Sunglasses- who makes decent ones in 2024?

[OPC100]

I'd say Randolph Engineering all the way. I've also got a pair of American Optical that must be 15 years old now and whilst a step down from the Randolph's, certainly better than the Rayban's that they replaced.

I fancy trying a pair of these though...

https://www.vallon.com/en-gb/collections/lifestyle...

Anyone had any experience of Vallon?

Edited by OPC100 on Tuesday 25th June 21:23

[cslwannabe]

I wear Sunwise and Bloc for cycling.

I think Oakley seem decent quality - always look at them at the duty free and my wife has a pair of Frogskin. Heard good things about customer service too.

Ray Ban however seem very poor in comparison and nothing special at all. The lenses may be half decent but they just feel flimsy and cheap to me.

[Pupp]

It’s a gimmick of course, and I’ve fallen for it, but the new reverse lens Ray Bans are cool, and seem to work well optically. I’m awaiting a pair presently from Opticians Direct, so will report back.

Meanwhile, Persol, Serengeti, and Oakley for me… the Serengetis are mostly used for driving; they just work although the heads-up in a BMW I have does need a tilt of the head to see properly.

[rallye101]

Anything you fancy with carl zeiss lenses, cant go wrong....
Got a pair of zegna, my father tried them and had to fork out for him....we still have/ not broken/lost replaced 5yr on...you get it!

[Graveworm]

GuigiaroBertone said:

There used to be an obvious answer to this, but I find myself struggling to find a decent pair for my upcoming holidays.

Here's my (highly subjective, tongue in cheek) 2024 brand perception of the main players:

• RayBan/Oakley/Persol - owned lots and used to be good quality/value now just another overpriced Luxotica brand

• Italian "designer" (Prada/D&G/Armani/Ferrrari/ Versace) etc = more overpriced Luxotica brands & cheesy AF

• Oliver peoples/ Tom Ford heading towards the above

• Any designer/ high street/Airport "world duty free" brand tie in- e.g. Ted Baker, Jimmy choo, Marc Jacobs etc. Just naff and again paying to advertise a mid market brand

• Police/ Randolph aviators = Walt / kiddy fiddler vibes (big aviation fan, but I'm afraid it's true)

• Carrera = One trick pony/ gimmick. Cool in 2004.

• High street own brands/ Next, Reiss, Boots, Zara, Top man etc- cheap chinese st

• Polaroid - given up on life

• Fake/tourist market knock offs- as points 1-6 but cheaper and a bit pathetic

• Messy Weekend/ SunGod etc - a product of Social media hype and massive markup for what must cost just a couple of quid to make- max.

I'm just looking for a pair that are on trend (or near enough) and worth their price. I'm not looking for a status symbol / obvious branding/ bling. Price not an issue, but bear in mind that most pairs I've owned seem to go missing in a time frame that is directly proportional to their price. I've never lost a pair that cost less than a Tenner- no matter how hard I try.

Take what you can from this..
https://youtu.be/QupDm63OSfI?si=f4FipJzbzYt2VX2F

[Stick Legs]

https://mrjww-sunglasses.com/

I'd be genuinely keen to see what these are like as they look interesting.

Of course you are paying a fortune to be involved with a petrolhead's pet project / feather the nest of a YouTube grifter (delete as appropriate).

Edited by Stick Legs on Tuesday 25th June 23:27

[Uncle Meat]

Another vote for Oakleys. I've got the ones that look like aviators although the polarization does render the heads-up display a bit useless!

You can easily get replacement lenses and I bought some cheapo third party ones for my old kanckered pair.

[C4ME]

I liked your summary OP. I am one of those people who tends to not throw stuff away, plus find myself now old enough that they come around again. Here is my assortment all bought from new by me. On the right side various Ray-Bans … rear are late 1980s, middle in the 2000s and front around 2015. There are others in a drawer somewhere. 1980s made in USA, 2000s made in China but really good quality, 2015s made in Italy. I don’t think it is where they are made but rather brands have chased cheap production and high retail prices recently. Because they can. Left side rear are 1990s Blocs and front are 2020s Fat Face. The Blocs are still my favourite walking glasses.

I now buy sunglasses (such as the Fat Face) that I like the look of rather than by brand and expect to throw them away (but probably won’t LOL). Expect them all to be made in the Far East now. There are some UK online brands such as Sunwise I have noticed appearing and reasonably priced in comparison to the brands.

Edited by C4ME on Wednesday 26th June 12:35

[Bruggy]

Hawkers - superb quality and style & cheap. Perez the F1 driver used to be sponsered by them.

https://www.hawkersco.com/gb/special-offer/polariz...

[andburg]

Bruggy said:

Hawkers - superb quality and style & cheap. Perez the F1 driver used to sponsered by them.

https://www.hawkersco.com/gb/special-offer/polariz...

I had a look at those and was tempted but spanish shipping and returns mean if i don't like them it'd be half the cost of the glasses to return them. Being a yorkshireman I'm too tightfisted to take the risk

[Sporky]

ThingsBehindTheSun said:

genuine Ray Ban copies

Eh?

[GuigiaroBertone]

Graveworm said:

Take what you can from this..
https://youtu.be/QupDm63OSfI?si=f4FipJzbzYt2VX2F

I took a huge amount from that! A fantastic summary of all the brands I've been considering (and many more I'd never hear of).

Thanks for posting- well worth a watch.

[egomeister]

GuigiaroBertone said:

Graveworm said:

Take what you can from this..
https://youtu.be/QupDm63OSfI?si=f4FipJzbzYt2VX2F

I took a huge amount from that! A fantastic summary of all the brands I've been considering (and many more I'd never hear of).

Thanks for posting- well worth a watch.

I suspect most might fall foul of your price / chance of losing relationship though! Another option not mentioned could be Etnia. Their optical stuff is decent value so sunglasses are likely similar.

Re: some of the Ray-ban / Luxottica (and most "designer" eyewear) quality comments. I think the issue isn't really the quality in an absolute sense, but the quality relative to their price point & brand image

[Jefferson Steelflex]

BBC Sliced Bread podcast did a feature on Sunglasses last year:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00194g9

Summary was that even the cheaper sunglasses offer more than adequate UV protection. IIRC they even found the cheapo market ones were pretty good, so what you're often paying for is the style/brand.

Personally I stick to Ray Ban and Police these days because I like the style and they feel solid, but the looky-looky man in Tenerife last week had a cracking collection of Ray-Beri and Kelvin Klein which I was tempted by.

[Zaichik]

Julbo.

Excellent value and superb optics. Good for high UV too.

[smithyithy]

Edwards Eyewear is worth a look, they make shooting glasses but also sunglasses and prescriptions. Owned by an optometrist and champion clay shooter, Japanese titanium frames, Zeiss lenses etc..

https://www.edwardseyewear.com/

[Bonefish Blues]

egomeister said:

GuigiaroBertone said:

Graveworm said:

Take what you can from this..
https://youtu.be/QupDm63OSfI?si=f4FipJzbzYt2VX2F

I took a huge amount from that! A fantastic summary of all the brands I've been considering (and many more I'd never hear of).

Thanks for posting- well worth a watch.

I suspect most might fall foul of your price / chance of losing relationship though! Another option not mentioned could be Etnia. Their optical stuff is decent value so sunglasses are likely similar.

Re: some of the Ray-ban / Luxottica (and most "designer" eyewear) quality comments. I think the issue isn't really the quality in an absolute sense, but the quality relative to their price point & brand image

Good to hear someone in the trade being openly scathing about Luxottica - most are cowed by them and their might (and willingness to use it)

[JakeT]

Having worn ray bans for years as both my regular and sun glasses I thought I’d try something else. I went to a local optician, had my eyes tested and picked some glasses. For sunglssses, I ended up with these:

https://www.lunetteriegenerale.com/collections/sun...

I almost had a heart attack at the price but my Mrs told me she liked them on me and it get them bought. Well built, though!

[paulwirral]

You could try these , new to the market so get in before everyone else does

[Last Visit]

One of my favourite pairs I have still have are Arnette, had them over 20 years. They still have some good looking selections although they are Luxottica I have now discovered.