My beloved oakley half jackets are starting to show their age. The lenses are peeling on both sides and now i am faced with replacing the lenses or jumping ship to another brand.

I called oakley to inquire about the peeling and they said it is normal. If i wanted peeling lenses, i would have bought a cheap set. I dont want to spend 60 to 90 on another set that will do the same thing. Also considering getting polarized this time.

Please advise...

 

The last sunglasses I bought were Ray-Ban Aviators. I still have them, nearly brand new sitting in my desk.

Can you get replacement lenses?

 

Yes, the 60-90 is for the lenses. 60ish for standard and 90ish for polarized. The frames have been discontinued and replaced with the new 2.0 half jackets.

 

Buy new lenses. That's why you bought the Half Jacket anyway.

How old are they? My most-used Oakley's lasted me 14 years before the plastic cracked under the ear-socks.


If you want to jump brand ships, consider Smith Tactical, as those meet ANSI like most Oakley's.

 

Yeah but that $ could be put toward another brand that doesn't peel in 4ish years. This is the first pair of oakleys i have owned with this problem.

Rudy project offers lifetime warranty on lenses. Ugh, i am torn.

 

Wow only 4 years seems premature. Bummer.

 

American Optical Pilots. Nothing else. $40ish.

 

And oakleys response was basically "**** happens." I was not expecting replacements well outside of warranty. I also wasnt expecting to hear they know about the peeling and could really care less.

 

Lol, i am definitely not cool enough for them.

 

In terms of warranty/customer service, I will say that Smith is AWESOME.

I bought a pair of Smith sunglasses on clearance. After a couple years, one of the nosepads started coming loose. I tried to superglue it, it came loose again, so I contacted Smith customer service.

I was 100% honest and said I tried to fix it myself. They said send it in anyway. They received my shipment, and one day later contacted me to say they did not have parts on hand to repair my sunglasses, but would credit me the full retail value of my glasses toward another pair, even though my receipt clearly showed a clearance price that was about 25% of the regular retail price.

That's how you get people to tell other people about how good your customer service is.

 

I owned a really nice pair of rayban mirrored aviators with glass lenses that looked new after 12 years of use. When those got stolen I bought a pair of two face oakleys. The lens quality on my oakleys is impressive to me but I have only had them for 6 months so I cannot comment on longevity. I would buy oakleys again though.

 

The lenses on the first and only pair of Oakleys I've purchased started peeling after 3-4 years as well, and they were polarized. I'm now wearing a pair of Columbia PFG skip casts, with blue polarized lenses, and I absolutely love them. They appear to be discontinued though.

 

If it matters, ^these are the flight school issue sunglasses for the US Navy. I go through about a pair a year either through outright destruction or losing them. The other choice for Aviators is Randolph Engineering... www.randolphusa.com. Nobody I know wears Rayban.

 

Glass lenses are the way to go if you don't need impact protection. I like Costa Del Mar, I had my old pair for five years before I lost them and the lenses looked as good as the day I bought them.

 

Grrr, zoom in to see the inside edge peeling. The outer is easily visible.

 

IMHO glasses age and break down like anything else over time.

It's like suing GM because your 12 year old vehicle is having brake line failure due to rust...
Yes. **** happens.

I enjoy my Oakleys, but have only owned them for a year. Mainly only wear them when driving, or on the boat. Otherwise i'll throw a cheaper set on if they have the chance of being broken or lost. My Oakleys are polarized and completely eliminated the light induced headaches i would get.

 

Oakleys are still "in"?
I need to get out more...

 

Rudy project ftw. Awesome glasses.

 

Laugh if you like, but the last pair of sunglasses I "loved" was a set of photochromic Serengeti quazi-aviators. I'd never spent so much on a pair of glasses in my entire life and they were amazing. I've never worn a better set of driving glasses. I wore them for 7-8 years until one of my brothers druggie friends stole them. After that, I've not spent more that $25 for a pair.

I still have my fathers 1960's USN issue Bausch & Lomb aviators. Beautiful lenses.

 

I have NOT seen sunglasses with the optical and anti-reflection coating quality of Maui Jims.