[Closed] Oakley/any photocromatic lenses

I've been using the Oakley for over 12 years. Now on my second set of lenses, though looking at replacing them soon. Mine are also prescription.

They really are ideal. I use them day and night, for all my riding, running, walking, paddling etc, on road and off road.

I don't find transition time a problem. It's certainly better than stopping to change glasses every time I pass from cover into open and vice versa.

I have a normal pair and a prescription pair in grey. They work great most of the time but they don't change very quickly. The normal pair I commute in and they work from in the dark under street lights but maybe aren't quite dark enough for setting sun in your eyes. To other pair are very similar. They just work I don't really notice how dark they are most of the time. They just work. The only time I have noticed a problem is going from bright daylight to a tunnel, but most of the time they just work.
As with anything else it's a compromise.

I've got some for Jawbones / Racing jackets. They're fine - they work well enough although always seem to have a mild tint which means you look like Bono.

I don't use mine since I've got prescription inserts. If you want to buy them let me know...

I've got some Julbo Reactiv ones. Brilliant.
Don't even notice them changing (e.g. when going from sunlight into the trees), they always just seem to be right.

I have used them in prescription form in Racing Jackets also. They are now pretty well scratched after a few years of use.

They do seem to just work.

I do prefer my Prizm Trail lenses for the middle 70% of conditions though i.e. not dusk/dark or super bright conditions.  I do have some Prizm Grey lensed glasses for bright conditions.

Endura.

You won’t cry so much when you lose a £50 pair of sunnies in a crash compared to a £150 pair..

I have some for my racing jackets and they work just fine. Perhaps not quite quick enough for in and out of the woods.

However, since getting the prizm lens, the photochromic have been downgraded to more casual duties.

Got a couple of pairs of Oakley photochromic (EV Zero & Flak 2.0).
From a transition point of view I can’t say I really notice it. The change from light to dark is quicker than dark to light.
They seem more ‘efficient’ the colder it is so in really hot bright conditions they aren’t as dark as they can be in the winter.
Can be a little dark sometimes when it’s really hazy cloud.
Really good for evening rides that start in the light and end in darkness.
The Oakley ones don’t have the same inner coating as their std lenses so they are more prone to digging up but I guess that’s as much a face/lens shape thing as anything else.

Tend to use Prizm Trail for a lot of riding, the photochromic when it’s brighter (or instead of clear when it’s really dark/night) and black iridium when it’s really bright in the height of summer.

I have always found BLOC sunglasses to be fantastic. They also have a discount of 30% offer on at the moment on the website itself. Just treated myself to some new cycling glasses!

I've got a pair of BBB photochromics with a small +2.0 reader segment at the bottom. They are brilliant (Just got them as a replacement for the previous model I lost a couple of weeks ago) Quality and fit are as good as Oakley, in my opinion. Merlin have them at a good price. Highly recommended (unless you are a label snob, then only Oakley will do)

I've got Julbo Zebra lights and they are really good. Always seem to be just right. The base tiny is yellowish, so when in low light they increase contrast nicely. They don't go to totally clear, but okay to ride on the road in the dark.

Endura.

You won’t cry so much when you lose a £50 pair of sunnies in a crash compared to a £150 pair..

Both sets of Endura glasses that I tried broke the frames putting them on in the house at just over a year old. Conversely the Oakleys have worked for 12 years without a problem.

BBB everytime - approx £45 on Merlin , super comfortable with a great adjustable nose-piece, they have never given me a headache like Oakleys do, and you can get them with a + lens built in if you want. As failedengineer said above, though I'm a nowhereneer.
I'll be wearing mine for 24 hours straight when I do the King Alfred's Way when the LD is over.

Yes, they can be brilliant. They take a little while to change when you go from bright light to dark woods but way better than standard sunnies. Most of the time you never notice them changing.

I've had
- Specialized transitions - were really good orange/grey lens. the orange-grey better than clear-grey for me
- Oakely flak jackets in persimmon to replace the above. Didn't go light enough for me in low light so I sold them
- Endura. Worked well, dark enough/light enough to wear on really dull days but clear to grey
- Rad8. Go light enough to wear at night (you do lose a little light but works) but clear to grey

In summer I use my Oakley Prizms but if it's dull or winter the Rad8s

Both sets of Endura glasses that I tried broke the frames putting them on in the house at just over a year old. Conversely the Oakleys have worked for 12 years without a problem.

In another anecdote - I’ve a pair of Enduras that are near 10yrs old & still doing strong..

End of the day you pay your money & I know where mine goes. 😉

I’ve found that for wooded trails the Oakley photochromic are ideal, for going in and out of woodland into bright open areas not so good. During bright sunny days prizm for me, plus I don’t find the photochromic to have a useful overlap, not dark enough for road or driving.
They are good for duller days though.

For example, I found them very useful in my local trails (Woburn) as its shaded woodland. But less useful in llandegla where it’s much more open, even the darker areas at llandegla are fine with prizm....unless it’s overcast.

I bought the  Carnac equivalent of the endura from Planet X. They worked ok, certainly good for the £15 I paid, but I’ve since bought some Oakley and the clarity is outstanding. Given my previous m frames are 20yrs old, I think they are worth it

I don’t find the photochromic to have a useful overlap, not dark enough for road or driving.

Whilst I agree with what you're saying (if it's really sunny, I want actual sunglasses), I think the reason photochromic lenses don't work properly in cars is because the windscreen filters out UV so they don't transition properly.

Been using a pair of Rudy Project Stratofly photochromatic for years now... I put them on, and forget that they are even there. They are great for most conditions where I live, except for really sunny days where I use an old pair of Uvex LGL29.

During bright sunny days prizm for me, plus I don’t find the photochromic to have a useful overlap, not dark enough for road or driving.

As already mentioned, the windscreen filters the UV so they don't darken in the car (or at least only to a very limited extent). My issue with the Prizm is on really bright days in the open they're not dark enough.

Prizm trail is 36% light transmission. Oakley's different photochromic range from 60-19 to 42-10 but all of them go both lighter and darker than Prizms (and I'd say my Rad8's go lighter than the Oakley persimmons I had but I can't find a figure for them online)