Hey Lemmies, I want to buy a new pair of sunglasses without contributing to Luxotica dominance. I’ve had Shady rays, but I am looking for a non-american brand.
Look forward to hear your recommendations.
Anyone own a pair of Heatwaves?
I’m hoping for an honest review before I drop $80
Goodr They might be American, I’m not sure. But they claim to be 100% carbon neutral. They’re cheap but hold up really well. Look good too.
The reflective coating seems to not be very durable in my experience.
Yes.
Except their “Voight-Kampf Vision”. They have that shitty rubber finish that perishes over time and becomes a sticky mess. Reflective coating strips off after a while even when cared for as per their instructions.
I loved these as my running sunnies but was pretty pissed when they started falling apart.
Not super cheap here in Oz either!
(edited for typo)
Sadly only US
We also have them in NL
Oh i just looked where the online shop shipes to
Here to vouch for Goodr - I bought two pairs from them years ago and haven’t been very careful with them but they are still in great condition and look awesome.
I got some Goodrs and Knockarounds. And Knockarounds were better for not sliding down. I live in a tropical place and am always sweating. If you have the money, though, i’d get Tifosi.
I’ve only bought ic! Berlin and Mykita the last 3 pairs of sunglasses (both are German companies). They both use these tensioned metal hinges instead of screws, which makes them hold up really well. I consider them both BIFL brands that are infinitely better than that luxotica crap.
Highly recommended!
these tensioned metal hinges instead of screws
Meaning the arms can spring out by themselve?
Having a hard time understand that.
Look for safety glasses. Some come with polarized or photochromic lenses too.
Maybe not the most stylish, but they work, and are legit safety glasses so they’re far more durable (and protective) than Luxottica sunglasses. I’ve had a few that basically look like regular sport sunglasses.
I worked in a Costa del Mar warehouse once. The generic shades were $20, and right next to the brand name shades ($200). The brand name might have had some invisible enhancement, but they looked exactly the same to me besides the logo embossed into them. Both were polarized and mirrored exactly the same way.
What I’m saying is this: buy cheap generic ones. If you must have that logo, glue one on or something. I don’t understand brand worship.
Until you get a pounding headache from the two lenses being different levels of tint.
That happened to me.
Any polarised ones will do the job. No need to buy a brand. I’ve never spent more than 10 quid on sunglasses and they all worked perfectly.
[off topic[ Have you tried checking out thrift stores and yard sales?
Its probably not the best answer you looking for but since I use prescription glasses for driving I always get a pair of prescription sunglasses as well. I can choose the frame, the lense and the type of coating on it (usually go for polarized/anti-reflection).Even my health insurance works on these so I can claim back some money from the price since its qualifies as regular prescription glasses (EU). Just need a descent enough optometrist. Some places even allow you to re-use existing frames and you only paying for the eye exam and lenses)
They are not cheap for sure (100-200 euros minimum for frame + lenses) but for me its a great long term investment.
I like to tell every eyeglass wearer I meet about Zenni. Your insurance may or may not cover it, but you probably won’t care because they only charge about $20 per pair of glasses unless you need bonkers lenses.
If you have a reasonably strong prescription, you might need to use the more expensive, more dense lense material. You probably don’t care about that for certain styles of glasses, but it still defaults to the expensive option. You have to make sure to deselect that and go back to the cheaper material.
No reason you need nice, thin lenses on safety glasses that you only wear a few hours per month.
Great addition, thanks. There are similar online prescription glass webshops in Europe as well. They just need your eye exam results, some basic measurements of your head and they can cheaply make great glasses/sunglasses.
Zenni works the same, and they ship to the EU it’s just a bit more expensive. Most of the time still worth paying the reduced price for the frames, not to mention (I haven’t done extensive research on this so I could be wrong, but from cursory glance) they seem to have a more ethical workflow
Quay is an Australian brand that frequently has buy one get one sales. They deliver pretty quickly as well.
Knockaround solid quality and price point.
Honestly, the best pair of sun glasses I ever had was hardware store outdoor safety glasses, preferably polarised.
I can attest to this. May not be the sleekest but you can often sit on them with no worries. And drop them in gravel.
I’m a fan of these. They’re cheap enough where you can lose them without breaking the bank, and are stylish enough without a plastered ugly ass brand name.
I lost a pair in the ocean and immediately bought another, have had them since August 2020. They are polarized.
Try Serengeti. https://www.serengeti-eyewear.com/
I was gonna say pit vipers but they’re American.
You should get some vipes anyway, they make a safety rated ballistic pair.
Once I had a pair bought from someone on eBay break on me and they just wanted to confirm there was a joke written on the frame before sending a replacement pair for free. I think I had to pay shipping or something but standing behind an eBay purchase from a third party is cool.
