Expensive sunglasses - worth the extra cost?

[TW]Fox;28273012 said:
Because you've bought a 'designer name' slapped on a pair of sunglasses, not a set of quality sunglasses. This was explained further in the thread.
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not quite, it is just highlighted that they're all made by the same company - not that there is anything cheap about them per say just that there is nothing special about X designer brand as they're the same as a bunch of other designer brands and well known sunglasses brands - all of which seem to cost over £100
 
I normally wear Oakley's, but recently bought a pair of AO Pilots which worked out around £40 from the US, they're well made with glass lenses.
 
Purchased a pair of wire frame Oakleys back in 2003ish for around £250, still in great condition to this very day, but then again i look after my stuff.....
 
bainbridge said:
Aldi do some plastic ones for sports and cycling for £1.99, they're really comfy and effective plus they look good too if you're not fussed about them having to be a brand name. I wear them day to day as well as cycling and fishing, plus last week Aldi were selling them for 99p so I bought a couple more :)

Snobs are gonna hate but I really don't care!
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I bought a few pairs of these the other week as well - as you say perfect for cycling and I'm sure they are as good as anything the cycling stores chuck out for £20-£30.
 
I'd say Oakley's are well worth it mainly becuase of the lifetime guarantee, WHich I have already taken advantage of broke my old Okly whiskers sent the damaged frames off and received a new pair back in the next week or 2.
 
It depends on if you want the genuine article or not and how much thats worth to you. In terms of performance no I don't think there is any discernible difference Oakley, Rayban et all, manufacture the glasses for a fraction of what they retail at. The only difference between those and a £10 pair from boots or specsavers is branding and marketing
 
Gambisk said:
It depends on if you want the genuine article or not and how much thats worth to you. In terms of performance no I don't think there is any discernible difference Oakley, Rayban et all, manufacture the glasses for a fraction of what they retail at. The only difference between those and a £10 pair from boots or specsavers is branding and marketing
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so you reckon you could pick up some titanium wire frame sunglasses with polarized lenses for less than £80 yeah right?
 
It really all depends on how well you can look after them. I had a nice pair of Arnette's but no different to my cheaper sunglasses I usually get, I managed to break them within a year because I am pretty careless.
If you take good care of your sunglasses, then get a nice decent pair because they will last pretty much until you decide you want a change in style.

I don't take good care of them and also don't wear them all that often, so I stick to cheap pairs.
 
The Dread Pirate said:
so you reckon you could pick up some titanium wire frame sunglasses with polarized lenses for less than £80 yeah right?
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I didn't say that, but you could pick up a similar item for a few quid. The question is do you think titanium wire and a logo is worth and additional £70.

Here are a pair of aviators with polarized lenses and full uv protection for less than £10 to prove my point http://www.amazon.co.uk/Polarised-S...6187556&sr=1-20&keywords=polarised+sunglasses
 
one recommendation with cheap ones is undoo the screws and a dab of loctite :p

same with reading glasses.
 
Gambisk said:
I didn't say that, but you could pick up a similar item for a few quid. The question is do you think titanium wire and a logo is worth and additional £70.
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Yes I do they won't break as easily hence they're useful for more than just protecting my eyes when it's sunny they're good for skiing, surfing etc... where as some cheap £10 jobs will just **** up instanly, also they come with a lifetime Guarantee which Oakley's will Honor I've already had to replace them once and had no issues and if these break guess what they're also covered... fairplay to you if you can keep those cheap ones in one piece I need the durability and secuirty these provide.
 
Gambisk said:
I didn't say that, but you could pick up a similar item for a few quid. The question is do you think titanium wire and a logo is worth and additional £70.

Here are a pair of aviators with polarized lenses and full uv protection for less than £10 to prove my point http://www.amazon.co.uk/Polarised-S...6187556&sr=1-20&keywords=polarised+sunglasses
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I've actually got something similar to those in front of me that I bought from Amazon for £7.99 and they are 3rd Division compared to the Premier Division that the Oakley's are in.
I used to think Oakleys (and others) were snake oil until I was able to test my cheapo's against a proper pair.
 
Get both?

I have some expensive pairs that I keep in good shape and use when I know I won't break/wreak them.
Then got some cheap knock offs etc always laying around in the car, at work etc I always drop them, sit on them, lose them, kids pull them off etc.....
 
It seems to me the posters in this thread who slate the genuine vs the cheaper fakes or lesser known brands obviously haven't tried the genuine articles. As some have already posted the difference is night and day.

I have owned Oakley's since the late 90's and I would never purchase any other brand. In terms of protection and visual quality they are probably the best sunglasses you can buy.
 
Lynndinky said:
It seems to me the posters in this thread who slate the genuine vs the cheaper fakes or lesser known brands obviously haven't tried the genuine articles. As some have already posted the difference is night and day.

I have owned Oakley's since the late 90's and I would never purchase any other brand. In terms of protection and visual quality they are probably the best sunglasses you can buy.
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actually they're probably quite similar to Ray-Ban and a whole bunch of sunglasses with 'designer' labels on too
 
Just ordered a pair of Oakley Frogskins from their website. Have to say I am really looking forward to getting them as my current sunglasses just dont block out enough sun when i'm up in the air and it can be hard to spot runways sometimes with the sun shining so bright.
 
Just spent shy of £300 on a pair of prescription Oakleys with polarised black iridium lenses. Oakley are a little off with some of the limits on their lenses, so I've had to go for special lenses even though my prescription isn't that strong.

Expensive? Yes. But my prescription hasn't changed in 3 years, so I feel reasonably safe. Hopefully it won't change for another 3.
 
Got a fake pair of non polarised Oakleys and a real pair of polarised. Yes they real pair are better quality but I really don't think they are worth the extra cost anymore. When I was younger I would never consider a fake pair but there are times like on holiday or activity where they could easily get damaged that it doesn't matter. I normally just wear the real pair while driving and leave them in the car.

For people saying "I spent £200 5 years ago and they are still in good nick" it's probably because you have tried to look after your investment. Yet you could have probably bought a new pair of cheapo fakes every year for 10 or more years while being able to change styles if you liked each time.

Will probably try find a polarised fake pair of Oakleys for riding just so I don't have always worry about them getting scratched.
 
I'm now single al4x said:
Did you get the purple-pink lenses?
My head is to big fit penny, so I got the romeo 2.0
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No I had the blue ones, but since swapped them out for the grey ones.

I had to get them specially cut because Oakley don't make lenses for them anymore. There is a guy in the UAE who cuts them from other Oakley lenses so you still get a genuine Oakley lens and for a really good price too.

Thinking of getting a pair of red ones from him :)
 
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