You can see Cyclops’ shades from X2 right here. If you want a pair, you’ll have to come to my store, because they are now discontinued. If you prefer, the Neo glasses from the Matrix: Revolutions are here. Those we don’t stock, I’m afraid, but they’re made by a company called Blinde and you can get them in a few specialist retailers (like our sister store at Disney) or online.
Thanks for the very indepth response. I do like the twenty (XX) by Oakley and that may be a great solution of function vs. cost. Of course, the Mag Switch just looks entirely too cool and I could see sporting those on the sand but alas, Mrs. MeanJoe would beat me to an inche of my life for spending 235.00 on sunglasses. I’d look great as I roamed the streets trying to find a charitable soul to give me a new home. I have used Spy for winter goggles and I will check my local snowboard/skate shop to see if they deal in the sunglasses too.
I may have missed it earlier in this thread but who do you work for? The least I can do, for the free advice, is take my business to the company you work for. Assuming of course they have them here in Columbus, Ohio.
MeanJoe
Crap-ola, I forgot to ask my follow-up question concerning lenses for the Oakley XX’s.
The example you linked to showed the grey lense. For my use, specifically in regards to bright sunlight, was this an intentional selection on your part? Can you think of any distinct advantages/disadvantages between the grey lense and the black iridium which has in the description for “extremely bright sunlight”?
I have a real tough duality type of problem with the sunlight thing. On one hand, I have to look up into the sun frequently and locate a ball (typicall darkened/shadowed in appearance due to the sun). In contrast, because of the geography of where I play also have to adjust to seeing into the shadows as there are trees lining the courts I play on which case shadows.
Thanks again, I think I’ll sneak out and pick up the XX’s tomorrow. If I hide the receipt (and glasses!) Mrs. MeanJoe will never know. Of course, if you know any good divorce attorneys (just in case) let me know. 
MeanJoe
Any word on the free samples, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal?
Figured it won’t hurt to ask. Maybe I’d catch you in a charitable mood, who knows…
Why do I see weird marks on tinted window glass and rear auto windows when I wear polarized glasses? What are those marks?
The black iridium and ice iridium lenses are both 10% rated, meaning 10% of the light striking the lens surface passes through. The polarized versions are 9%. The grey lens provides 18% transmission. Either one will do nicely for extremely bright conditions; the black lens is more color-neutral, meaning it won’t add a tint to what you see through it. (The ice lens will add a slight blue tint). As far as which you should use, there isn’t that much difference between the black and grey lenses in lower-light conditions; things you can see in the shadows through the grey lens should be just as visible with the black lens. If you can afford to, I’d suggest going with the polarized version, because in direct sunlight glare reduction is going to be important. I picked the grey one because it was the default, rather than because that was my color suggestion. We don’t have a store up that way but here is a list of Oakley dealers in your area.
If you’re planning on visiting Central Florida, I can probably get you a steep discount… can’t do long-distance hookups though.
Kind of oval-shaped things that appear to be a pattern of light spots in the tinting? I haven’t got a clue. I see them too, though. I’d guess that tempered glass is formed in different-sized crystals than regular window glass and the smaller crystals produce a mild polarizing effect. Polarized things always look weird if you look at them through other polarized things… if you take two polarized lenses and hold one behind the other at 90 degrees, you won’t be able to see through them.
Ok, after careful consideration (I looked at pictures) I am leaning towards the “C Wire” anything I should know before I go and purchase?
Do you have a store in the Cincinnati, OH area. I too would like to direct my patronage to an organization which employs such well versed people.
'Fraid not… we don’t have any OH stores. What should you know? First, if you’re buying the standard (non-titanium, non-polarized) C-Wire don’t pay more than $155. If the stores around you charge more, then pick out the frame and lens color combo you want and order direct from Oakley.com.
Also, don’t buy the care kit they’ll try to sell you. The microfiber bag the glasses come in is supposed to double as a cleaning cloth, and mild soap and water will clean the lenses just as well as their cleaning solution. That’s it, really.
Heh, I can’t find a better picture of Lou wearing the same sunglasses, but it doesn’t matter because I’m sure they don’t make the exact same kind c. 37 years later, and I just want ones in that general shape anyway. But I’ll have to look at Electrics the next time I go sunglasses shopping with actual money to burn on that type of thing.
And I’m amazed that it took me until my second or third reading of the thread to notice the OP name/thread title combination.
It’s my name and my thread and it took me that long too…
Okay, I have a question, though you may or may not be able to help much. My problem is that I have to get prescription sunglasses, and while I don’t need anything fancy, I was wondering if you could recommend a color of shading that might work well. I’d be using them for driving and stuff, nothing fancy, just the usual. I’d like to have sunglasses that don’t distort the colors of everything I see – I HATE green, for example. I had a pair of green-lensed sunglasses once. I’m leaning towards gray for that reason – do you think that would work? I have never been a regular sunglass wearer, but the sun down here is punishing and I think I need to get some!
I’m just glad I don’t have my mom’s complicated prescription, I can get these pretty cheaply.
I guess my post was eaten by hampsters as I can’t find it on here.
My question was about repair. My boy has a pair of Revo sunglasses on which one of the pads (where it sits on the nose) has broken off. Should he try to get it repaired or just buy a new pair?
For driving I always recommend neutral-transmission lenses. Black, grey, or red-brown are best.
Depends. Has the pad itself broken? Has the screw just come out and the pad is missing? Or is it the metal arm which is broken? If the pad itself is broken or the screw is missing, Lenscrafters or a good sunglass retailer should be able to fix it for him. If the metal bracket itself is broken off, time to get a new pair.
Great. Thanks. Gray it probably will be. 
As mentioned earlier, Maui Jim has great customer service…and a very liberal repair/replacement policy. I bought a pair with the rose-tint back in 2001, broke one of the earpieces after a year or so, and sent them back for repair. They sent me a NEW pair for the cost of shipping and handling ($8.95) I managed to tweak the frame of the 2nd pair so that one of the lenses kept popping out, and sent those back. Once again, they sent me a new pair. Something worth considering when you think that they’re too expensive!
I only buy good sunglasses.
I live at 11,200 feet. And deal with VERY bright sun and snow glare.
I don’t go anywhere without sunglasses. They are either on my eyes, or on top of my head. I use a ‘crokies’ strap so they don’t fall off. I will wear them on top of my head in a store, when I go outside, and my hands are full, all I have to do is nod my head and they fall right in place.
I always know where they are, sort of like my wallet or my keys. I have had 4 pairs in the last 10 years. A good deal IMHO.
I also find that good sunglasses DO have better optics. Makes a BIG difference when you wear them as much as I do.
I’m no expert, except that I wear sunglasses all the time. Gray is good, but I prefer the Red/Brown. I find that it gives better contrast between the real world colors. And gray, just knocks everything down.
The Red/Brown seems to give better contrast between colors.
RNATB knows a heck of a lot more than me, I am sure. And my Red/Brown may be ‘looking at the world through rose colored glasses’. But I like it.
I have to second this. I like “big-ass aviator lenses” in part because I actually am an aviator, and let me tell you, the higher up you go the more intense the sunlight. Whoo-hee!
Actually right now I have a semi-wrap around pair in prescription strength which are wonderful.
Which brings me to another point. It seems the opticians who deal with my prescription lenses are mostly about clear lenses, and as mentioned, MOST of what they call “sunglasses” kind of suck at being sunglasses. I used photograys for years, but I can’t any longer (I won’t go into detail, but my optometrist demonstrated pretty convincingly why the photograys were getting to be a problem for me). This left me at quite a loss… because the “sunglass guys” seem to be all about plano lenses. I can NOT function without my glasses. So I spent an uncomfortable couple years squinting through my clear Rx lenses. Ugh
Anyhow, like I said, I have the Rx sunglasses now (and the frame-fitter lady was horrified at my choice in frames, said it wasn’t “ladylike” enough or some such nonsense, and looked “too obvious” - jumpin’ jehosephat, lady - they’re freakin’ sunglasses! OF COURSE you can see 'em) but while they’re great when I’m outside for a prolonged period of time, if I’m going in-and-out of buildings they’re a problem - really too dark for inside. So I’m swapping back and forth between sunglasses and regular glasses, which is a pain in the butt, and increases the risk of loss and/or breakage as near as I can tell. Given how much my Rx’s cost, this is somewhat a source of stress. Also, a real pain in the butt if I’m driving down the freeway around sunset or if things start clouding over - if you think talking on a cellphone is distracting…
Anyhow, a buddy of mine clued me to these things called “solar shields” from (I’m sure there’s going to be a scream of horror at this) from Wal-Mart which chiefly have the virtue of fitting over my regular Rx glasses. When I’m running in and out it’s great - whip 'em on, whip 'em off, and they’re about 1/15 the cost of my Rx’s so if I did break or lose them it wouldn’t be an incredible hardship. Also, they do provide a little extra protection for the Rx lenses, which can’t be a bad thing, can it? The downside is that they add to the amount of crap on my face and I’m not terribly thrilled about the color.
So, my question is, my friend Really Not All That Bright, is why there is so little for folks in my position? Don’t people with heavy Rx’s need and deserve reasonably priced sunglass options? Don’t we drive? (And some of us even fly) Don’t we spend time outside?
I can’t use clip-ons - my lenses are too thick for the clips to go over them. And yes, I have the high-index lenses. They’re still too thick. And if one more person says “LASIK” I’m going to smack them (actually, I’ve an extremely poor candidate for the surgery).
Sure, I would love to have one of your high-end sunglasses… except my regular lenses already cost more than those frames, and I’d have to get custom lenses to boot. And I’d still have the glasses-swapping problem.
Really, I can’t be the only out there with this problem. There’s an untapped market, man!
Thing is, nearly all of our frames will take a thick prescription lens. Generally, the only ones which won’t are rimless styles, because the bracket on the earpiece which the lens slots into is narrow to hold the standard lens securely. The thing you need to do is order your prescription lenses and frames directly from the manufacturer, so you don’t have to pay for standard lenses once and then again for the prescription. You can generally expect to pay an extra $40 or so for the Rx version of the standard lens; since yours is a strong prescription, I’d guess you can add an extra $20 or so on top of that. For somebody like you who really needs a high-quality lens I’d say it’s worth it, but that’s just me.
The “whip on, whip off” thing I can’t help you with. Most people keep a pair of prescription sunglasses in the car (or plane, I guess) and a pair of regular prescription glasses on their person for easy swapping.
Your point is well-taken, though; opticians have a sucky sunglass selection. There are opticians who specialize in high-end prescription sunglasses; there’s a small chain called Edward Beiner here in Florida, and I’m sure there would be at least one in your area.
Oh, gosh, only $60 more? Compared to the cost of my lenses that’s not horrible - last time I went to the eye doctor two pairs of glasses (regular and sunglasses) ran me over $1000. I’ll spend the money for quality - but only for quality. For me, glasses are not a “fashion statement”, they’re a necessity. Function first - then I’ll worry about pretty.
You know, I haven’t had many good encounters with folks at sunglass places. Maybe it’s because I live in one of those overcast-prone areas. But a lot of them seem geared to pushing “high-fashion” and expensive frames and know squat about providing service. Wish more of them were like you.
I’m just afraid of dropping the darn things, I guess - nothing like busting your glasses 500 miles from home and having to improvise a white cane in order to get to the airplane and reach your spare pair (yes, I most certainly do carry spares! Usually the two prior prescriptions - they aren’t perfect, but with them I can see well enough to get home.)
My current optometrist outfit is a father-and-son operation, and both of them fly, too. Which is great, because they understand the problems in that environment. AND they get a lot of business from their fellow pilots. They’re where I got my current sunglasses, which are definitely wonderful. They also tweaked the Rx a little in them to emphasize clear definition at a distance. I mean, I can still read with them, but since 99% of the time I’m wearing them I need the clearest possible distance vision the fellow was very careful about getting that right. and if close up is a tad fuzzy I can live with it.
Eventually I want to go to 3 pairs - a close-to-middle distance pair for indoor work. A middle-to-far distance clear pair, and the sunglasses I currently have. Problem is, they cost so damn much. So acquiring my ideal state is going to take a few years.
The current guy I have at least admits he doesn’t have a huge selection - but he’ll at least help you find someone to meet your needs, tell you what to look for, provide your prescription information without hassle…
Saw a really nice system where sunglass plano lenses are held on to frames by little magnets… but the frames wouldn’t support my lenses. <sigh>