UKC

I'm new to climbing and need a new pair of sunglasses to use both on and off the mountains. Having lurked a bit on the forum I can see that there are plenty of options availabe, from cheapies to £200+. Personally my budget is limited to around £80. From what I read Cebe and Julbo may be ok at this range.

However, where on earth does one buy these in the Lakes (found one Julbo dealer in Ambleside, but they only had pretty hardcore type sunglasses that you would not want to wear during the day)? Are there any other brands that are ok in that price range, and where can you buy them in the lakes (also travel to Leeds and Shrewsbury sometimes, so anything in that area would be ok as well)? I hope this has not been discussed to death yet, but thought I'd ask.

In reply to pascoa341: Oakleys - some of the main High Street opticians carry a range.

I got mine from Vision Express in Blackpool.

In reply to pascoa341: Bloc make some alright looking sunglasses. Cotswolds stock them (I think there is one in Ambleside).

In reply to pascoa341:

Having used both wrap around sunglasses and round lenses with screens I can say I prefer wrap arounds these days, as they don't knacker my peripheral vision so badly.

Most of the brands are as good as one another, but remember that it's a bad idea to drive with a category 3 or 4 lens.

I think I have some dirty dog polarising sunglasses for driving and bloc for the hills.

In reply to pascoa341:

Julbo Nomads - Cat 4, about £55 from Cotswolds and fit me perfectly.

Otherwise, I've got Bloc glasses as my cheap ones and then 3 pairs of assorted posey Oakleys

In reply to pascoa341: cebe and bloc came out of the same factory when i was still in the outdoor industry about 3 years ago. anything cat 4 for the mountains side protection is good.

In reply to pascoa341:

Have a look at the Dixon range. I 've been using them for a few years now working in the hills in this country and abroad and they are the toughest, comfiest glasses I have! I think you can get polarised wrap-arounds for about £30, and glacier ones for similar. No metal arms etc to freeze to your skin like some of the Julbo range...

In reply to pascoa341: With sunglasses I'm pretty sure the answer is that you either go pretty basic, or top of the range. Unless you are going to pay well over £100 RRP I personally don't think you will find anything that offers any better performance than the most basic Quechua pairs from Decathlon.

Others are welcome to disagree but I certainly can't tell the slightest difference in performance between most brand name £25 pairs and £80 pairs.

If you do loads of hardcore skiing and want maximum performance in flat-light then the correct £200+ pair of Oakleys with interchangeable lenses will certainly give you an edge, but you need to consider firstly whether you can afford it and second whether you can be sure that you won't lose, break, scratch or otherwise trash them in short order.

Personally find I can manage fine with basic 'grade 3' wrap around sunglasses in the mountains but I rarely spend day after day on snow with bright sun. However, on a long high-altitude exped I would be taking two pairs of sunglasses as a matter of course (as well as googles) and in that case one pair would probably be 'grade 4'. It is worth remembering that it is against the law to drive with 'grade 4' sunglasses meaning that if you go for the darkest possible ones with side and nose guards you would need another pair for any driving.

In reply to pascoa341: don't allow yourself to be ripped off, recently bought a pair of arnettes from a high street retailer for 20 quid, can't remember its name, one with red sign that occasionally does outdoor kit. Glasses retailed at well over £100 and were polarized. Just shows the mark up. Designer shades are one of the biggest rip off/mark up products on the market.

In reply to pascoa341:

I have a couple of pairs of bloc glasses, but I am really bad at looking after them. In an interesting experiment with one of the bloc reps we took a lens and a hammer and tried to break it. It just wouldn't happen no matter how hard we hit it.

In reply to The Big Man: tk max,

In reply to LastBoyScout: Agreed about Julbo Nomads. Just bought a pair this week from Cotswold - to replace the Julbo nomads I bought in 2001 - in the sale, for £45. To the OP - they will order them in for you at this price. Nick

In reply to pascoa341:

Bloc.

TK Maxx.

In reply to captain paranoia:


And another. Always look in TK Maxx when in the UK and see whatever wrap-arounds they have that I think look good. Currently have some Nikes, before that some North Face ones, before that Animal ones. All cost about 15 quid from TK Maxx (all had RRPs for 60 quid+) and all have worked very well cycling, climbing, running and just general usage. And at 15 quid when they eventually get scratched, it's not the end of the world.

In reply to pascoa341: i use tinted industrial safety glasses cheap as chips or free depending on where u work also scratch resistant. i use these ones http://www.protecdirect.co.uk/Protective-Safety-Glasses---Coloured/Silium-S...
these have a thin metal frame full wrap around and comfortable lense equals cat 3 but are also available in clear. seen a few cyclist wearing these as well and there cheap enough to try out.