EDC SUNGLASSES! Budget minded. What do you use?

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
1

So recently on a fishing trip, my buddy said “Here try these on and tell me what you think.” They were Maui Jim ($320) Kahuna’s. Holy cow! They made everything look like an HDR photo filter! I have never put on a pair of sunglasses that did anything like this (I even had a pair of “blue blockers” from the 80’s, haha) But these things were jaw dropping! Since I was boat captain for the day, he did not get them back for the rest of the evening.

Alas, No amount of HDR Super polarized lenses would put back the missing teeth I would have if my wife found out I ordered a pair of $300.00 sunglasses.

So, I am wondering, with all you like-budget-minded folks here at BLF - Have you found some good, polarized UV-A,B,C blocking sunglasses in the “Below $50.00” range?

I am not expecting anything like the Maui Jim’s, as those were worth every penny of $320.00, But I just cant spend anywhere near that much moolah.

-Polarized
-UV blocking
-Under $50

Thanks BLF!

2

I can’t exactly answer your question, but you might find it interesting that many studies have proved that the cheapest sunglasses block UV just as well as expensive ones. Polycarbonate blocks 100% UVA and UVB by default. I love my Arnette polarized sunglasses, around $70.
I recently found a pair at walmart for about $20 with excellent polarization. I usually just hold them up to my phone screen and rotate them to asses the polarization. I have seen many claiming polarized that are not, but all sunglasses block UV.

3

From my readings, tifosi is among the best budget sunglasses. I’ve bought a few chinese copies and they are functional wrt protecting your eyes from branches, dust, mud etc but, are not super clear and scratch easily. A friend let me try on his original oakleys and they were a lot easier on the eyes. Not even oakley lenses are in my budget. lol. No. I haven’t tried tifosi as yet.

4

My current personal favorite is the Suncloud King , but that’s based mostly on subjective comfort. In my experience, most sunglasses above the “$25 supermarket special” quality level have pretty good clarity and excellent UV protection (as Angler stated). So once you get past this “cheap” threshold, there’s a huge selection in the ~$40-$80 range where quality seems similar, but fit/comfort can vary widely, and depends entirely on the shape of your face. I’ve tried otherwise nice sunglasses that gave me a headache after only a few minutes, if the frames were just a little too tight. Or the frame color/thickness might be distracting around the sides of the lens. Since all that is subjective, it’s hard to give good recommendations… Even other styles of the Suncloud brand have not been winners for me. But I can say I’ve found Suncloud is a reasonably good balance of value, comfort, and quality, if you can find a pair that suits your style tastes and face shape.

All that said, I just lost a pair of Sunclouds yesterday, so I’m following this thread to potentially try a few new brands as a replacement! :cool:

5

i was a delivery driver the better part of 15+ years… plus when younger i always had a street bike.

i have a couple stories i always remember about sunglasses.

1) when YOUNG? i liked mirrored sunglasses, because they were “cool”. Maybe cool LOOKING, but… kinda uncomfortable. For comfort, fit and function?? i actually when outdoors liked the weird sunglasses made popular by Duran Duran in one of their videos… rubber ear holders so you can sit on them and not break them, leather wrap-arounds cupping the eye to protect from wind and dust. Sort of a “rat patrol” inspired desert patrol lookign device. Looked funny, but, very comfortable and functional. Since Duran Duran had a pair in a video? Cheap copies flooded the budget market. I was happy until 1990.

2) street bikes? i was introduced to what is always billed as “night driver” sunglasses by other motorcyclists. The yellow ones…. streetlights and headlights are suddenly not a problem. works “okay” for daylight low sun glare, but really shine at NIGHT when dark sunglasses dont get it.

3) i am a avid target shooter and hunter… some ranges enforce safety glasses, and, bad glare make them necessary even when range officers dont enforce them. Once again? YELLOW was the best trade off.

==

so, all in all? i more or less settled on “budget” yellow shooting safety glasses for sunglasses in the car being a delivery driver, happy at night on a motorcycle, and of you get some “wraparound” it really helps with dust and wind. Cheap enough to own several pairs at all times, one in every vehicle, one at home, one in my shooting bag, one under the counter at work, etc etc.

i really want a pair of the funny looking “sport” goggles style eyeglasses with a strap, if i can ever find them in night driver yellow.

i know, i look silly with “winchester” logo on my sunglasses when i was delivering? but… most people probably dont want to think about robbing the delivery driver with “winchester logo” on his funny looking yellow sunglasses, lol…

DARK sunglasses? one time when young, my good friend loaded me his expensive “Vuarnet” sunglasses… they were VERY very comfortable, and made my eyes feel wonderful in strong summer sunlight at the pool, but… god himself help me, i gave them bac to him before he asked for them back, i was afraid if i sat on them, lost them, or had them stolen i couldnt afford to replace them. They were very expensive. (but very nice and very comfortable too)

all in all, several pairs of yellow shooting glasses with some “wraparound” to them make me happy for “budget” and are great for general use and driving at night. I use them in the winter too, when snow and headlights reflect funny….

6

I have ordered several pairs from here, no fakes. Sign up and wait till you get a XX% off with free shipping or $.99 shipping.
Last time i ordered several pairs tried them on and kept the pair I liked the most . It cost me $6 to send them back but still a great deal compared to retail.

7

Sunglasses are probably the only thing I refuse to go “budget” on. After I spent an ungodly sum of money on good lasik to fix my eyes, I have never gone below the level of Oakley for peeper protection.

I found that once I started spending a good chunk of money on glasses, my habit of losing them also went down, so its been a fair tradeoff. When I had WallyMart specials in the car, I never really cared about losing them since I could replace them quickly and cheaply, so I’d lose a pair every couple months or so just from being careless. Since I started wearing good shades, I have lost one pair in ten years, and that was because they slid out of my Jeep when the doors were off after I stupidly left them in the console - sharp offramp and they flopped right out and onto the highway.

I currently rotate between a pair of Maui Jim Kahanas (about $180 retail) and my new favorite Costa Del Mar Cayans (same price). The blue polarized lenses on the Costas are unreal for color transmission, etc. and those will probably be my “go to” brand from here on out. Both have lifetime warranties too, so if they get damaged, they get fixed, and replacement lenses via warranty only run about $60, so much cheaper than buying a new pair. I also have 3 pairs of Oakley wires in reserve for emergencies.

You can find good deals on Oakleys in the sale section of their website (used to be called the Oakley Vault) - they frequently have closeouts, past model, etc. styles for highly discounted prices. They also have Vault stores in some outlet malls, but the prices are not quite as good.

The previously mentioned Sierra Trading Post is also a good one - they are TJ Maxx’s outdoor store, so the stock varies almost daily, but you can snag some great deals there if you dig. That also goes for things other than shades, including footwear, merino wool socks (my biggest gear vice - I hoard good socks almost more than I do ammo), outerwear, etc. and they will send you coupons out the wazoo for free/low shipping, discounts off $XX purchases, etc. if you sign up for their daily email.

Rei Outlet and Backcountry.com are also fairly good places to check.

8

I have multiple pairs of these, they are excellent optically (i tend to get visual fatigue if it’s not the case after a while) and are really polarized.

9

heres mine, on the sierra link provided a few posts up, lol…

10

I currently have multiple sunglasses of sorts. My regular everyday corrective glasses are transitions II, and I love them, but wish they could go a touch darker.

For driving and general use, I found a pair of Cocoons wraparound sunglasses designed to fit over corrective lenses. I got luck in that the one pair I found, on a whim, happened to fit me and my glasses, and was on clearance for $5. I love them. I cannot drive in the daytime without them.

They have many styles and sizes : Cocoons Eyewear

These are what I have, in Sand frame, Amber lens, excellent polarization and UV protection. Contrast is unreal: My driving sunglasses

11

These are my go-to’s. I buy them 6 at a time and they are everywhere, both cars, my day bags, work bag, hiking pack, bug out.

I give them away to freinds who are interested. and shoot with them.

worth a look.

old school vibe , like you should be smoking in a Parisian cafe discussing Sartre

12

Having a decent pair of sunglasses is much more than just UV protection. Most offer UV400 these days.

The really most important quality of sunglasses is clarity. 100% optical correctness. So many cheap sunglasses distort your vision to some degree. It’s not noticeable because your eyes adjust, but nevertheless they are being forced to behave in a way that is not normal. This can affect your eye muscles. I wouldn’t mess with cheap sunglasses, as your eyesight is too precious for that.

Adequate coverage is key. Very small sunglasses may look cool, but they’re letting in a lot of UV light from the perimeter. Better to have larger sunglasses that provide better coverage.

Fitment- this is very important. So many people don’t pay attention to the sizing of sunglasses. You have lens width, bridge width, and stem length. Many sunglasses modes come in one or two sizes… which means, they won’t look right on some people. Sunglasses should fit correctly. If they don’t, you’ll A) look stupid, and B) have trouble keeping them on properly. So yes, it’s important to accept that a pair of sunglasses you really like just can’t be had, because the size isn’t right for your face. Believe me, I’ve made this mistake a couple of times.

*Polarized = Better *is a myth. It is circumstantial. Yes, polarized is better where there is a lot of sunlight reflections, as when near a body of water. But for most other applications, polarized doesn’t provide a significant improvement compared to high quality non-polarized lenses. Pilots don’t wear polarized sunglasses, because they can reveal strange visual imperfections in glass and cause visibility problems with some instruments that have a polarized covering.

Glass lenses are superior to polycarbonate ones, although polycarbonate is getting better and better. In sports situations, polycarbonate lenses are safer and lighter.

I have a couple pairs of Oakley sunglasses, but I hardly wear them any longer. I found myself replacing my Oakley lenses every 2 years or so because they are so scratch prone. OTOH, my Nikon sunglasses are holding up beautifully.

Maui Jim makes excellent sunglasses. Expensive, but top notch customer service. They engineered some amazing tints that can deliver very impressive results.

13

In stark contrast to the previous post on good sunglasses, I’ll submit a super- budget option:
http://smile.amazon.com/Sellstrom-70721-Protective-Eyewear-Smoke/dp/B00BY9B758

I know others have mentioned using tinted safety glasses or shooting glasses, but I thought the 12-pack (for $15!) might be attractive to some people. I don’t use these as primary sunglasses, but they’re nice to keep as back-ups in each car, etc. Also nice to have on hand if you’re doing any construction-type work (where safety glasses are actually needed) outside in the sun.

14

I have a pretty hard time justifying spending more than 15 - 20 bucks on sunglasses. I found these DeWalt glasses at Home Depot or Lowes and then discovered I could get them cheaper online. At the $9 price point, I can sprinkle them around various locations and not worry about it. A pair in each car, a couple in the closet, several in the garage, and one at work. Since they are safety glasses as well, they do double duty and I can wear them for weed eating and on job sites for work.

I have never compared them to high dollar glasses but they are comfortable enough for me to forget that I have them on.

15

Wearing my Oakley X-Squared today.

16

I currently use a Bollé Hustler safety polarized sunglasses. I don’t know if it available in other countries. It has very durable and flexible plastic body and perfect lens. Anti slip foam at the ears. and wrap around style. It cost me about 40$. For the price it is really great. It has a version which isn’t polarized around 30$ but for driving I needed the polarized one.

17

I guess you forgot to read the key title phrase… “Budget Minded”, or you want to brag that $500 sunglasses are “budget” for you. :confounded:

18

xeious

Both…I got it for a steal at a local brick/motar store with old stock…under $130. Only one in stock…goody… :smiley:

19

OK,

Wearing the Oakley XX Twenty. This should fall under budget…new for $35.

20

Vuarnets- wife and I bought some for $109 each 32 years ago while on a ski trip. She lost hers after about 10 years, my frames disintegrated at about 20 years and I sent them in for new frames and re-polish for $25, longest 6 weeks of my life. EDC’d every day and couldn’t survive w/o them. I’m 58 yo, perfect eyesight, no wrinkles around my eyes, wear them to my grave, best purchase I ever made.