Replacement lenses for Oakley sunglasses - aftermarket any good?

August 10, 2024 7:27 PM

My Oakleys serve me well for cycling. But replacement lenses (for the EVZERO Men's model, and others) are hella expensive. I see lots of online vendors offering aftermarket alternatives, but what about quality control? I want to ensure the lenses do what they say on the tin, and like so much in the US, there's no accountability here, that I can see.

I hate the Luxottica cartel, but at least with Oakleys I can trust they won't shatter and ruin my vision.

posted by 4midori to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

Not in my experience, no. Lots of distortion relative to real ones. I’m not sure if they have replacement lenses but I’ve started getting Oakleys through a friend with an Expert Voice account for about half price.
posted by supercres at 8:01 PM on August 10

Another no here: I don't know what it is that sets Prizm lenses apart, but my aftermarkets weren't even close, and they scratched hella easy too. At the end of the day - unless there's a decent returns policy - you're going to spend $'s to find that out, and then you're just going to be out more $'s. Rather than play this game, I'm still rocking my original, scratched-to-hell lenses; because Oakley can prize the ridiculous cost of their replacement lenses from my cold, dead hands....
posted by my log does not judge at 8:49 PM on August 11

Best answer: There is no real quality control for aftermarket lenses, and for me the lens quality is the one and only reason I've spent so much money with them over the years. Every time they finally conk out I try some others, interesting new companies, other established brands, etc etc, and I always end up dragging my feet back to the Oakley shop. Alas this is one of those things in life that I have found you just have to suck up. I have just become very careful about looking after them. Plus side is that if you know exactly what you want you can often find last year's models in the sales for less than the replacement lenses.
posted by tardigrade at 10:24 AM on August 12

Response by poster: Thanks, all. Forum surfing has shown there may be a few other cos with products as good, but the prices aren't any better.
posted by 4midori at 4:32 PM on August 12