Is there such a thing as folding sports (wraparound) sunglasses?
February 20, 2020 6:16 AM   Subscribe

I am very sensitive to bright light, so I carry sunglasses with me whenever I leave the house. But the only sunglasses that work for me are sports-style, e.g. wraparound. Regular flat sunglasses just let in too much light around the edges. All the sports sunglasses I've found are kind of big when closed, and even bigger in a case. Kind of a pain to carry around, especially if I want to protect them from scratches.

There are a couple of reputable brands that make folding sunglasses, like Ray-Bans and Roav, but these are all very flat. There might be some sort of semi-curved aviators that work, but I'm skeptical. Also, I'd prefer to be able to use these sunglasses for running/cycling, so it'd be better if they were regular sports-style.

I've mostly just ended up buying lots of cheap, tinted safety glasses, but as you can imagine these are very low-quality, and often look kind of silly.

(On that note, tinted goggles would probably work, but I'd prefer not to look like I'm cosplaying Riddick all the time.)
posted by TheBraveLittleSock to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (3 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
im not sure if it would be an improvement on the looking-silly/cosplay front, but if you search for mountaineering sunglasses youll see a bunch of options seemingly designed to fix this exact problem - it looks like most are still pretty flat but include side-guards to keep out extra light. Some have a very steampunk/leather and brass vibe but it looks like oakley makes a pair.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:34 PM on February 20, 2020


Best answer: Popticals are wrap-around sunglasses that fold up and fit inside an egg-shape case. Review describes them as small-framed, and they don't look especially 'wrap' to me? For sale here, here, & here, as examples.
Salomon Folding "Bubble" Wraparound Sports Sunglasses - article's from 2011, and I'm having trouble finding these for sale; maybe a pair can be had via a resale site?
If you have a large face, perhaps these: folding fit-over wrap sunglasses
Wildcard, & a sale page

(I have a similar sensitivity, and a brimmed hat teams with my oversized-but-not-wraparound polarized sunglasses to block light.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:56 PM on February 20, 2020


Response by poster: Exceptional_Hubris: A while ago I tried a pair of Julbo Sherpa mountaineering sunglasses. They were very nice, but I ended up not using them because they were about as big as wraparounds anyway, and the curved ear-hooks were annoying for normal usage (also, that particular pair was not polarized...). It kind of makes me wonder if the ideal solution isn't to get minimal, high-quality folding sunglasses, like Roavs, and find some mountaineering-style side-guards to stick on to them.

Iris Gambol: Your response made me remember I actually have a pair of those Mr.O fitover sunglasses (your last link). I got them a awhile ago, but they didn't fit comfortably over my glasses (possibly because I have a very large head), so I tossed them into storage. I wear contacts now, and I've dug up the sunglasses and they actually work pretty well. I'm not sure about long-term durability, but we'll see.
posted by TheBraveLittleSock at 12:36 PM on March 2, 2020 [1 favorite]


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