair before the weekend and I think I'm going to get a decent pair this time instead of WalMart specials.

where do you usually go? Does Sunglass Hut carry useful sunglasses or are they all Chanel/Dior etc... I've gotten some department store ones in the past which were cute but who knows if they offer enough UV protection...
 
woodstock said:
I like the bigger styles - even wraparounds - more protection from light.
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You mean the ones like the old people wear for driving over their regular glasses? :rofl: They almost look like a welding mask.

E, Just kidding, I knew what you really meant. :D
 
actually, I do have a few pair of those - every time I've had eye surgery I had to wear them for a while. although that isn't exactly the look I was going for.
 
I really like the Serenghetti's. I want to try them on and see how they look on me before I buy so I visit the Sunglass hut in the mall to shop. Not always the best price but at least I have never said that I don't like the sunglasses. That is something that could happen if you mail order.
 
I get mine at the optometrist, since I need prescription ones (bifocals, no less). The flips just don't work for me. They're a sort of brown tint and I'm pretty happy with the UV protection and the glare coating--it's made a big difference not having to squint and go from blinding outside light to scanning the instruments many times.
 
I buy all Oakley's, all the time. Bombproof, excellent light blocking, very well designed and they have a style for everyone.

http://www.oakley.com

I've gone through two pairs of Ice Straight Jackets and one pair of M-Pro's in the last 4 years. As a benchmark, I can't get more than a year out of a wool hat or more than six months out of a pair of sneakers (trail running style) - I'm hard on what I wear and these sunglasses take some pretty heavy abuse! In fact, my shades survived a 130' tumble down a cliff just two years ago...

Edit: Actually, I really haven't given Oakley my full endorsement here. Here is what these sunglasses have been exposed to, including my "beater pair" (my first pair, which I purchased in 2002):

+ Bugs, stones, and other highway debris when riding open-face shield on the motorcycle
+ Splashed av-gas during pre-flight
+ Numerous high-speed mountain bike crashes, many involving rocks and trees to the face
+ Falling off my road bike helmet during a 55mph descent
+ Spending countless hours wet in salt water
+ Splattered with paint, solvent, and other sundry construction items
+ Hot cooking grease and thrown hot embers from a charcoal fire
+ A punch in the face (it was an accident, someone was trying to demonstrate a sucker punch and I leaned into it)
+ Chaulk rubbed all over the lenses trying to adjust frames while climbing
+ Living on the brim of my hat during low-light hikes, getting hit with whatever my head hits (branches, pine cones, whatever)

For $160 a pair, they are absolutely bullet proof.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
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astanley said:
I buy all Oakley's, all the time. Bombproof, excellent light blocking, very well designed and they have a style for everyone.

http://www.oakley.com

I've gone through two pairs of Ice Straight Jackets and one pair of M-Pro's in the last 4 years. As a benchmark, I can't get more than a year out of a wool hat or more than six months out of a pair of sneakers (trail running style) - I'm hard on what I wear and these sunglasses take some pretty heavy abuse! In fact, my shades survived a 130' tumble down a cliff just two years ago...

Edit: Actually, I really haven't given Oakley my full endorsement here. Here is what these sunglasses have been exposed to, including my "beater pair" (my first pair, which I purchased in 2002):

+ Bugs, stones, and other highway debris when riding open-face shield on the motorcycle
+ Splashed av-gas during pre-flight
+ Numerous high-speed mountain bike crashes, many involving rocks and trees to the face
+ Falling off my road bike helmet during a 55mph descent
+ Spending countless hours wet in salt water
+ Splattered with paint, solvent, and other sundry construction items
+ Hot cooking grease and thrown hot embers from a charcoal fire
+ A punch in the face (it was an accident, someone was trying to demonstrate a sucker punch and I leaned into it)
+ Chaulk rubbed all over the lenses trying to adjust frames while climbing
+ Living on the brim of my hat during low-light hikes, getting hit with whatever my head hits (branches, pine cones, whatever)

For $160 a pair, they are absolutely bullet proof.

Cheers,

-Andrew
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To hell with the glasses! How did you survive?
 
bbchien said:
Maui Jim. But don't be losing them. They cost 1/2 of an Aviation Maintenence Unit.
http://www.mauijim.com/mjweb/public/index.jsp
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Looking at their site, they all seem to have their PolarizedPlus or PolarizedPlus2 technology. I understood that polarized lenses caused problems when reading the instruments, many of which have polarized surfaces themselves to reduce glare. Am I wrong on one (or both?) of these?
 
Do y'all find that you prefer plastic or wire frames when worn under headsets?
 
I've almost always had wireframes - and I think they are better particularly with ANR headsets. You want as complete a seal as possible.
 
woodstock said:
there is a Q - to polarize or not?
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Not.

Some avionics displays are polarized, so polarized sunglasses may render them unreadable. :hairraise:
 
smigaldi said:
I really like the Serenghetti's. I want to try them on and see how they look on me before I buy so I visit the Sunglass hut in the mall to shop. Not always the best price but at least I have never said that I don't like the sunglasses. That is something that could happen if you mail order.
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You can do both.

We visited Sunglass Hut in Northbrook Court and tried various models. The salesclerk was very happy write down model numbers so's we could buy them online. ;)

I think they're used to that.
 
wsuffa said:
Not.

Some avionics displays are polarized, so polarized sunglasses may render them unreadable. :hairraise:
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Mine are not polarized and I wish they were. You get to much glare from sunlight that's off-axis.

I would say to check the plane you fly to see if any instruments have polarized dispalys. BTW, monochrome LCD (not LED) displays on avonics might be unreadable because they make the text by changing the polarization.
 
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I used to buy cheap sunglasses from Walmart. I always lost them in rental planes. Finally I just quit buying them at all.

I typically fly once or twice a week. Rarely is sunlight an issue for me.
 
You can always try the lost and found at Burger King, they always seem to have a few pair behind the counter and the price is right :rofl: :D :rofl:
But seriously, I use AO's for flying and love them!
 
Elizabeth, my suggestion is don't buy expensive sunglasses, Everytime i bought a pair i LOST them or broke them. had my cheap one forever.
Dave G.
 
woodstock said:
there is a Q - to polarize or not?
Click to expand...

Polarization offers little benefit to pilots (excluding floatplane pilots) as their main advantage is the reducing the glare of the sun's reflection off flat surfaces. They are better for driving, but only marginally so. If you are a boater they are great.

The chief downside is that they can make the reading of any LCD difficult because the light from LCDs is polarized. The polarization axis of a LCD may be vertical, horizontal, or any angle in between but horizontal is common and those are the ones you can't see well with polarized glasses. If you are considering the purchase of a good pair of polarized glasses, buy a really cheap pair and check the visibility of any LCD you might want to see with sunglasses on.

I've been using Smith sunglasses for several years. Their glass lenses have really good optical quality (low distortion) and are fairly lightweight and very comfortablel to me. Unfortunately they seem to have quit making most of their unpolarized glass lenses so I may have to try plastic. I also have a pair of Serengettis that don't feel very comfortable to me.
 
I bought a pair of H30 (www.h3opolarized.com) sunglasses at the DesMoines Sports Show a couple of years ago. They are actually made for fishing, but the pair I got (H3O Surge) resemble Oakley's M-Frames a LOT. Plus, they were only $80, come with 3 different shade lenses, of which all three are polarized. They have been as durable as can be expected for the treatment they get. I have been using them as 'work' sunglasses. Since I operate heavy machinery all day, I wanted something to take the glare out as the sun moves across the sky.

PROS: Price ($80 vs $200+ for Oakleys), durability (so far, pretty scratch resistant to anything I've put them through in the agricultural industry), comfortable (very lightweight frame and nose-pieces are designed to be replaced for $.50/set but they never slide off the nose)
CONS: Not very well suited for flying w/ a headset - since they are plastic frames, they are thicker than wireframes at the ear which makes it hard for even gel ear-seals on the headset to seal very well.


After a year of wear-and-tear with the H3O's, I decided to get a pair of sunglasses to keep as "good" for wearing while out-and-about. I finally broke down and bought a pair of Oakley Polarized "XX". I've had them since this spring, and so far they are working out good. Very lightweight and wear comfortably. Not sure about durability since I won't let myself put a $160 pair of sunglasses through the same abuse I put the $80 pair through. :)

I haven't had any trouble with seeing any avionics with either pair of Polarized sunglasses. We have a Garmin 396 and Garmin 430 in the RV as well as a Dynon EFIS and they all show up fine for me. I do know that I can look at the monitors in my spray equipment a certain way and it will be hard to read, but it's not a big deal. To each, his own.

I agree that Sunglass Hut is a great place to do 'research'. That's where I got the Oakley's - actually, I started out with a set of RayBan's. I wore them for a couple of weeks, didn't like it, and with Sunglass Hut's return policy, they will allow you to swap for a different pair (ie store credit) for up to 30 days as long as your current pair is in 'sellable' condition. So I ended up swapping out for the Oakley's. If nothing else, they are a great place to try different styles on.

-Chris
 
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smigaldi said:
I really like the Serenghetti's.
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Ditto. When I wore contacts I had a great pair of Serenghetti sunglasses...Vermellion (spelling) lens with a double UV coating. Photochromatic so they get darkest when it is brighest. I always thought they provided improved visibility on hazy days. Glass lens but since they were not Rx they were not heavy. The glass lens was more durable then the plastic lens in the Rx glasses I wear today. The plastic lens scratch very easily and are very hard for me to keep clean. I bought my Serenghettis through my optomitrist. I had them for several years, well worth what I paid for them.

Len
 
I wear oakey.They are the cheap knock off for oakleys.Lose em,sit on em,scratch em.Just not worth buying good ones.I am in and out of planes and vehicles all the time.I just leave pairs of cheap ones on the dash for when they are absolute emergency.I hate wearing them except when nessecarry.
 
I'll have to take pictures when I get home (not carrying the digicam right now), but you'd be surprised how well these $160 Oakley's have held up over four years of abuse. Aside from the temple grips, which get ratty because I incessently play with them, the lenses are pretty close to new. I clean them when needed, usually about twice a month, with very gentle sprays of water to flood the lens to remove any surface sediment.

Like I said before - I abuse the living snot out of these things, and they stay clean, crisp, and true all along. I have severely light-sensitive eyes, and I wear contacts (further compounding the problem), so anything beyond 10% light transmission is a one way ticket to pounding headache for me. Because of that, I've worn sunglasses for the past 8 years - and I will never look back from these Oakley's. They are color correct (in the Ice Blue lens color), 9% light transmission and extremely comfortable to wear. They spent about 15 hours on my jug during a summer solstice endurance hike, put them on around 0515 and took them off sometime around 2130, and not one instance of true discomfort.

Cheers,

-Andrew
who should be paid by Oakley...
 
I can't read either of my watches well with polarized lenses. I make a point to get non-polarized for aviation. I rent different aircraft with different boxes in them all the time. Also, you won't see that glint off the wing of the turning aircraft in front of you with polarized sunglasses. I've spotted a number of aircraft due to that reflection on sunny days (though mostly other gliders when I'm gliding. Gliders are shiny). I don't think you get much benefit from polarization in the air, and there are drawbacks. Besides, it's more expensive.

My problem is that I'm trying to find sunglasses with slim metal frames so they don't interrupt the headset seal. You let in a lot of noise through that little tunnel, I find.

Chris
 
I like the wraparound variety as well, I have very good peripheral vision so it's a must.

I tend to lose mine too often to make the expensive ones worth it, so I go with "fakeleys" most of the time. I was pleasantly surprised by the pair I bought at Gaston's for $25, IIRC they can be found at http://www.solarbat.com/ . They are polarized, but did not block any of my Garmin toys in the plane or the truck. (I kind of wonder if Garmin made their displays with polarized glasses in mind...)
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I tend to lose mine too often to make the expensive ones worth it, so I go with "fakeleys" most of the time.
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would those be the Okeley Dokeleys? :rofl:
 
woodstock said:
would those be the Okeley Dokeleys? :rofl:
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DOH!

flanders.jpg
 
I just got tired of buying them......
The Railroads I work at always require safety glasses, so they giv'em to you if you ask. I have a dozen pair of safety glasses in all styles and tints now.
Fashionable too!:goofy:
 

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what color should the lenses be? I am going to go to Sunglass Hut after all, they carry a wide variety!
 
Elizabeth,

I'm pretty focused on how color correct the lenses are. Plane and Pilot did a study a few years ago and found Maui Jim and Oakley lenses (in certain lens colors, I'll see if I can find the study) to be the most color correct. I personally prefer the Ice Blue lenses, which are 9% light transmission and color-correct (versus a lens like G26, which is an engineered shooters lens, not suitable for applications like driving where red/green/blue differentiation is critical).

http://oakley.com/technology/lens_tints/

When I shop for lenses for my Pro-Ms, I pop a lens in the frame and go for a walk outside the store (leaving my credit card as a "deposit"), and note the differences in color perception, sharpness, and the amount of "work" my eyes are doing (am I squinting? do I feel eye strain?) before picking up a lens.

I have three primary lenses - Ice Blue Iridium, Fire Iridium Polarized, and Grey. Ice for bright days, Fire for overcast, Grey for dawn/dusk. I usually only carry one lens at a time on my bicycle, selecting the best lens for the bulk of the ride (Ice in summer, Fire in winter, Grey for the fall/spring seems to work best)

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
Am I the only one with more than one pair of sunglasses in my flight bag for different uses?

I usually buy the cheapies (i.e. less thant $20) due to a propensity to lose them, which allows me to have the dark wraparounds for the very clear, very bright flight seemingly into the sun, a pair I got at Walgreens labeled "high contrast driving glasses" which work great on hazier days, and then the blue ones that offer only nominal shading but look really cool.
 
Grey and Amber are my two favorites. Amber seems to work better at improving contrast under haze conditions. Grey doesn't affect colors too much.

Go try 'em on, and see which seems to work best.
 
Whatever you get .. I'd suggest you get the blade type that's
flat under your headphones.


woodstock said:
Bummer, I broke my sunglasses - the ones from my solo. they were el cheapos but they were cute and I like the bigger styles - even wraparounds - more protection from light.

I gotta get a new pair before the weekend and I think I'm going to get a decent pair this time instead of WalMart specials.

where do you usually go? Does Sunglass Hut carry useful sunglasses or are they all Chanel/Dior etc... I've gotten some department store ones in the past which were cute but who knows if they offer enough UV protection...
Click to expand...
 
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