Rec's for scratch resistant lenses?

[plattyjo]

I'm a fan of Rudy Project and Smith, but my latest pair of Smiths have been getting scratches on the lenses far too easily. Can anyone recommend a brand they like that's pretty resilient?

[crownjewelwl]

I'm a fan of Rudy Project and Smith, but my latest pair of Smiths have been getting scratches on the lenses far too easily. Can anyone recommend a brand they like that's pretty resilient?

Oakley

[plattyjo]

Thanks!

[RacerJRP]

I love my Oakley sunlgasses. I have a bunch of them for both riding and casual ware. They will take a beating, but like any lens, if you hit it just right they will scratch.

[John M]

My Rudy's with the ImpactX lens have held up pretty well over 1.5 years that I have had them.

[plattyjo]

My Rudy's with the ImpactX lens have held up pretty well over 1.5 years that I have had them.

Cool - I'll check these out also!

[Columbus SLX]

I use oakley half jackets, two sets of Rx lenses. Two years old, pretty heavy use but I care for them fairly well. Not a scratch.


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[11.4]

Scratches are about the plastic and also the coating. Certain plastics are resilient enough that they don't get small cut scratches on the surface so they look good a lot longer -- high quality polycarbonate is very good, for example, but for the same reason that it doesn't scratch it also is harder to shape into a lens. I.e., price talks in lenses.

Often the lens plastic isn't the problem but the coating is. Many brands skimp on the coatings. Everyone talks about vapor deposition or metal film coatings, but the actual nature of the coating and its application can make the coating prone to scratches, or highly resistant. In the US, most of the market is controlled by Essilor, a conglomerate that owns Rodenstock. As a result, most of the prescription lenses in the US are Rodenstocks blanks. The coatings are not as nice as some of the Japanese ones from Nikon and others, or a couple of the other German ones. Go to Canada or Europe and the coatings tend to be better. The big exception among domestic US companies, for stock (non-prescription) lenses, is Oakley. They charge a pretty big premium but it really does go into the materials. You throw out a pair of Oakleys because you suddenly realize Lance was wearing them at his first tour win (or not-win, as it were), not because its worn out. If you go to some of the custom sports optical shops, they can usually get you a high quality coating on a polycarbonate or equivalent base, but be sure you get the quality.

[wildboar]

My Oakley prescription eye glasses are going on 7 years without any significant scratches or anti-reflective coating flaking which started happening to the Pentax lenses I had before these.

[Bradford]

I'm done with expensive glasses and have moved to XX2i. Even at retail, they aren't too expensive, but Excel often has them at a discounted two pack for $70. XX2i just ran a pre-black Friday special for $23 a pair and I picked up two.

They have a lifetime guarantee and parts are easy to get, but at $23 a pair, it isn't too bad to just replace them if they scratch.

And in case you are wondering, they are very comfortable and look just fine.

[plattyjo]

I'm done with expensive glasses and have moved to XX2i. Even at retail, they aren't too expensive, but Excel often has them at a discounted two pack for $70. XX2i just ran a pre-black Friday special for $23 a pair and I picked up two.

They have a lifetime guarantee and parts are easy to get, but at $23 a pair, it isn't too bad to just replace them if they scratch.

And in case you are wondering, they are very comfortable and look just fine.

Sweet, thanks for that! I decided to jump in on that Black Friday deal also.

[Mark McM]

Scratches are about the plastic and also the coating. Certain plastics are resilient enough that they don't get small cut scratches on the surface so they look good a lot longer -- high quality polycarbonate is very good, for example, but for the same reason that it doesn't scratch it also is harder to shape into a lens. I.e., price talks in lenses.

I think you have that backwards - polycarbonate is one the least scratch resistant lens materials. Polycarbonate is highly impact-resistant, because it is relatively soft and non-brittle. But that relative softness makes it more easily scratched, and polycarbonate lenses rely heavily on scratch-resistant coatings.

[retrofit]

I'm done with expensive glasses and have moved to XX2i. Even at retail, they aren't too expensive, but Excel often has them at a discounted two pack for $70. XX2i just ran a pre-black Friday special for $23 a pair and I picked up two.

They have a lifetime guarantee and parts are easy to get, but at $23 a pair, it isn't too bad to just replace them if they scratch.

And in case you are wondering, they are very comfortable and look just fine.

Thanks for this. Ordered a pair from the xx2i website (http://www.xx2i.com) -- they're running a 50% off promotion until the end of the year. :banana:

[carpediemracing]

One thing I found was that people who don't wear glasses normally will really mistreat what sunglasses etc they have, usually inadvertently.

As a long time wearer of prescription glasses I've been trained to treat my glasses well. Even so it takes only a few years before the lenses are scratched up.

The biggest thing is never to put the glasses down with the lenses down. Another is never to jam the glasses into anything that could have sand etc (bag, pocket, etc). Another is never to wipe your glasses with anything except relatively new or clean cloth meant to clean lenses. Finally don't put your glasses where you think they might fall.

The biggie is the third one. Go on a muddy/rainy ride and a lot of people will wipe away the sand/mud on the glasses. Instead just spray (plain) water on the glasses to wash away the grit, then dry if that's an issue. You'll see me spraying my face in 35 degree F rainy races, not because I'm hot but because my glasses have grit on them. I see pretty much everyone else drag a muddy, gritty glove across their stylish eyewear. Not good.

Using a RainX type treatment helps the "spray grit away" thing. I don't know if it deteriorates any coating - because I don't know I haven't put it on my last set of ultra expensive prescription lenses. Any experts, if you have an opinion, please pipe up.

Remember that water (and other soapy fluids) will move the grit away with the least amount of harm to the lens.

Something scratches the lens. It's almost never "grit in the air". It's usually stuff that the user does to the lens.