Optilabs Supreme cycling glasses

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Finnjävel

Senior Member
Location
Finland
I recently bought these: http://www.optilabs.com/site/product.php?pfid=0,8,11,17&prodid=94 with clear prescription lenses. I have Oakley Half Jacket sunglasses, but I needed other glasses for riding in low-light conditions. I considered getting another pair of Oakleys, but these were priced rather attractively so I took the risk.

I first contacted Optilabs with some questions and they answered very promptly, even on a sunday.

The glasses arrived surprisingly quickly. Taking them out of the box, it was immediately clear that Oakleys these were not. The frame felt cheaper, without the bomb-proof feeling of the Oakelys. But then again, the price tag wasn't Oakley, either.

I noticed some optical imperfections on the edges of the lenses, something again that the Oakleys with their perfect optical quality didn't have. This bothered me enough that I sent email to Optilabs and they promised to fix it if it proved to be a problem. But now, after about ten hours of riding with these, I have gotten used to the slight distortion to the point that I don't really notice it anymore.

The fogging seems to be pretty much as good or bad as with the Oakleys. It's pretty hard to compare, since the Oakleys get used only in good weather, and these guys come out when it's raining, foggy or some other kind of miserable. After hard riding they fog up if I have to stop at lights, but I have yet to see glasses that do not.

Even though the frame feels cheaper than the Oakleys, it does a good job keeping the glasses in place. They do not slip even when wet.

So, if I had unlimited funds, would I get these? No, I'd go for the Oakleys every time. But as I have to pay for my stuff with my meagre paycheck, I would buy these again. And if I already didn't have the sunglasses, I think I'd get another pair of these with dark lenses. The compromises Optilabs has to make to offer these at this price are well balanced and really don't matter when riding. And that's what matters.

EDITED TO ADD: I have a big face, so these might not fit as well for those of you with more aerodynamic faces.
 
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