Oakley is an American brand that’s been created and engineered in California since 1975.
The brand is known for offering superior fit, comfort, and optical performance with a design inspired for active lifestyles.
Most of Oakley’s technological designs and gear are developed with extensive athlete input and testing in the field, including extreme conditions.
At present, Oakley is one of the largest companies developing eyewear and other sports goods in the world, including a specific line for fishing.
Fishing is a sport which requires long hours of patience and every expert fisherman recognize the need of an appropriate outdoor eyewear which can ensure effective glare protection.
Glare is caused from the reflection of light on the surface of the water and can seriously affect your chances to scan water and bring home a great catch.
Oakley polarized sunglasses offer top-level glare protection and are particularly good for anglers. Their fishing sunglasses include a proprietary smudge proof hydrophobic coating resistant to water, oil, perspiration, and dust.
Having great vision is essential for fishermen, so let’s take a detailed look at some of the technology that goes into creating Oakley fishing sunglasses.
Frame and Lens materials
Oakley’s proprietary frame material is called O Matter. It is a highly durable and flexible material made of nylon-fused plastic, also used in all of the Oakley fishing sunglasses.
It offers both comfort and impact-resistance. It’s twice as strong than other materials and yet 25% lighter. It also doesn’t deform over time like acetate frames tend to do.
You can find all Oakley features in Oakley official technology page.
Oakley’s water-specific frame is called the Oakley Split Shot. It offers a wraparound fit, designed to give you the coverage and protection needed in a water environment, as well as hat compatibility (thanks to the curved brow line) and maximum peripheral coverage.
The highly durable Oakley frame features extended coverage on the top, sides, and temples to keep light out and reduce backside glare, helping you see better.
Oakley lenses are also made with a proprietary material by Oakley: Plutonite. Plutonite is a purified polycarbonate that offers great protection to the eyes.
Most eyewear lenses only block some UV rays so they can claim “UV protection” but Oakley’s Plutonite Sunglasses lens material filters out 100% of all UVA, UVB and UVC.
In addition to protection against UV rays, Plutonite also blocks harmful blue light rays are known as High Energy Visible (HEV) wavelengths, reducing glare.
Comfort
When you’re out fishing the grip of your fishing sunglasses is essential to provide comfort for the long hours you spend outside.
Especially during hot days, sweat and sunscreen will make your sunglasses slip down your nose.
Oakley sunglasses are equipped with Unobtanium temple tips and nose pads which keeps them in position all day, as it gets stickier and tackier the more you sweat.
Unobtanium is an innovative material which ensures maximum comfort by increasing grip with perspiration, and which keeps the frame in place without slipping.
Oakley’s unique three-point fit system was designed to suit active lifestyles and sports performances, guaranteeing precise optical alignment of the lenses.
Oakley sunglasses make contact at the bridge of the nose and each side of the head, eliminating any unbalanced pressure points and ensuring all-day comfort.
They maintain a comfortably secure, pressure-free fit all day long. Also, all Oakley lenses are impact resistant and won’t shatter.
All their lens meet or exceed standard safety ratings set by ANSI, the American National Standards Institute.
Oakley lens PRIZM technology
Oakley developed PRIZM Lens Technology to enhance color and contrast and manipulate the light spectrum, making everything more vivid, vibrant and easier to see. What makes them different from other lenses is that they are able to fine-tune which colors are filtered or can pass the spectrum.
Each lens, in fact, comprises different blends of just a few dyes. Each of those dyes isolates an unusually narrow band of light to help highlight certain colors and minimize other ones.
PRIZM lens technology tunes vision for outdoor activities, including fishing; it is designed to define colors that are the most important in sports environments such as rivers, roads, or harsh mountain slopes.
PRIZM polarized lenses do not only block all horizontal light which gets reflected from smooth surfaces, such as wet road or water, but they also offer superior contrast and color enhancement.
Oakley sunglasses offer two types of fishing lenses: PRIZM Shallow Water Polarized and PRIZM Deep Water Polarized, designed to be used in different conditions.
PRIZM Deep Water VS PRIZM Shallow Water Sunglasses
PRIZM Deep Water Polarized is designed for open water conditions and PRIZM Shallow Water Polarized is ideal for inland lakes and rivers. Both are created for on-water activities, offer 100% UVA, UVB, and UVC protection.
They are polarized and use PRIZM unique technology. PRIZM Shallow enhances green and copper colors, making fish easier to spot, while PRIZM Deep Water filters out blue, allowing fishermen to see through the water, rather than just the reflection of glare on the surface.
Both have a rose base, but only PRIZM Deep Water is available in prescription.
PRIZM Polarized lenses use HD Polarized technology which successfully fights glare, reducing 99% of it and eliminating eye fatigue. What makes Oakley polarized sunglasses different is that their polarized lens is produced as one, comprehensive single layer.
Other brands just insert a polarized filter between the layers of the lens, but this can reduce optical clarity.
Do Oakleys lenses block UV?
All Oakley lenses block 100% of UVA, UVB, and UVC and harmful light up to 400 nanometers.
Blocking out harmful UV rays reduces strain and eye fatigue and guarantees long-term health of your eyes.
By reducing this stress, you can stay focused on your catch when you’re out fishing and don’t have to worry about damaging your eyes when you’re out on the water all day.
Conclusions
Oakley sunglasses are rated the best polarized sunglasses for many outdoor enthusiasts.
They will allow you to see beneath the surface of the water while offering top-level glare protection.
As many premium sunglasses, they do not come cheap, but they are worth the extra money to ensure that your vision’s clarity is not affected while you’re out enjoying your fishing trip.