Introduction
Here at Great Outdoors, we are big fans of Oakley and we have been providing our customers with the best of the best that Oakley has to offer for as long as we can remember. Whether you are a professional or casual wearer we always recommend Oakley first.
However its not always as simple as picking up a pair, putting them on, and going, Oakley’s are specifically designed for different tasks and environments, so its good to understand why we are recommending a specific pair for you, so let’s dive into what makes Oakley amazing and give you a little insight into what you’re paying for.
Prizm
Oakley’s Prizm™ lenses are specifically engineered to fine-tune colors for specific environments to provide greater richness in your visual experience, so you can perform at your best level. Prizm™ Lenses also help to filter Visual noise, which in turn provides you with improved depth perception and added contrast in color wavelengths.
This “added contrast in color wavelengths” is actually quite important. Common sunglasses block out all light levels thus making everything darker, whereas Oakley’s Prizm lenses allow specific color wavelengths to “pop” so using Prizm™ sunglasses for things like Baseball, fishing, golf, skiing, and biking is very ideal.
As you can see, when testing a pair of traditional grey lenses vs Oakley Prizm™lenses with a spectrometer you see that traditional lenses just dull all of the color wavelengths being let through, in comparison OakleyPrizm™ focuses on letting the colors that you need to see“pop”.
Polarized vs Non-polarized, do you need it?
Polarized lenses provide a ton of benefits but there are also some drawbacks to consider before choosing to go Polarized. Polarized lenses help to reduce glare which is created when vertical wavelengths from the sun reflect off a surface, such as water or a car, these vertical wavelengths then combine with horizontal wavelengths and cause a glare to appear. This is typically why we recommend going for polarized if you are doing water activities.
But it’s important to know the disadvantages too. Some Polarized lenses make it difficult to view LCD screens like your phone or a GPS device, although it might not block off the screen entirely it makes it slightly more difficult to view.
Polarized can also make it difficult to distinguish between white colors, this is particularly disadvantageous for Skiing, with the way the lens affects light it can make it quite difficult to tell the difference between snow, hills, and Icey areas, therefore most skiers recommend avoiding polarization.
Even though there are some disadvantages Polarized is extremely effective when using it where it’s designed to be used. As stated, we recommend polarization for those doing water activities and the primary reason for that is their ability to help you see beneath the surface of the water, with the light reflections removed it is extremely easy to view what’s below.
Its not just looks!
Oakley glasses are known for their durability and strength, and this is due to the materials used in their construction. Oakley uses a combination of materials to create glasses that are lightweight yet incredibly tough.
One of the key materials used in Oakley glasses is O-Matter. This is a proprietary material that Oakley developed to make their glasses both lightweight and durable. O-Matter is a thermoplastic material that is known for its high strength-to-weight ratio, meaning it is strong but also very lightweight.
In addition to O-Matter, Oakley glasses also often feature a combination of other materials such as titanium, aluminum, and carbon fiber. These materials are also known for their strength and durability, making them a great addition to the glasses.
Oakley glasses are also known for their lenses, which are made of Plutonite. Plutonite is a proprietary material that is made to be incredibly durable and scratch-resistant. It also blocks 100% of all UVA, UVB, UVC, and harmful blue light up to 400nm.
Overall, Oakley glasses are made from some of the strongest and most durable materials available. These materials are specifically chosen for their ability to withstand daily wear and tear, making Oakley glasses a great investment for anyone looking for high-quality eyewear that will last for years.
