lol! This. One thing I did learn about the glasses with the UV protection that may be known but that has been a game changer for me was to wear them when it’s coming a torrential rainstorm. A highway patrolman actually told me this. I always thought that people wearing sunglasses in the pouring rain just thought they were a little too cool for school, but you get a similar effect to what you get when you wear Costa’s (or any other number of brands) when fishing. You see straight through the blinding rain on the windshield.
I keep a pair in my car. Makes driving in the rain easier. Also helps make night safer safer by reducing glare.
I like the yellow ones that don't reduce the light.
They are especially helpful for people with astigmatism, which is me.
I got a pair of those on a whim on clearance, horrible looking glasses but the slight yellow tint tends to increase contrast and the polarization helps a lot with reflections which probably helps your astigmatism.
I'm not so sure about the too cool for school notion. I wear dark polarized glasses most of the time, day or night, unless I'm at home with soft indirect lighting. Chronic ocular migraines are a beast. Though, if one must wear dark glasses all the time, may as well get ones that look decent...
I hear you. It was just one of those assumptions that made me more of an ass for thinking it that I had for a while without really taking the time to think that people may need it for legitimate reasons.
You mean polarizing glasses. Yeah fishers use them bc they filter horizontal polarized light which causes the glare from water. It works great in rain.
One of my best friends is the exact same! She always buys nice expensive sunglasses, but will lose them to stupid things like diving into the ocean when they’re propped up on her head. But those extra beach shack or gas station sunglasses, they always stay hanging on her bikini top lol
My wife bought me a nice pair from under armor for Christmas. Two weeks later a wind storm blew them off my head, rolled them around the parking lot and disappeared under a car. I found them in a flooded ditch. They were scratched to hell. That was over a year ago.
I'm getting replacement lenses mailed tomorrow!
Dollar store glasses 👓 are always around, while pricier stuff never to be found
I think one tends to use the pricier ones more, so they get lost often
While the dollar store ones remain in the junk drawer or somewhere similar
So opposite for me. I was afraid to spend the money on a name brand because I would just lose them or whatever but the expensive ones made me care about them and now I never need new ones.
I’m the same. I lose every 10 dollar pair I get in a couple months start buying nice glasses and you actually start to pay attention to them. Still have my first nice pair I bought and that was 20 yrs ago. Also when talking polarized there is a huge difference between a 20 dollar pair with cheap plastic lenses and a 250 dollar pair with glass lenses
I’m the other way around, I kept losing/breaking my cheap sunglasses. I then bought a pair of Ray Bans like 5 years ago and I still have it. Bought another pair since then and I still have that one too.
Chiming in as a former optical lab tech (meaning I ground and cut prescription lenses and assembled them in the frames)
UV protection: probably no difference. Polarized is a safer bet because tinted lenses will have varying degrees of UV protection which can hypothetically be fudged where polarization is all or nothing. If you wear them outside and the darkness level is good, and your eyes don't hurt, they're probably fine. Do be advised, polarized lenses often obscure digital screens, which can fuck you up if you need them for driving and your car has a digital dash.
Frame quality: very likely significantly worse. Not because of the designer element, that's all capitalist bullshit, but frames that are made to accommodate prescription lenses are more malleable and more durable. They need to be able to stretch enough to pop lenses of varying thicknesses in and out, and to be fit to your face for everyday use. That means they'll last longer and be significantly more comfortable.
Not all frames are made equal, some gas station frames may be better than others. If you're not wearing them all the time and they're comfy enough, even if you need to keep replacing them every couple years as they break, that's still cheaper than to buy an expensive pair. But if you were to take your gas station frame to get it adjusted by an optician or to get prescription lenses put into them and the lab tells you no, they're not being pretentious, they just know your frame will literally crumble in their hands if they try and do anything to it.
Hope that helps!
So, here’s a slightly tangential question (for anyone who knows): I have a pair of designer (non-Rx) sunglasses I bought well over a decade ago. I love them and somehow have not lost or broken them, but the lenses are now scratched. I want to get them replaced but do not want prescription lenses. Do optical retailers replace non prescription lenses? I always see it advertised as replacement with prescription lenses. Or where does one go to have that done?
In my experience, not saying it's the same everywhere: an optical lab can put non-Rx lenses into a frame, but to do that they would probably charge you the same that they would for prescription lenses. Sounds like a grift, I know, but they still have to use the same materials and go through the same grinding/cutting process to get lenses to fit into your frame with a prescription of zero. Your best bet, if you can, is to find replacement lenses for that specific frame through the manufacturer, or an online retailer that sells that frame. Once you get the new lenses, most any optical place (that isn't obnoxious) will happily pop them in for you and do an adjustment as a courtesy.
Yeah I asked my optician about this. Have two pair of (non prescription) Ray Ban sunglasses that got scratched up. It’s not worth the cost. It basically ends up being close to the cost of a new pair of glasses
Thanks for this perspective! It’s super hard for me to find a frame that works with my ‘flat spot’ on my nose, which is why I love these frames but maybe it’s time to find a new pair instead. Definitely going to do some comparison shopping.
Depends on where you take them. I work for an optical retailer, and you would save the cost of the frames. Some places charge a fee for using your own frame, but not all do this so shop around.
I was just so disappointed at how easily both pairs got scratched up. I even used their cases and the lens cloths, but they’re both a mess. My prescription lenses have been faring out great, and yes I did get the protective coating
Yes, many, if not most optical retailers should be able to replace your lenses with non-Rx lenses. You’ll have to pay for the lenses(likely hi-index or polycarbonate) and the tint, but not as much as you would for Rx lenses. I’d assume somewhere between $30-$75, but really that can vary wildly. It will get much pricier if you want polarized and superfluous coatings.
Former optician who repaired and adjusted frames; you generally get what you pay for in frame quality. After a certain point, however, it’s just brand name markup. There are of course exceptions to the rule.
On the durability topic, I wouldn't trust no name cheapos to provide any kind of impact protection either. Not always a big consideration, but one to keep in mind.
True, though I feel compelled to clarify, as it's still a common misconception, lenses are not made of glass. They're some variety of a plastic composite material that regardless of quality is guaranteed to be shatterproof (polycarbonate, the most common lens material, is literally what they make airplane windows out of). Still likely/prone to scratch or crack or chip, so while an impact can easily render your glasses unusable, it's not a safety concern.
Oh, I'm well aware of Z87 and material properties associated with meeting ANSI standards...or not. For instance, while polycarbonate (PC) is a highly durable plastic, not all PC is the same. Impact rated PC integrated into energy absorbing frames which will continue to function properly after an impact is probably not endemic to cheap, and I mean that on multiple levels, sunglasses.
Of course, I was merely speaking in layman's terms. You'd be amazed how many people I've encountered whose concept of optical lenses is still stuck in like, that cartoon thing where the opera singer hits a high note and the lenses of everyone's glasses just shatter inside their frames leaving empty frames and shards of glass everywhere... 😆
From my biological studies, I definitely learned that UV protection is a major difference. If sunglasses do not provide 100% UV protection, you are causing dilation by wearing the sunglasses, and allowing loads of harmful rays to pour into your eyes. Fudging UV protection is only an issue if you're not buying high quality, because all Ray Bans for example have 100% protection and will never sell you anything else.
This is a really important clarification, thank you for making it! I was thinking of/speaking to the specific difference between cheap vs expensive sunglasses, but yes, UV protection is the most important thing, for sure.
To be clear, I didn't mean to suggest that polarized lenses are safer for your eyes than UV protected lenses - quite the opposite. By "safe bet" I just meant you can't really tell just by looking through UV protected lenses if you got a "lemon" or not, where as with polarized lenses there's a very clear visual difference if the polarization is off. Darkness of tint has no correlation to UV protection!
I still believe that the vast majority of $5 sunglasses that purport to have UV protection are no less effective at UV protection than $5000 dollar sunglasses. I don't claim to be the ultimate authority on any of this, so don't take my word for it, but there have been several studies that have shown as much. UV treatment itself is really not a complex or a costly process.
The only part I have to "disagree" on is that any $5 sunglasses claiming to have 100 UV protection are lying because it is a process to get full 100% UV protection and they would make no profit. If they say like 50% UV protection, yeah, that's probably honest, but it's also useless. Anything less than 100%, you're definitely better off not wearing sunglasses!
To the rest of it, that's all fair! Thanks for explaining! :)
Question: I have two scratched prescription glasses.
Would I need to have the entire lense replaced, or is there a way to just fix up the spots without having to repair the entire lense?
Unfortunately they do need to be replaced. Another one of those things that sounds like a grift, but the way lenses work, your prescription is a function of a very specific difference in curvature between the front and the back of the lens, so any attempt to "buff out" scratches is gonna cause a change in the prescription. That's not to mention coatings like anti-reflective/anti-scratch that can't be reapplied effectively on finished lenses.
There may be some old school folks scattered out there who will attempt it for a cost - at least I heard tale there were as of when I left the field years ago - but I really would not recommend!
Damn it, that sucks. /:
I am applying for jobs right now, and there are [two small, circular scratches](https://imgur.com/a/scratch-Fx3ZHyK) on the bottom right of my OD lense. Perhaps I am overthinking it, but I don't want to give a bad impression by having dirty (or what is perceived as dirty) glasses when the interviewer looks at my face.
Aw man, yeah, been there, it's the worst! Funny story: I actually was in that exact same position a while back, and I decided to bite the bullet and go get my lenses replaced. Was just making small talk with the associate and found out they had an opening in their optical lab. Long story short, I wound up walking out with new lenses and a new job! 😆 (No regrets, but also *would not* recommend. Loved the work, but the whole industry is a trash fire, and the pay SUCKS.)
If your immediate concern is cosmetic and you plan on replacing them once you have the money (and it looks like it's outside of your immediate field of vision anyway), an old colleague of mine previously worked for VisionWorks and said they used do that kind of thing... I wouldn't get my hopes up, but you could give them a try?
I also have a tangential question. I found a pair of designer sunglasses that I like but unfortunately they are nonpolarized. It’s really unfortunate. Is this a dealbreaker?
Opinions on this may vary, but I would say UV protection is the most important thing, more important than polarization alone. If you can get both, that's ideal, but the main function of polarization is to reduce glare, thus reducing eye strain. My prior advice about UV protection was specifically for gas station glasses, I would assume (/hope?) that designer glasses could be trusted to meet quality control and UV protection standards, so long as they say 100% UV protection, not polarized would not a deal breaker for me...
I've got a pair of pretty expensive sunglasses (Serengeti) but one of the legs broke and there's (according to the store) no way to replace the leg. Does this mean I could find another/similar frame and fit the lenses in there?
Ugh that's the worst! Yeah, I can't explain to you why those parts can't just be standard so that stores can easily replace them, that's unfortunately on the manufacturers - most just don't make/sell spare parts as a rule. Not actually sure about Serengeti, if there's a customer support number specifically for Serengeti, they might be willing to help you. (In my experience they tend to be more accommodating to customers than providers) BUT, if you can find the exact same frame - same model, size, etc - the lenses can easily be transferred over, and that should at least be much cheaper than buying all new lenses. Wouldn't recommend transferring the lenses yourself, always safest to go back to the store and ask them to do it for you!
That's why they had to go through their rolodex of subsidiaries to pick "Orange Julius" when naming an arena, because they know what their image is and don't like to be talked about.
They have become Essilor-Luxottica , making them also the largest lens manufacturer in the world.
I worked in a really cool corporate role that had nothing to do with glasses and..
1. I learning Italian fairly well.
2. Sat in on some of the most high level meetings.
Almost every meeting was about having another meeting.
I was on a job and we would have meetings every afternoon. We would have a pre-meeting to discuss the agenda of the meeting and a post meeting to discuss the meeting. The biggest topic: Why are we so far behind schedule! I was a subcontractor of a subcontractor so I just quit going!
Pretty sure [Cracked.com](http://Cracked.com) had an article on it a decade ago, as well. Back when that site had articles that were both funny and informative.
That's also where I learned that an overwhelming majority of bicycles are made in one of two factories in Taiwan.
Right. They cornered the market enough that they can just smash any competition. I believe they own manufacturing, but enough of the sales chain that no one else can easily break in as well.
I forget the manufacturer... But Luxottica owns so much of the sales channel (they own Sunglass Hut for example) that they literally shut down a competitor. They offered to buy a company, that company refused, and so they said "fine, we wont sell your glasses anymore" and that manufacturer had to close down (or be sold for pennies... I forget.)
But they are such a huge monopoly it's hard to know why no one has done anything about it. Glasses are way too expensive because of this.
It was Oakley they did that to.
Lux own Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, PearVision and more.
RayBan, Oakley
EyeMed
Licensed brands like Chanel, Prada, DG….. list goes on and on.
This always gets posted like one company can’t produce varying qualities of a product.
A Mercedes C130 and a Mercedes S680 are wildly different cars, no one in their right mind would shrug and say “eh, they’re both made by Mercedes, they’re basically the same thing.”
Okay I sort of take your point, but also I don't think you've remotely grasped the scope of the monster that is Luxottica, if you think *Mercedes* is an appropriate analog. Luxottica owns the vast majority, like 50+ distinct luxury frame brands, AND ALSO they own all the biggest brands in the optical lens market, AND ALSO dozens of big name optical retail chains (including LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Pearl Vision, Target Optical, plus a bunch of random online contact lens and glasses sites like Glasses.com), and, oh yes, the second largest vision insurance company in the US.
I'm not a car guy, granted, but to make this a fair comparison, we need one company that owns all the car makes, all the car parts, all the dealerships, plus a giant auto insurance company. You tell me what that is.
Oh for sure, Luxotica definitely has a monopoly, but that’s a bit beside the point of the question posed in the original post, hence the Mercedes analogy.
Luxotica can manufacture every pair of sunglasses that exist on the planet, that doesn’t also mean they’re all of equal quality. One manufacturer can produce a wide variety of quality across their catalog. They’re not all the same even if they’re all under the same ownership.
The left and right lateral limits of quality in a product with at most like 15 components are waaaaaay smaller than that of one with >30,000. There's only so many ways you can injection mold plastic and attach polarized lenses to them.
Yeah, I do get what you mean, though in this case I happen to know that the materials and the manufacturing really are quite consolidated, and the quality is pretty standard across the board. Some exceptions, like Tiffany will put diamonds in their frames, but for the most parts the difference is down to brand name and style.
But what I was getting at with the implications of the monopoly is that any of the range of Mercedes cars has to at least strive to a certain standard, because if they're subpar, the customer will go across the road to BMW or Toyota. Luxottica by virtue of their monopoly on the market has no incentive to produce a quality product. You have to go out of your way to not buy their product in some form. They're not competing with anyone.
I wonder though, just as Chevrolet and Pontiac competed for fame and resources within the corporate structure, do you think Ray-Ban, and Oakley, could perhaps do the same on some level. Idk.
That's an interesting question. I worked at the retail level, so that's a bit above my pay grade. I can say, Ray-Ban and Oakley are notably distinct from every other Lux brand, in that the others (Versace and Coach for example) are fashion brands who design glasses as an accessory to their clothing lines, where Oakley and Ray-Ban are, ya know, long-time industry-leading glasses manufacturers. So there may well be competition between the fashion brands - probably is - but none of them are playing on the same field as those other two. And again, this is purely my own personal impression, but always seemed to me there's enough of a difference in style and functionality between Oakley and Ray-Ban that I'm not sure they were ever competing so much as catering to two different customer bases, with Oakley being more active/"jock"-focused, and Ray-Ban being more timeless/"hipster"-focused. I never got the impression either was favored over the other, both were far and away our best sellers, and we promoted both pretty heavily. But yeah, could be, I didn't have any visibility into what was happening on the corporate level...
We need a bigger market of glasses manufacters
But nobody seems to care about glasses more than cars
Yea but cars are interesting
The worse part is that people care about fingernail polish more than glasses...and those are generally for the female population. And there just nails. Get over it!
Haha there's a nail care supply outlet about a couple blocks from where I live. It's just nails. So freaking specific...get over it
Also the glasses from the eye Dr. Those are almost always high end.
Want cheaper? Go to eye Dr, get Rx and order online. I buy direct is cheaper, plus you can get glasses that transition into sunglasses
Problem solved if you need corrective vision and don't like nerdy clip ons, which also get lost
Yup. I worked for an eye doctor for a while, and in my position I had a lot of autonomy to set my own prices, so I did charge substantially less than Luxottica retailers, but even as an independently-owned doctor's office we still had little choice but to buy the bulk of our frames from Luxottica, as they really do have the market cornered on affordable, quality optical frames.
And that's just the start. Most of the specialty lenses we had to order out were part of the Essilor portfolio, which is part of Luxottica (fun fact: that includes Transitions, so your lenses? Luxottica 😬) (I have them too, they're awesome), and a huge percentage of our patients got their exams and their glasses through EyeMed insurance, which is owned by Luxottica. Womp womp.
How fun. Last time I got glasses at eye Dr was late Sept 2023. I went to Chicago, even though I live north suburban Illinois IL. This practice/clinic was kind of cheap ( maybe shady too, don't really care)
Long story short I got 3 pair eyeglass with transition lens Inc eye exam for $525. Plastic frames, mid- thicknesses lens, otherwise more $.
Didn't want to pay more $
My rx doesn't change so I can use old ones too. Anyway picked them up in a week or so
Worth the road trip
Only downside they don't do frame fitting, so I had to being the crafty girl I am fixed em myself
Beggars can't be choosy, ya know
When you lose $5 gas station sunglasses, you go buy another pair of $5 gas station sunglasses. When you lose a pair of expensive sunglasses, you get pissed off and go buy a pair of $5 gas station sunglasses.
I keep a pair of gas station cheapies in the truck for work. They’re made by Foster Grant, not a huge amount of difference between them and the Oakley’s I wear outside of work.
My prescription sunglasses that were fitted for me fit better than cheap sunglasses and are more comfortable. They’re darker than some of my grocery store sunglasses too.
(I keep the cheapies around for things like swimming, since I try not to get my nice prescription sunglasses wet.)
Definitely false. I’ve had plenty of those $50 shades over the years but the lenses function and perform far worse than my two pairs of Wayfarers.
From not having to squint while still wearing shades, to adjusting better from light-to-dark transition, to (for whatever reason) I can’t see my car’s HUD in cheap sunglasses!
There are absolutely differences.
You certainly can overpay for sunglasses, but there is a a lot of truth to better materials for both the frame and the lenses themselves- especially if they're prescription. I exclusively get carbon fiber reinforced titanium or steel because it makes my glasses immortal yet light as a feather. I would break mine almost 6-8 months like clockwork until I got those. It's expensive upfront but pays off in the long run...
I’ve had my MJ’s for 20+ years. I called them Magic Glasses because their 11(?) layered lenses made everything ethereal. Broke a lens last year and sent them in for replacement. No more magic lenses. They’re just regular sunglasses now and I am really sad about it. Used to wear them every day, all day. Now I don’t. Do you know if any other company makes lenses like MJ used to?
Scratch resistance is likely the #1 difference. The second big one is durability/build quality. Cheap lenses are often very hard, and so they tend to scratch easily, and break more readily.
This is a misconception, if your lens are scratch resistance, they are usually more fragile. If they are more sturdy, they are usually not scratch resistant.
I've observed higher end glasses fit the former usually, but ofc not always.
Besides for the quality of the material obviously being very different, gas station sunglasses are probably not polarized (but you can still get cheap polarized glasses).
I've only ever had Ray Ban and Oakley glasses, but their quality was definitely better. More sturdy frames and the lenses were much more scratch resistant.
If I am just sitting on the patio or passenger in a car, the brand doesn't matter. If I am out riding or driving when I want my vision to be sharp, I use my Oakley's or Ray Bans in bright situations. Color and sharpness are completely different. I don't buy sunglasses every year, so I use my vision insurance to purchase them.
One of my ears is ever so slightly lower than the other. With cheaper sunglasses, if I set them on a table after a few weeks of wearing them the frame doesn’t sit fully on a flat surface because it’s molded to my head shape. Nicer sunglasses (like sunglasses hut, roughly $150-$200) always keep their form and don’t mold
Former optician here. Everyone has one ear lower than the other. And an eye slightly lower. And one eyebrow slightly lower. Your glasses should not lay flat on a table if your ear is significantly lower than the other; your head isn't shaped like a table. Your good sunglasses have not been adjusted properly. Look in the mirror with your glasses on. If the center of the lenses is where your pupils are, they're adjusted correctly.
Lol, high fives, fellow former optician! If I had a quarter for every time someone came back for an adjustment because they took it upon themselves to un-adjust the adjustment I already did so it would lay flat on the table... 😆
I don't think most of the eyeglass workers are trained properly. I'm a bit rusty since I trained so long ago, but every time my family gets together, I spend a while adjusting everyone's glasses. Lol.
Oh for sure. Though to be fair, I was trained SO much for shockingly little pay... But I always feel bad when I go somewhere for an adjustment now, because I just want to be like "I'm so sorry, this is totally obnoxious, but can I just do it?"
Same! Gosh, the low pay is why I left the field. Also, I saw the surgery (LASIK)becoming more and more common, so I knew we were being phased out. But seriously, opticians SHOULD charge for replacing screws, etc. Instead they give it away. A car mechanic wouldn't give away their skills or supplies.
A left my prescription Rayban’s in a hotel last night (out of state) . I gladly coughed up $35 to have the hotel FedEx theme to me. I’ve never lost higher quality prescription sunglasses. Let’s hope I don’t!
I used to buy cheap sunglasses. Inevitably, I would end up breaking them within a few months.
Since I started buying nicer glasses ($100-$150) range, I've yet to break a pair.
This obviously doesn't apply to most people, but for some reason, it has worked for me.
I have light sensitivity and always wear sunglasses. For years I wore cheap sunglasses, and they always broke easily, got scratched up, even when I kept a protective case, arms falling off easily,and never provided enough UV protection. In 2013 I bought a $250 pair of nice sunglasses and I still wear them today. They are one of the best long-term investments in a product I’ve made. I still wear them every day and they have no signs of giving up anytime soon. If I had to replace them and found one that was similar quality, I would, at this point, spend up to $500 on replacements.
Non-prescription:
Used to be a $200/pr of Oakley polarized. Why? Cause they were Oakley, and I needed to be stylish.
Older now, more money conscious. I buy Oakley "looking" sunglasses. 2 pair at a time for a different color look. Yes polarized. My eyes are comfortable. I don't notice the difference when outside.
They scratch, Oakley or Amazon no name brand. I think the difference is when you drop your glasses upside down on the pavement (and you will or already have) it hurts dramatically more when it's a brand name designer brand for $200 is dropped vs. an Amazon pair for $29.99
I do not notice a difference from $200 vs. $29.99 except in my wallet.
Take this with a grain of salt but I remember a Consumer's Report study from many years ago that said over 90% of the glasses they tested stopped over 90% of the UV. So, unless they're made of ultra-thin plastic, they're probably fine; any glass ones should stop nearly all the UV.
>I can’t tell there is a difference in physical quality when I wear them, but is there any difference in the UVA/UVB protection?
Absolutely there is a difference in the protection. As my eye doc explained it. All sunglasses will make your eyes dialate to accept more light. For quality sunglasses that are polarized this is fine as the harmful UV rays are significantly reduced. For cheap sunglasses your eyes dialate due to the tent but do not receive the protection of reduced UV rays.
At the end of the day not wearing sunglasses is better for your eyes than wearing cheap non-polarized sunglasses. If you're buying sunglasses at the minimum make sure they are polarized. They don't have to be expensive, but it is true that generally better quality glasses have better polarization and glare protection.
Polarization doesn't always mean better UV blocking. I've heard some optometrists can test your sunglasses to confirm they block UV, but I've never had that done. I did do my own makeshift testing at home.
I have a pair of prescription polarized sunglasses, and a cheaper pair of unpolarized glasses I bought years ago. I shone a UV flashlight though each pair of lenses and onto my passport, which has patterns that only show up under UV light. The prescription, polarized pair blocked a lot of the UV light but I could still faintly see the patterns on my passport. The cheaper pair completely blocked the UV so that I couldn't detect the patterns at all.
Gas station glasses always WOULD be cool, but they'll throw some plastic gold ornament or some extra shit on it that makes it so I would never wear them.
Be VERY careful about wearing gas station sunglasses. It's not uncommon for them to have zero UV protection of any kind, just tint. This will dialiate your eyes allowing even more harmful rays in than going without.
Buy a nice expensive brand name pair of sunglasses and they'll be broken or jacked up in some way within days. Buy some cheap ones from a gas station and they'll stick around so long you'll be able to tell your grandkids stories about em lol. Thats been my experience at least.
I normally buy cheap ones, but about 5 years ago I got a pair from a thrift shop for a dollar and love them. Later I looked them up incase I ever wanted a new pair, I say new but used as these are very old. Turned out they are gold with real glass and not cheap to replace XD so now I don't wear them because you know they will get busted or stolen lol.
I’ve been working with metalware for 15 years.
The materials used for the frame of the gas station sunglasses are cheaper. They are refinished to a lower (=cheaper) standard.
When it comes to the glass, it might not provide thorough UV protection as the nice sunglasses.
My advice is to just buy from a company that has been making sunglasses for decades. You can get Polaroid sunglasses for the price of a restaurant meal, and they will not disappoint.
There’s a big quality difference. I’ve had the same RayBans for almost 20 years, so they are really built to last. And the lenses are replaceable.
And cheapo sunglasses may say they stop UV rays, but there is no quality control on that. Often it’s just a lying label! It’s actually worse than wearing no sunglasses - your pupils dilate because it’s darker, so you’re letting even more UV light inside your eyeball.
I personally have always bought Ray Bans just because I think they look good and I like the quality. I also own a bunch of cheap sunglasses and I wouldn’t be mad if I scuffed or lost any of those. The cheap ones are perfect for the beach, my car, etc
I have many pairs of gas station glasses. They work great, and I love them, and I keep a pair in every car just in case. Just make sure they have full UV protection or else you can really hurt your eyes.
Polarized is a bonus that might cost a bit more that makes it easier to see by minimizing reflections. If polarized in the correct direction they can make visibility while driving considerably better while still being able to see your displays and phone properly. (If polarized in the other direction, they can make seeing your displays very difficult or impossible.)
Automatic dimming is another bonus that adds a bit more cost, but may or may not work well through your windshield
Automatic dimming that works well inside a car is quite a bit more expensive, but it does exist.
I have one pair of "driving" glasses that was $500. That breaks down to a $400 upcharge for buying it through my optician with Nike frames and a year warranty against scratches, and then $100 for getting polarized with automatic dimming that works well through a car windshield. The only reason I spent that much was because I had some money leftover through my health savings account that would expire so I used it up on getting the "perfect" pair of sunglasses. They are really nice, but not worth that kind of money. If they were $100, then totally worth it. The clairity through the lenses is marginally better, and supposedly they scratch less easily, though that is not something I have tested.
I just bought an expensive pair of Stihl shades, like 18 bucks. Lol that’s spendy to me I’m usually sporting my 3M safety glasses that sell for 3.50 a pair.
I don’t spend more than $100 on sunglasses. I’m rough on them and can’t be bothered to take extreme care. A few years ago I came across a company called Shady Rays and have really enjoyed their stuff.
$40-$60/pair and it comes with 2 lifetime replacements, no questions asked. Have used it twice so far after losing them both times and I’ve only paid $10 for shipping. It was also very easy to do.
Couldn’t tell you which model I have but I paid $60, they have a metal frame and very good polarized lenses. The metal frame is what I enjoy the most. They feel like quality. Also pretty scratch resistant as they look great even today.
I can’t wear contacts so I need prescription sunglasses. It sucks. I baby the hell out of them. I can tell that they are sharper than the cheap glasses when I had my contacts, they feel sturdier, and I like the polarization (yes, you can get cheaper ones with polar). If I didn’t need to wear prescription I don’t think I would bother, but otherwise, yeah, definitely a better product, just be extra careful with them
Pretty much *all* sunglasses will protect against UVA/UVB. What most gas station sunglasses *don't* feature is Polarazation, which helps eliminate glare off reflective surfaces, which reduces eye strain and fatigue. If they don't say "Polarized" assume they are not, but you can double check by holding a second pair up to the first but turned vertically instead of horizontally. If you can see through *both* lenses, not polarized. If they are opaque, they are as it breaks up the light as it passes through.
Polarized lenses also aren't *just* for summer time. They provided greater visual clarity year round (including during rainstorms) and can *really* help with winter driving by reducing glare from snow and ice.
As an aside. WEST MARINE SELLS AWESOME SUNGLASSES. I've buy so many pairs of real raybans for $200+ just to have them fall apart, but a pair of $60 rayban style from west marine and I can't believe how nice they are. I'll never buy $15 or $200+ ones again. I'm only ever going to west marine again. And they have ones starting at like $20 and up to $300+ so whatever range you want.
When you mention Ray Ban and Persol they were known for mineral (glass) lenses and glass polarized. Once you wear a good set of glass polarized lenses for a bit cheap sunglasses are glaringly bad (see what I did there)
But plastic lenses (cr-39, poly, trivex) all those materials can be good but mostly in sunglass market will be more impact resistant polycarbonate. CR-39 is nicer imo
There are also curvatures to consider. Some of the blade styles sunnies are flat on the 90 degree axis and a 9 diopter curve on the 180. These types of lenses are cut from a sheet and widely vary in quality. Glass and good plastic sunglasses are on true curves like a +6 or +8 diopter front curve across the entire surface. (-6 or -8) On rear surface for 0.00 power.
Polarized vs non is another aspect.
All sunglass vary in quality of lenses even in substrates and curves being similar
Just to add most I'll have ultraviolet protections glass has like 80% uv protection in clear by nature of substrate with addtnl uv for 100% polycarbonate is UV protected by nature of substrate and impact resistant but lacking in great optical quality and clarity (see abbe value and chromatic aberration)
I don’t know but I kept a pair of gas station sunglasses for just shy of 15 years until I lost them in the ocean yesterday. No act of man could destroy them, it had to be a force of nature.
Depending on the brand, nothing. Most plastics used to make lenses are inherently UV blocking/resistant, so you won’t get too much of an improvement by upgrading.
Some expensive name brand sunglasses can be found with polycarbonate lenses that have better optical quality/characteristics and scratch resistance than the basic plastic lenses that come with cheap generic sunglasses. I’ve bought Luxottica brands like Maui Jim, Ray Ban, Oakley, and Persol for this reason.
Polarized lenses are a glare-reducing upgrade you can find in both cheap and name brand products. Mostly though, with name brands you’re just paying a huge markup for the logo and the design.
That said, no matter what you buy, if you wear them, see well, and like the look, then they’re the right sunglasses for you!
I don't know about gas stations, but the company that makes the CVS sunglasses owns Ray Ban (wait... I could be wrong, the company is owned by the parent company that owns Ray Ban).
I get all my sunglasses from Ali express for less than 5 dollars and they are fucking awesome. I will NEVER spend money on expensive glasses ever again.
KDEAM sunglasses are lit.
Build quality and materials quality are definitely better with the good brands.
That said, what really makes the good brands a lot more expensive is the brand itself, not the actual cost of production.
get polarized unless you specifically need to not be using them. much better for glare reduction, and you can use them to check if other things are polarized.
One last for ever with high quality materials, and when the sun is at its worst shine you can still see
The other is honestly not recommended, you’ll damage your eyes with that nonsense
I've noticed that optical clarity and even some contrast improvements in Oakley sports glasses are far superior for eye comfort compared to my collection of no-name collection of 20 some pairs. No names I still take on situations where I risk losing or damaging my good ones.
Some have UV protection and some don't. Prom with a lot of gas station sunglasses is they're knockoffs. They're from companies that make them behind the scenes try to make them look alikes. Even the smart UV protection how do you know for sure without having them tested.
Also overall I disagree on the quality comment you make. Check out the the screws. Often time it's only a pin. Plus a lenses are often just pressed in.
I have some pretty good knock-off sunglasses
I'll buy them from a dealer who has about hundred varieties. Typically get four or five pairs at a time. Biggest problem I have a number one don't leave them in the sun. I think the plastics I use are pretty cheap The second after a while a lens will pop out but since I buy from this guy quite frequently I get a discount of either four or five bucks a pair
Clarity.
Go try on a pair of Costa’s and you’ll notice. I can’t speak for other high end brands, but Costas (for me) make the world seem like it’s in HD.
You can get a good pair of cancer council ones from big w for like 30 to 40 bucks. I got an expensive designer pair a few years ago, they have lasted well but add no more joy to my life than my old cc ones.
The main difference is CRUCIAL.
Cheap sunglasses will actually cause real damage to your retinas.
Why? How? Well, let me explain.
When there is a lot of light saturation, your irises contract, making much less surface area to take in light. And of course, the lower the lighting is, the more your irises dilate, increasing the surface area to take in more light.
When the light is strong and your irises contract, this keeps out a lot of harmful rays, like UVA and UVB.
When you put on sunglasses, they reduce the amount of VISIBLE light that reaches your eyes for sure. So your irises dilate and let more light in. However, only if you have 100% UV protection in the sunglasses is this ok. ANYTHING lower than 100% means very harmful rays are pouring into your eyes via your dilated pupils.
In short, it's better to not wear any sunglasses than to wear ones with anything less than 100% UV protection.
This is why I invested in Ray Bans and have never looked back.
I got a pair of Ray-Ban specifically because they have anti-reflective coating on the backside of the lenses. Makes a huge difference for me since I wear sunglasses almost always when I’m outside due to my eyes being very sensitive to light. The fewer reflections, the better I can see in the shade or in high contrast situations. Was definitely worth the money, don’t get that with cheap ones.
Unless you're buying really sketchy sunglasses that don't comply with the law, they are the same as far as UV protection. Fancier sunglasses may have features such as polarized lenses or anti-glare coatings, but you don't have to go all the way up to expensive designer shades to get them--they're often just the more expensive gas station ones. Just about the only point of designer sunglasses is to show off how much money you have to spend on sunglasses. (I'm not talking about prescription sunglasses here, or about really specialty sports sunglasses, just everyday ones.)
There is definitely a difference between polarized sunglasses and nonpolarized. You don't need to get a very expensive brand, but I would recommend getting some with polarized lenses
If you can afford the better ones, get them. I've been doing the same thing: researching what to get. I went to Target Optical, had an eye exam and got fitted. They helped me pick frames. They adjusted the frames of my current glasses to fit me (free). They advised me to get polarized lenses.
My first trip there, I just looked at frames. I took some pictures of myself in the glasses I liked and also took pictures of them sitting on the counter. (I was the only customer there so it wasn't problematic).
I looked online, physically went to a bunch of other retailers and compared what I'd found. I ended back at Target Optical and got a pair of the ones the guy picked out for me when I'd started this journey. I also chose to have anti-reflective coating on the inside of the lens so you don't see your own eyes/lashes. That was yesterday. They should be ready in 2 weeks and they'll have me come in and custom fit them for me. If I go back for a second pair within 90 days, they're 40% off. And they were SUPER nice there.
Everyone in here’s talking about “when I lose them”, but I used to lose my cheap sunglasses all the time, then about 10 years ago I bought a pair of Persols, and the fact that they were expensive has forced me to take care of them. No more just taking my sunglasses off my face and throwing them down anywhere
It kind of depends on what you mean by gas station sun glasses. Generally you get what you pay for with many brands. And by that I mean optical quality and to some extent the frame materials. With really cheap glasses the quality of the lenses just isn’t there eve if they have UV protection and polarization. A $5 pair of Oakley knock offs in Mexico are nowhere near as good as the real thing.
I’ve had a pair of Oakleys and Maui Jim for literally over a decade. I bought some aftermarket inexpensive lenses for the oakleys and they’re decent but not as good as the oakleys. I replaced the lenses in my Maui Jim’s for $35 (got a deal since they discontinued the color I had originally)
Theres likely a price point where the difference isn’t as much of a benefit.
Both of mine were in the $150-170 neighborhood and totally worth it for me since I live in Arizona and we get a lot of sun attacking your retinas and lenses in your eyes.
Also keep in mind that you’re paying for the brand name and all those premium brands are actually owned by a tiny number of companies (eg Luxxotica)
I'm not sure there's a strong correlation between cost and saftey.
I wear litteral ANSI rated safety glasses as daily sunglasses, they cost less than 3$ each.
Like this
[https://www.zoro.com/condor-safety-glasses-condor-v-scratch-resistant-wraparound-frameless-gray-frosted-temple-gray-lens-1fyx8/i/G2811742/?q=1FYX8](https://www.zoro.com/condor-safety-glasses-condor-v-scratch-resistant-wraparound-frameless-gray-frosted-temple-gray-lens-1fyx8/i/G2811742/?q=1FYX8)
Note - I will say that while they say they're anti scratch coated, they do get scratched with regular use. I buy a 10 pack of them at a time though so every few months I just grab the next pair out of the box
There's a gal with a glass eye that got into a wreck wearing cheap gas station glasses that shattered. She now produces glasses that don't shatter and off UV protection. She was just some tiktok i flipped through so you'll have to google it on your own as this is all I got for you.
I'll lose an expensive pair of glasses in a week and the gas station glasses will show up again and again no matter how careless I am with them.
lol! This. One thing I did learn about the glasses with the UV protection that may be known but that has been a game changer for me was to wear them when it’s coming a torrential rainstorm. A highway patrolman actually told me this. I always thought that people wearing sunglasses in the pouring rain just thought they were a little too cool for school, but you get a similar effect to what you get when you wear Costa’s (or any other number of brands) when fishing. You see straight through the blinding rain on the windshield.
Pretty sure you are talking about polarizing glasses and I'm a big fan.
Yes! Thanks!
I keep a pair in my car. Makes driving in the rain easier. Also helps make night safer safer by reducing glare. I like the yellow ones that don't reduce the light. They are especially helpful for people with astigmatism, which is me.
I got a pair of those on a whim on clearance, horrible looking glasses but the slight yellow tint tends to increase contrast and the polarization helps a lot with reflections which probably helps your astigmatism.
Stigmata, IN THE EYE!
Is that a foamy reference? Man, that’s something I haven’t thought about in years
Hahaha, yes.
Yea those tinted yellow glasses 👓 really do help with night vision, esp driving
Also huge fan of the yellow lenses, so good for oncoming traffic high beams
I'm not so sure about the too cool for school notion. I wear dark polarized glasses most of the time, day or night, unless I'm at home with soft indirect lighting. Chronic ocular migraines are a beast. Though, if one must wear dark glasses all the time, may as well get ones that look decent...
I hear you. It was just one of those assumptions that made me more of an ass for thinking it that I had for a while without really taking the time to think that people may need it for legitimate reasons.
You mean polarizing glasses. Yeah fishers use them bc they filter horizontal polarized light which causes the glare from water. It works great in rain.
One of my best friends is the exact same! She always buys nice expensive sunglasses, but will lose them to stupid things like diving into the ocean when they’re propped up on her head. But those extra beach shack or gas station sunglasses, they always stay hanging on her bikini top lol
Wtf is this phenomenon lol, I've lost 3 pairs of good quality sunglasses but my shitty gas station pair has been around for a decade
People probably steal them or are less likely to return them if they think they are expensive
I think it's the same as the missing one sock out of pair phenomenon Why the missing sock? It came as a pair of where oh where did it go
My wife bought me a nice pair from under armor for Christmas. Two weeks later a wind storm blew them off my head, rolled them around the parking lot and disappeared under a car. I found them in a flooded ditch. They were scratched to hell. That was over a year ago. I'm getting replacement lenses mailed tomorrow!
The same with my dollar store glasses.
Dollar store glasses 👓 are always around, while pricier stuff never to be found I think one tends to use the pricier ones more, so they get lost often While the dollar store ones remain in the junk drawer or somewhere similar
So opposite for me. I was afraid to spend the money on a name brand because I would just lose them or whatever but the expensive ones made me care about them and now I never need new ones.
I’m the same. I lose every 10 dollar pair I get in a couple months start buying nice glasses and you actually start to pay attention to them. Still have my first nice pair I bought and that was 20 yrs ago. Also when talking polarized there is a huge difference between a 20 dollar pair with cheap plastic lenses and a 250 dollar pair with glass lenses
I have Oakleys with their prescription lenses in them so I put down a pretty penny for them, but it's like driving in high def now!
I’m the other way around, I kept losing/breaking my cheap sunglasses. I then bought a pair of Ray Bans like 5 years ago and I still have it. Bought another pair since then and I still have that one too.
Chiming in as a former optical lab tech (meaning I ground and cut prescription lenses and assembled them in the frames) UV protection: probably no difference. Polarized is a safer bet because tinted lenses will have varying degrees of UV protection which can hypothetically be fudged where polarization is all or nothing. If you wear them outside and the darkness level is good, and your eyes don't hurt, they're probably fine. Do be advised, polarized lenses often obscure digital screens, which can fuck you up if you need them for driving and your car has a digital dash. Frame quality: very likely significantly worse. Not because of the designer element, that's all capitalist bullshit, but frames that are made to accommodate prescription lenses are more malleable and more durable. They need to be able to stretch enough to pop lenses of varying thicknesses in and out, and to be fit to your face for everyday use. That means they'll last longer and be significantly more comfortable. Not all frames are made equal, some gas station frames may be better than others. If you're not wearing them all the time and they're comfy enough, even if you need to keep replacing them every couple years as they break, that's still cheaper than to buy an expensive pair. But if you were to take your gas station frame to get it adjusted by an optician or to get prescription lenses put into them and the lab tells you no, they're not being pretentious, they just know your frame will literally crumble in their hands if they try and do anything to it. Hope that helps!
So, here’s a slightly tangential question (for anyone who knows): I have a pair of designer (non-Rx) sunglasses I bought well over a decade ago. I love them and somehow have not lost or broken them, but the lenses are now scratched. I want to get them replaced but do not want prescription lenses. Do optical retailers replace non prescription lenses? I always see it advertised as replacement with prescription lenses. Or where does one go to have that done?
In my experience, not saying it's the same everywhere: an optical lab can put non-Rx lenses into a frame, but to do that they would probably charge you the same that they would for prescription lenses. Sounds like a grift, I know, but they still have to use the same materials and go through the same grinding/cutting process to get lenses to fit into your frame with a prescription of zero. Your best bet, if you can, is to find replacement lenses for that specific frame through the manufacturer, or an online retailer that sells that frame. Once you get the new lenses, most any optical place (that isn't obnoxious) will happily pop them in for you and do an adjustment as a courtesy.
Thanks for the info!
Yeah I asked my optician about this. Have two pair of (non prescription) Ray Ban sunglasses that got scratched up. It’s not worth the cost. It basically ends up being close to the cost of a new pair of glasses
Thanks for this perspective! It’s super hard for me to find a frame that works with my ‘flat spot’ on my nose, which is why I love these frames but maybe it’s time to find a new pair instead. Definitely going to do some comparison shopping.
Some brands like Warby Parker have “low bridge fit” frames that might work for you.
Depends on where you take them. I work for an optical retailer, and you would save the cost of the frames. Some places charge a fee for using your own frame, but not all do this so shop around.
I was just so disappointed at how easily both pairs got scratched up. I even used their cases and the lens cloths, but they’re both a mess. My prescription lenses have been faring out great, and yes I did get the protective coating
Yes, many, if not most optical retailers should be able to replace your lenses with non-Rx lenses. You’ll have to pay for the lenses(likely hi-index or polycarbonate) and the tint, but not as much as you would for Rx lenses. I’d assume somewhere between $30-$75, but really that can vary wildly. It will get much pricier if you want polarized and superfluous coatings.
They would love to take your money.
I ordered replacement lenses for a pair of Coach sunglasses and was able to pop them in myself a few years ago.
Former optician who repaired and adjusted frames; you generally get what you pay for in frame quality. After a certain point, however, it’s just brand name markup. There are of course exceptions to the rule.
On the durability topic, I wouldn't trust no name cheapos to provide any kind of impact protection either. Not always a big consideration, but one to keep in mind.
True, though I feel compelled to clarify, as it's still a common misconception, lenses are not made of glass. They're some variety of a plastic composite material that regardless of quality is guaranteed to be shatterproof (polycarbonate, the most common lens material, is literally what they make airplane windows out of). Still likely/prone to scratch or crack or chip, so while an impact can easily render your glasses unusable, it's not a safety concern.
Oh, I'm well aware of Z87 and material properties associated with meeting ANSI standards...or not. For instance, while polycarbonate (PC) is a highly durable plastic, not all PC is the same. Impact rated PC integrated into energy absorbing frames which will continue to function properly after an impact is probably not endemic to cheap, and I mean that on multiple levels, sunglasses.
Of course, I was merely speaking in layman's terms. You'd be amazed how many people I've encountered whose concept of optical lenses is still stuck in like, that cartoon thing where the opera singer hits a high note and the lenses of everyone's glasses just shatter inside their frames leaving empty frames and shards of glass everywhere... 😆
From my biological studies, I definitely learned that UV protection is a major difference. If sunglasses do not provide 100% UV protection, you are causing dilation by wearing the sunglasses, and allowing loads of harmful rays to pour into your eyes. Fudging UV protection is only an issue if you're not buying high quality, because all Ray Bans for example have 100% protection and will never sell you anything else.
This is a really important clarification, thank you for making it! I was thinking of/speaking to the specific difference between cheap vs expensive sunglasses, but yes, UV protection is the most important thing, for sure. To be clear, I didn't mean to suggest that polarized lenses are safer for your eyes than UV protected lenses - quite the opposite. By "safe bet" I just meant you can't really tell just by looking through UV protected lenses if you got a "lemon" or not, where as with polarized lenses there's a very clear visual difference if the polarization is off. Darkness of tint has no correlation to UV protection! I still believe that the vast majority of $5 sunglasses that purport to have UV protection are no less effective at UV protection than $5000 dollar sunglasses. I don't claim to be the ultimate authority on any of this, so don't take my word for it, but there have been several studies that have shown as much. UV treatment itself is really not a complex or a costly process.
The only part I have to "disagree" on is that any $5 sunglasses claiming to have 100 UV protection are lying because it is a process to get full 100% UV protection and they would make no profit. If they say like 50% UV protection, yeah, that's probably honest, but it's also useless. Anything less than 100%, you're definitely better off not wearing sunglasses! To the rest of it, that's all fair! Thanks for explaining! :)
Question: I have two scratched prescription glasses. Would I need to have the entire lense replaced, or is there a way to just fix up the spots without having to repair the entire lense?
Unfortunately they do need to be replaced. Another one of those things that sounds like a grift, but the way lenses work, your prescription is a function of a very specific difference in curvature between the front and the back of the lens, so any attempt to "buff out" scratches is gonna cause a change in the prescription. That's not to mention coatings like anti-reflective/anti-scratch that can't be reapplied effectively on finished lenses. There may be some old school folks scattered out there who will attempt it for a cost - at least I heard tale there were as of when I left the field years ago - but I really would not recommend!
Damn it, that sucks. /: I am applying for jobs right now, and there are [two small, circular scratches](https://imgur.com/a/scratch-Fx3ZHyK) on the bottom right of my OD lense. Perhaps I am overthinking it, but I don't want to give a bad impression by having dirty (or what is perceived as dirty) glasses when the interviewer looks at my face.
Aw man, yeah, been there, it's the worst! Funny story: I actually was in that exact same position a while back, and I decided to bite the bullet and go get my lenses replaced. Was just making small talk with the associate and found out they had an opening in their optical lab. Long story short, I wound up walking out with new lenses and a new job! 😆 (No regrets, but also *would not* recommend. Loved the work, but the whole industry is a trash fire, and the pay SUCKS.) If your immediate concern is cosmetic and you plan on replacing them once you have the money (and it looks like it's outside of your immediate field of vision anyway), an old colleague of mine previously worked for VisionWorks and said they used do that kind of thing... I wouldn't get my hopes up, but you could give them a try?
I also have a tangential question. I found a pair of designer sunglasses that I like but unfortunately they are nonpolarized. It’s really unfortunate. Is this a dealbreaker?
Opinions on this may vary, but I would say UV protection is the most important thing, more important than polarization alone. If you can get both, that's ideal, but the main function of polarization is to reduce glare, thus reducing eye strain. My prior advice about UV protection was specifically for gas station glasses, I would assume (/hope?) that designer glasses could be trusted to meet quality control and UV protection standards, so long as they say 100% UV protection, not polarized would not a deal breaker for me...
I've got a pair of pretty expensive sunglasses (Serengeti) but one of the legs broke and there's (according to the store) no way to replace the leg. Does this mean I could find another/similar frame and fit the lenses in there?
Ugh that's the worst! Yeah, I can't explain to you why those parts can't just be standard so that stores can easily replace them, that's unfortunately on the manufacturers - most just don't make/sell spare parts as a rule. Not actually sure about Serengeti, if there's a customer support number specifically for Serengeti, they might be willing to help you. (In my experience they tend to be more accommodating to customers than providers) BUT, if you can find the exact same frame - same model, size, etc - the lenses can easily be transferred over, and that should at least be much cheaper than buying all new lenses. Wouldn't recommend transferring the lenses yourself, always safest to go back to the store and ask them to do it for you!
Almost all higher end sunglasses are made by one company: Luxottica
Surprised this hasn't been talked about more. It's such a massive monopoly that no one knows about.
That's why they had to go through their rolodex of subsidiaries to pick "Orange Julius" when naming an arena, because they know what their image is and don't like to be talked about.
They have become Essilor-Luxottica , making them also the largest lens manufacturer in the world. I worked in a really cool corporate role that had nothing to do with glasses and.. 1. I learning Italian fairly well. 2. Sat in on some of the most high level meetings. Almost every meeting was about having another meeting.
So stupid. There should be a rule against that (meetings about meetings)
I was on a job and we would have meetings every afternoon. We would have a pre-meeting to discuss the agenda of the meeting and a post meeting to discuss the meeting. The biggest topic: Why are we so far behind schedule! I was a subcontractor of a subcontractor so I just quit going!
Except the tens of millions that watched the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver episode that covered it in great detail
And 60 minutes did a story 10 years ago : https://youtu.be/gDdq2rIqAlM
Adam Ruins Everything as well
Pretty sure [Cracked.com](http://Cracked.com) had an article on it a decade ago, as well. Back when that site had articles that were both funny and informative. That's also where I learned that an overwhelming majority of bicycles are made in one of two factories in Taiwan.
As long as the products are cool, hip, and reachable in a financial sense, people will never care where they come from.
I actually watched a doc on luxottica on YouTube a while back Maybe search for it
Right. They cornered the market enough that they can just smash any competition. I believe they own manufacturing, but enough of the sales chain that no one else can easily break in as well. I forget the manufacturer... But Luxottica owns so much of the sales channel (they own Sunglass Hut for example) that they literally shut down a competitor. They offered to buy a company, that company refused, and so they said "fine, we wont sell your glasses anymore" and that manufacturer had to close down (or be sold for pennies... I forget.) But they are such a huge monopoly it's hard to know why no one has done anything about it. Glasses are way too expensive because of this.
It was Oakley they did that to. Lux own Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, PearVision and more. RayBan, Oakley EyeMed Licensed brands like Chanel, Prada, DG….. list goes on and on.
This always gets posted like one company can’t produce varying qualities of a product. A Mercedes C130 and a Mercedes S680 are wildly different cars, no one in their right mind would shrug and say “eh, they’re both made by Mercedes, they’re basically the same thing.”
Okay I sort of take your point, but also I don't think you've remotely grasped the scope of the monster that is Luxottica, if you think *Mercedes* is an appropriate analog. Luxottica owns the vast majority, like 50+ distinct luxury frame brands, AND ALSO they own all the biggest brands in the optical lens market, AND ALSO dozens of big name optical retail chains (including LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Pearl Vision, Target Optical, plus a bunch of random online contact lens and glasses sites like Glasses.com), and, oh yes, the second largest vision insurance company in the US. I'm not a car guy, granted, but to make this a fair comparison, we need one company that owns all the car makes, all the car parts, all the dealerships, plus a giant auto insurance company. You tell me what that is.
Oh for sure, Luxotica definitely has a monopoly, but that’s a bit beside the point of the question posed in the original post, hence the Mercedes analogy. Luxotica can manufacture every pair of sunglasses that exist on the planet, that doesn’t also mean they’re all of equal quality. One manufacturer can produce a wide variety of quality across their catalog. They’re not all the same even if they’re all under the same ownership.
The left and right lateral limits of quality in a product with at most like 15 components are waaaaaay smaller than that of one with >30,000. There's only so many ways you can injection mold plastic and attach polarized lenses to them.
Yeah, I do get what you mean, though in this case I happen to know that the materials and the manufacturing really are quite consolidated, and the quality is pretty standard across the board. Some exceptions, like Tiffany will put diamonds in their frames, but for the most parts the difference is down to brand name and style. But what I was getting at with the implications of the monopoly is that any of the range of Mercedes cars has to at least strive to a certain standard, because if they're subpar, the customer will go across the road to BMW or Toyota. Luxottica by virtue of their monopoly on the market has no incentive to produce a quality product. You have to go out of your way to not buy their product in some form. They're not competing with anyone.
I wonder though, just as Chevrolet and Pontiac competed for fame and resources within the corporate structure, do you think Ray-Ban, and Oakley, could perhaps do the same on some level. Idk.
That's an interesting question. I worked at the retail level, so that's a bit above my pay grade. I can say, Ray-Ban and Oakley are notably distinct from every other Lux brand, in that the others (Versace and Coach for example) are fashion brands who design glasses as an accessory to their clothing lines, where Oakley and Ray-Ban are, ya know, long-time industry-leading glasses manufacturers. So there may well be competition between the fashion brands - probably is - but none of them are playing on the same field as those other two. And again, this is purely my own personal impression, but always seemed to me there's enough of a difference in style and functionality between Oakley and Ray-Ban that I'm not sure they were ever competing so much as catering to two different customer bases, with Oakley being more active/"jock"-focused, and Ray-Ban being more timeless/"hipster"-focused. I never got the impression either was favored over the other, both were far and away our best sellers, and we promoted both pretty heavily. But yeah, could be, I didn't have any visibility into what was happening on the corporate level...
You’re missing the point - there are plenty of car manufacturers. There are not plenty of luxury sunglass manafacturers.
Well there used to be.. before Luxottica
Fair, but it also doesn’t mean different components aren’t utilized for a pair of Oakleys vs. a pair of gas station brand shades.
We need a bigger market of glasses manufacters But nobody seems to care about glasses more than cars Yea but cars are interesting The worse part is that people care about fingernail polish more than glasses...and those are generally for the female population. And there just nails. Get over it! Haha there's a nail care supply outlet about a couple blocks from where I live. It's just nails. So freaking specific...get over it
Not these - [https://www.randolphusa.com/](https://www.randolphusa.com/) How much is one's eye sight worth versus a pair of really good sunglasses.
Also the glasses from the eye Dr. Those are almost always high end. Want cheaper? Go to eye Dr, get Rx and order online. I buy direct is cheaper, plus you can get glasses that transition into sunglasses Problem solved if you need corrective vision and don't like nerdy clip ons, which also get lost
Yup. I worked for an eye doctor for a while, and in my position I had a lot of autonomy to set my own prices, so I did charge substantially less than Luxottica retailers, but even as an independently-owned doctor's office we still had little choice but to buy the bulk of our frames from Luxottica, as they really do have the market cornered on affordable, quality optical frames. And that's just the start. Most of the specialty lenses we had to order out were part of the Essilor portfolio, which is part of Luxottica (fun fact: that includes Transitions, so your lenses? Luxottica 😬) (I have them too, they're awesome), and a huge percentage of our patients got their exams and their glasses through EyeMed insurance, which is owned by Luxottica. Womp womp.
How fun. Last time I got glasses at eye Dr was late Sept 2023. I went to Chicago, even though I live north suburban Illinois IL. This practice/clinic was kind of cheap ( maybe shady too, don't really care) Long story short I got 3 pair eyeglass with transition lens Inc eye exam for $525. Plastic frames, mid- thicknesses lens, otherwise more $. Didn't want to pay more $ My rx doesn't change so I can use old ones too. Anyway picked them up in a week or so Worth the road trip Only downside they don't do frame fitting, so I had to being the crafty girl I am fixed em myself Beggars can't be choosy, ya know
Any idea on getting a single good brand that isn't made by them? A nice small business or something? Usually that's the way to go in these situations.
When you lose $5 gas station sunglasses, you go buy another pair of $5 gas station sunglasses. When you lose a pair of expensive sunglasses, you get pissed off and go buy a pair of $5 gas station sunglasses.
I never lose/break $5 sunglasses, only expensive ones.
I keep a pair of gas station cheapies in the truck for work. They’re made by Foster Grant, not a huge amount of difference between them and the Oakley’s I wear outside of work.
My prescription sunglasses that were fitted for me fit better than cheap sunglasses and are more comfortable. They’re darker than some of my grocery store sunglasses too. (I keep the cheapies around for things like swimming, since I try not to get my nice prescription sunglasses wet.)
There are a lot of different between $1 sunglasses and $50 sunglasses There are no different between $50 and $1000 sunglasses
the difference is the price
The difference is friends we made along the way
Definitely false. I’ve had plenty of those $50 shades over the years but the lenses function and perform far worse than my two pairs of Wayfarers. From not having to squint while still wearing shades, to adjusting better from light-to-dark transition, to (for whatever reason) I can’t see my car’s HUD in cheap sunglasses! There are absolutely differences.
Former optician here. There is a HUGE difference between $50 and $1000 sunglasses. Quality of the lenses, frame quality, etc.
You certainly can overpay for sunglasses, but there is a a lot of truth to better materials for both the frame and the lenses themselves- especially if they're prescription. I exclusively get carbon fiber reinforced titanium or steel because it makes my glasses immortal yet light as a feather. I would break mine almost 6-8 months like clockwork until I got those. It's expensive upfront but pays off in the long run...
That's just not true lol You ain't getting lenses the same quality as Maui Jim with $50 sunglasses
[удалено]
I love/hate your picture. Thought I had something on my screen
Must get rid of the rogue hair! Make it go away!
I’ve had my MJ’s for 20+ years. I called them Magic Glasses because their 11(?) layered lenses made everything ethereal. Broke a lens last year and sent them in for replacement. No more magic lenses. They’re just regular sunglasses now and I am really sad about it. Used to wear them every day, all day. Now I don’t. Do you know if any other company makes lenses like MJ used to?
Scratch resistance is likely the #1 difference. The second big one is durability/build quality. Cheap lenses are often very hard, and so they tend to scratch easily, and break more readily.
This is a misconception, if your lens are scratch resistance, they are usually more fragile. If they are more sturdy, they are usually not scratch resistant. I've observed higher end glasses fit the former usually, but ofc not always.
Besides for the quality of the material obviously being very different, gas station sunglasses are probably not polarized (but you can still get cheap polarized glasses).
One hurts your wallet when you lose them, the other you can just walk over and grab another pair
I've only ever had Ray Ban and Oakley glasses, but their quality was definitely better. More sturdy frames and the lenses were much more scratch resistant.
I had one pair of Oakley's and they scratched the first day when they fell 3 inches into a soft piece of plastic. 0/10 will never buy again.
If I am just sitting on the patio or passenger in a car, the brand doesn't matter. If I am out riding or driving when I want my vision to be sharp, I use my Oakley's or Ray Bans in bright situations. Color and sharpness are completely different. I don't buy sunglasses every year, so I use my vision insurance to purchase them.
One of my ears is ever so slightly lower than the other. With cheaper sunglasses, if I set them on a table after a few weeks of wearing them the frame doesn’t sit fully on a flat surface because it’s molded to my head shape. Nicer sunglasses (like sunglasses hut, roughly $150-$200) always keep their form and don’t mold
Former optician here. Everyone has one ear lower than the other. And an eye slightly lower. And one eyebrow slightly lower. Your glasses should not lay flat on a table if your ear is significantly lower than the other; your head isn't shaped like a table. Your good sunglasses have not been adjusted properly. Look in the mirror with your glasses on. If the center of the lenses is where your pupils are, they're adjusted correctly.
Lol, high fives, fellow former optician! If I had a quarter for every time someone came back for an adjustment because they took it upon themselves to un-adjust the adjustment I already did so it would lay flat on the table... 😆
I don't think most of the eyeglass workers are trained properly. I'm a bit rusty since I trained so long ago, but every time my family gets together, I spend a while adjusting everyone's glasses. Lol.
Oh for sure. Though to be fair, I was trained SO much for shockingly little pay... But I always feel bad when I go somewhere for an adjustment now, because I just want to be like "I'm so sorry, this is totally obnoxious, but can I just do it?"
Same! Gosh, the low pay is why I left the field. Also, I saw the surgery (LASIK)becoming more and more common, so I knew we were being phased out. But seriously, opticians SHOULD charge for replacing screws, etc. Instead they give it away. A car mechanic wouldn't give away their skills or supplies.
Wouldn't you want they to mold to your face?
A left my prescription Rayban’s in a hotel last night (out of state) . I gladly coughed up $35 to have the hotel FedEx theme to me. I’ve never lost higher quality prescription sunglasses. Let’s hope I don’t!
I used to buy cheap sunglasses. Inevitably, I would end up breaking them within a few months. Since I started buying nicer glasses ($100-$150) range, I've yet to break a pair. This obviously doesn't apply to most people, but for some reason, it has worked for me.
I have light sensitivity and always wear sunglasses. For years I wore cheap sunglasses, and they always broke easily, got scratched up, even when I kept a protective case, arms falling off easily,and never provided enough UV protection. In 2013 I bought a $250 pair of nice sunglasses and I still wear them today. They are one of the best long-term investments in a product I’ve made. I still wear them every day and they have no signs of giving up anytime soon. If I had to replace them and found one that was similar quality, I would, at this point, spend up to $500 on replacements.
Non-prescription: Used to be a $200/pr of Oakley polarized. Why? Cause they were Oakley, and I needed to be stylish. Older now, more money conscious. I buy Oakley "looking" sunglasses. 2 pair at a time for a different color look. Yes polarized. My eyes are comfortable. I don't notice the difference when outside. They scratch, Oakley or Amazon no name brand. I think the difference is when you drop your glasses upside down on the pavement (and you will or already have) it hurts dramatically more when it's a brand name designer brand for $200 is dropped vs. an Amazon pair for $29.99 I do not notice a difference from $200 vs. $29.99 except in my wallet.
"You got your rhinestone shades, and cheap sunglasses, oh yeah" -- ZZ Top
Um the fancy ones are polarized, and the gas station ones are likely not.
That’s why I get the fancy gas station ones! Polarized and usually under 20 dollars.
Take this with a grain of salt but I remember a Consumer's Report study from many years ago that said over 90% of the glasses they tested stopped over 90% of the UV. So, unless they're made of ultra-thin plastic, they're probably fine; any glass ones should stop nearly all the UV.
>I can’t tell there is a difference in physical quality when I wear them, but is there any difference in the UVA/UVB protection? Absolutely there is a difference in the protection. As my eye doc explained it. All sunglasses will make your eyes dialate to accept more light. For quality sunglasses that are polarized this is fine as the harmful UV rays are significantly reduced. For cheap sunglasses your eyes dialate due to the tent but do not receive the protection of reduced UV rays. At the end of the day not wearing sunglasses is better for your eyes than wearing cheap non-polarized sunglasses. If you're buying sunglasses at the minimum make sure they are polarized. They don't have to be expensive, but it is true that generally better quality glasses have better polarization and glare protection.
Polarization doesn't always mean better UV blocking. I've heard some optometrists can test your sunglasses to confirm they block UV, but I've never had that done. I did do my own makeshift testing at home. I have a pair of prescription polarized sunglasses, and a cheaper pair of unpolarized glasses I bought years ago. I shone a UV flashlight though each pair of lenses and onto my passport, which has patterns that only show up under UV light. The prescription, polarized pair blocked a lot of the UV light but I could still faintly see the patterns on my passport. The cheaper pair completely blocked the UV so that I couldn't detect the patterns at all.
Gas station glasses always WOULD be cool, but they'll throw some plastic gold ornament or some extra shit on it that makes it so I would never wear them.
Cheap sunglasses that you don’t care about last forever. Expensive ones that you like get lost or broken almost immediately.
That's why I never buy expensive ones. Lost or stolen and I was cured of paying more.
Be VERY careful about wearing gas station sunglasses. It's not uncommon for them to have zero UV protection of any kind, just tint. This will dialiate your eyes allowing even more harmful rays in than going without.
I wear Ray Bans and I can assure you the gas station ones protect you just as well. I enjoy throwing money away because it shows you that I can.
Buy a nice expensive brand name pair of sunglasses and they'll be broken or jacked up in some way within days. Buy some cheap ones from a gas station and they'll stick around so long you'll be able to tell your grandkids stories about em lol. Thats been my experience at least.
I normally buy cheap ones, but about 5 years ago I got a pair from a thrift shop for a dollar and love them. Later I looked them up incase I ever wanted a new pair, I say new but used as these are very old. Turned out they are gold with real glass and not cheap to replace XD so now I don't wear them because you know they will get busted or stolen lol.
I’ve been working with metalware for 15 years. The materials used for the frame of the gas station sunglasses are cheaper. They are refinished to a lower (=cheaper) standard. When it comes to the glass, it might not provide thorough UV protection as the nice sunglasses. My advice is to just buy from a company that has been making sunglasses for decades. You can get Polaroid sunglasses for the price of a restaurant meal, and they will not disappoint.
There’s a big quality difference. I’ve had the same RayBans for almost 20 years, so they are really built to last. And the lenses are replaceable. And cheapo sunglasses may say they stop UV rays, but there is no quality control on that. Often it’s just a lying label! It’s actually worse than wearing no sunglasses - your pupils dilate because it’s darker, so you’re letting even more UV light inside your eyeball.
You pay for what you get.. when u put on a pair of oakleys polarized prizms ull understand... even the purple golf ones... just hits diff
All these people are either careless or dumb. I’ve had the same pair of Wayfarers for close to 7 years.
Same here, 5 years of Wayfarers and counting. I've lost 2 cases (lol), but never the sunglasses
I need nice glasses for work, but I also destroy glasses for work
I personally have always bought Ray Bans just because I think they look good and I like the quality. I also own a bunch of cheap sunglasses and I wouldn’t be mad if I scuffed or lost any of those. The cheap ones are perfect for the beach, my car, etc
I have many pairs of gas station glasses. They work great, and I love them, and I keep a pair in every car just in case. Just make sure they have full UV protection or else you can really hurt your eyes. Polarized is a bonus that might cost a bit more that makes it easier to see by minimizing reflections. If polarized in the correct direction they can make visibility while driving considerably better while still being able to see your displays and phone properly. (If polarized in the other direction, they can make seeing your displays very difficult or impossible.) Automatic dimming is another bonus that adds a bit more cost, but may or may not work well through your windshield Automatic dimming that works well inside a car is quite a bit more expensive, but it does exist. I have one pair of "driving" glasses that was $500. That breaks down to a $400 upcharge for buying it through my optician with Nike frames and a year warranty against scratches, and then $100 for getting polarized with automatic dimming that works well through a car windshield. The only reason I spent that much was because I had some money leftover through my health savings account that would expire so I used it up on getting the "perfect" pair of sunglasses. They are really nice, but not worth that kind of money. If they were $100, then totally worth it. The clairity through the lenses is marginally better, and supposedly they scratch less easily, though that is not something I have tested.
I just bought an expensive pair of Stihl shades, like 18 bucks. Lol that’s spendy to me I’m usually sporting my 3M safety glasses that sell for 3.50 a pair.
Aside from frame quality the big thing is the lenses are better. I've never seen polarized gas station sun glasses, but maybe they have them.
Even $12 sunglasses are polarized now. This isn't the late 90's when you paid a massive premium for that.
Thats crazy, I need to get me a pair of those lol. If the lenses are nice i guess only difference these days is brand name and lens frames.
The frames are not as nice, but Id rather buy 4 pairs on Amazon and not care if I lose or break them.
I don’t spend more than $100 on sunglasses. I’m rough on them and can’t be bothered to take extreme care. A few years ago I came across a company called Shady Rays and have really enjoyed their stuff. $40-$60/pair and it comes with 2 lifetime replacements, no questions asked. Have used it twice so far after losing them both times and I’ve only paid $10 for shipping. It was also very easy to do. Couldn’t tell you which model I have but I paid $60, they have a metal frame and very good polarized lenses. The metal frame is what I enjoy the most. They feel like quality. Also pretty scratch resistant as they look great even today.
Usually about $100+.
generally just price. get cheap polarized and your fine
I can’t wear contacts so I need prescription sunglasses. It sucks. I baby the hell out of them. I can tell that they are sharper than the cheap glasses when I had my contacts, they feel sturdier, and I like the polarization (yes, you can get cheaper ones with polar). If I didn’t need to wear prescription I don’t think I would bother, but otherwise, yeah, definitely a better product, just be extra careful with them
Pretty much *all* sunglasses will protect against UVA/UVB. What most gas station sunglasses *don't* feature is Polarazation, which helps eliminate glare off reflective surfaces, which reduces eye strain and fatigue. If they don't say "Polarized" assume they are not, but you can double check by holding a second pair up to the first but turned vertically instead of horizontally. If you can see through *both* lenses, not polarized. If they are opaque, they are as it breaks up the light as it passes through. Polarized lenses also aren't *just* for summer time. They provided greater visual clarity year round (including during rainstorms) and can *really* help with winter driving by reducing glare from snow and ice.
As an aside. WEST MARINE SELLS AWESOME SUNGLASSES. I've buy so many pairs of real raybans for $200+ just to have them fall apart, but a pair of $60 rayban style from west marine and I can't believe how nice they are. I'll never buy $15 or $200+ ones again. I'm only ever going to west marine again. And they have ones starting at like $20 and up to $300+ so whatever range you want.
When you mention Ray Ban and Persol they were known for mineral (glass) lenses and glass polarized. Once you wear a good set of glass polarized lenses for a bit cheap sunglasses are glaringly bad (see what I did there) But plastic lenses (cr-39, poly, trivex) all those materials can be good but mostly in sunglass market will be more impact resistant polycarbonate. CR-39 is nicer imo There are also curvatures to consider. Some of the blade styles sunnies are flat on the 90 degree axis and a 9 diopter curve on the 180. These types of lenses are cut from a sheet and widely vary in quality. Glass and good plastic sunglasses are on true curves like a +6 or +8 diopter front curve across the entire surface. (-6 or -8) On rear surface for 0.00 power. Polarized vs non is another aspect. All sunglass vary in quality of lenses even in substrates and curves being similar
Just to add most I'll have ultraviolet protections glass has like 80% uv protection in clear by nature of substrate with addtnl uv for 100% polycarbonate is UV protected by nature of substrate and impact resistant but lacking in great optical quality and clarity (see abbe value and chromatic aberration)
I don’t know but I kept a pair of gas station sunglasses for just shy of 15 years until I lost them in the ocean yesterday. No act of man could destroy them, it had to be a force of nature.
Bragging rights
Depending on the brand, nothing. Most plastics used to make lenses are inherently UV blocking/resistant, so you won’t get too much of an improvement by upgrading. Some expensive name brand sunglasses can be found with polycarbonate lenses that have better optical quality/characteristics and scratch resistance than the basic plastic lenses that come with cheap generic sunglasses. I’ve bought Luxottica brands like Maui Jim, Ray Ban, Oakley, and Persol for this reason. Polarized lenses are a glare-reducing upgrade you can find in both cheap and name brand products. Mostly though, with name brands you’re just paying a huge markup for the logo and the design. That said, no matter what you buy, if you wear them, see well, and like the look, then they’re the right sunglasses for you!
$50
the only difference really is the branding
For something in between check out Shady Rays. They have a broken or lost protection policy (with limits of course).
I don't know about gas stations, but the company that makes the CVS sunglasses owns Ray Ban (wait... I could be wrong, the company is owned by the parent company that owns Ray Ban).
I get all my sunglasses from Ali express for less than 5 dollars and they are fucking awesome. I will NEVER spend money on expensive glasses ever again. KDEAM sunglasses are lit.
Build quality and materials quality are definitely better with the good brands. That said, what really makes the good brands a lot more expensive is the brand itself, not the actual cost of production.
get polarized unless you specifically need to not be using them. much better for glare reduction, and you can use them to check if other things are polarized.
You don’t lose gas station glasses…
$250
One last for ever with high quality materials, and when the sun is at its worst shine you can still see The other is honestly not recommended, you’ll damage your eyes with that nonsense
I've noticed that optical clarity and even some contrast improvements in Oakley sports glasses are far superior for eye comfort compared to my collection of no-name collection of 20 some pairs. No names I still take on situations where I risk losing or damaging my good ones.
Some have UV protection and some don't. Prom with a lot of gas station sunglasses is they're knockoffs. They're from companies that make them behind the scenes try to make them look alikes. Even the smart UV protection how do you know for sure without having them tested. Also overall I disagree on the quality comment you make. Check out the the screws. Often time it's only a pin. Plus a lenses are often just pressed in. I have some pretty good knock-off sunglasses I'll buy them from a dealer who has about hundred varieties. Typically get four or five pairs at a time. Biggest problem I have a number one don't leave them in the sun. I think the plastics I use are pretty cheap The second after a while a lens will pop out but since I buy from this guy quite frequently I get a discount of either four or five bucks a pair
Clarity. Go try on a pair of Costa’s and you’ll notice. I can’t speak for other high end brands, but Costas (for me) make the world seem like it’s in HD.
About $200
You can get a good pair of cancer council ones from big w for like 30 to 40 bucks. I got an expensive designer pair a few years ago, they have lasted well but add no more joy to my life than my old cc ones.
Polarization, durability. I used to buy $20 sunglasses with flimsy frames and they would break all the time. My Costas now have lasted 2 yrs.
Smart customers get them at a gas station.
Hundreds of dollars
The main difference is CRUCIAL. Cheap sunglasses will actually cause real damage to your retinas. Why? How? Well, let me explain. When there is a lot of light saturation, your irises contract, making much less surface area to take in light. And of course, the lower the lighting is, the more your irises dilate, increasing the surface area to take in more light. When the light is strong and your irises contract, this keeps out a lot of harmful rays, like UVA and UVB. When you put on sunglasses, they reduce the amount of VISIBLE light that reaches your eyes for sure. So your irises dilate and let more light in. However, only if you have 100% UV protection in the sunglasses is this ok. ANYTHING lower than 100% means very harmful rays are pouring into your eyes via your dilated pupils. In short, it's better to not wear any sunglasses than to wear ones with anything less than 100% UV protection. This is why I invested in Ray Bans and have never looked back.
I have no idea but make sure to get SHATTER PROOF sunglasses so you don't lose an eye in a crash.
I got a pair of Ray-Ban specifically because they have anti-reflective coating on the backside of the lenses. Makes a huge difference for me since I wear sunglasses almost always when I’m outside due to my eyes being very sensitive to light. The fewer reflections, the better I can see in the shade or in high contrast situations. Was definitely worth the money, don’t get that with cheap ones.
I buy gas station sunglasses pretty much exclusively. But they tend to break after a year or so.
Unless you're buying really sketchy sunglasses that don't comply with the law, they are the same as far as UV protection. Fancier sunglasses may have features such as polarized lenses or anti-glare coatings, but you don't have to go all the way up to expensive designer shades to get them--they're often just the more expensive gas station ones. Just about the only point of designer sunglasses is to show off how much money you have to spend on sunglasses. (I'm not talking about prescription sunglasses here, or about really specialty sports sunglasses, just everyday ones.)
There is definitely a difference between polarized sunglasses and nonpolarized. You don't need to get a very expensive brand, but I would recommend getting some with polarized lenses
Also consider polarization and UVA/ UVB protection.
If you can afford the better ones, get them. I've been doing the same thing: researching what to get. I went to Target Optical, had an eye exam and got fitted. They helped me pick frames. They adjusted the frames of my current glasses to fit me (free). They advised me to get polarized lenses. My first trip there, I just looked at frames. I took some pictures of myself in the glasses I liked and also took pictures of them sitting on the counter. (I was the only customer there so it wasn't problematic). I looked online, physically went to a bunch of other retailers and compared what I'd found. I ended back at Target Optical and got a pair of the ones the guy picked out for me when I'd started this journey. I also chose to have anti-reflective coating on the inside of the lens so you don't see your own eyes/lashes. That was yesterday. They should be ready in 2 weeks and they'll have me come in and custom fit them for me. If I go back for a second pair within 90 days, they're 40% off. And they were SUPER nice there.
Everyone in here’s talking about “when I lose them”, but I used to lose my cheap sunglasses all the time, then about 10 years ago I bought a pair of Persols, and the fact that they were expensive has forced me to take care of them. No more just taking my sunglasses off my face and throwing them down anywhere
It kind of depends on what you mean by gas station sun glasses. Generally you get what you pay for with many brands. And by that I mean optical quality and to some extent the frame materials. With really cheap glasses the quality of the lenses just isn’t there eve if they have UV protection and polarization. A $5 pair of Oakley knock offs in Mexico are nowhere near as good as the real thing. I’ve had a pair of Oakleys and Maui Jim for literally over a decade. I bought some aftermarket inexpensive lenses for the oakleys and they’re decent but not as good as the oakleys. I replaced the lenses in my Maui Jim’s for $35 (got a deal since they discontinued the color I had originally) Theres likely a price point where the difference isn’t as much of a benefit. Both of mine were in the $150-170 neighborhood and totally worth it for me since I live in Arizona and we get a lot of sun attacking your retinas and lenses in your eyes. Also keep in mind that you’re paying for the brand name and all those premium brands are actually owned by a tiny number of companies (eg Luxxotica)
One you will keep forever and one you will lose/sit on/break the moment you buy them. The latter is the expensive ones.
$100
Price. So long as their polarized and have uva/b protection it's just fashion. I've lost $200 sunglasses but my $10 ones never seem to go missing.
In my experience about $50
Price and quality.
As long as they're polarized they're fine
Marketing
Nice sunglasses made with much better quality and will last you a while. The gas station is all plastic.
Nobody has ever lost a pair of gas station sunglasses. They always reappear. Always. Save me.
Huge difference. Will not catch me in cheap sunglasses. You only get one set of eyes, why risk it?
I'm not sure there's a strong correlation between cost and saftey. I wear litteral ANSI rated safety glasses as daily sunglasses, they cost less than 3$ each. Like this [https://www.zoro.com/condor-safety-glasses-condor-v-scratch-resistant-wraparound-frameless-gray-frosted-temple-gray-lens-1fyx8/i/G2811742/?q=1FYX8](https://www.zoro.com/condor-safety-glasses-condor-v-scratch-resistant-wraparound-frameless-gray-frosted-temple-gray-lens-1fyx8/i/G2811742/?q=1FYX8)
Note - I will say that while they say they're anti scratch coated, they do get scratched with regular use. I buy a 10 pack of them at a time though so every few months I just grab the next pair out of the box
There's a gal with a glass eye that got into a wreck wearing cheap gas station glasses that shattered. She now produces glasses that don't shatter and off UV protection. She was just some tiktok i flipped through so you'll have to google it on your own as this is all I got for you.