UL Sunglasses

Native Dash XP sunglasses, 0.65oz, $5 at Goodwill :p

I do like yours, Max. Good find!

Plus one for safety glasses. Not just for bikers. Comparatively cheap. They are light, scratch resistant, and they keep the brush out of your eyes. They're the only sunglasses I buy anymore.

At 0.3 oz per pair, SportEYZ are about the lightest you can get. They're $9.95 MSRP.

The sunglasses you get from the ophthalmologist visit after they have diluted your pupils are the same concept, "free", but a little bit heavier.

Otherwise, +1 on safety glasses that have sun glass lens. Durable & cheap

EDIT: By the way, the case for the SportEYZ shown in the picture above weights 0.3 oz too. = 0.6 oz for the sunglasses plus their case.

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Plus two on safity glasses. I didn't like to wear sunglasses backpacking until I got these. Now I wear them anytime the sun is out. Bought 3 pair for $11.70 shipped and they sent a bag to put a pair of glasses in that I use a a stake stuff sack. Win,Win. They weigh 21gm—0.71oz
This is where I get mine.
http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/ztec.html

I have reason to use those cool, lightweight safety glasses pretty often: we use them for handouts for Scouts at shooting days and I wear the same sets they do, in "shooter yellow", clear or grey. I also use them in my workshop, in clear. I've also used them for mountain biking.

The notable aspect of most of the awesome, "cheapo" glasses that might make one totally stoked at price and weight, is often that the lenses themselves have irregularities that affect visual acuity. One can sometimes see the fine "blurs" in the field of vision, and sometimes not but after a period of time wearing them in a situation where you're "using your eyes hard" (like mountainbiking, where one stares in horror at the next descent, ha ha), it can be felt and easily compared to when "better lenses" are used. Cheap is as cheap is, unfortunately.

Hey, if you like 'em, use 'em.

My hot suggestion, especially for those who will cross snow, water or be fishing while backpacking, is the Costco Kirkland Polarized "wayfarer-like" glasses for just under 30 bucks. They're light, thin, flexible, polarized and feature a brown/bronze lens with excellent, excellent acuity. The hard case they come with (really?) weighs about 3 times the glasses…

Mountain Shades Dorado
Polarized
0.8oz
Paid $22
Love them!
I have these in black. The brown lenses boost natures greens. :O) I refer to them as the reality enhancers. They keep my bandana on my head and are comfortable for long periods of time on my face.

KJ

I bought a set at walmart that are Coleman brand. They are polarized and they even float, have not tested :) .7 oz and about 15 bucks.

Are under an ounce light, don't sweat like wrap around plastics. Now if only I could remember which plane I left mine on last April. Sad day. $65 on sale, but over $100 from many vendors. Still great glasses.

The 3M safety glasses have particularly good visual acuity. I love my clear ones for night riding, where the ability to see is a must. The hinges are also particularly sturdy. I don't use a case and I haven't ever come close to breaking these.

I think the low price and the high workmanship of the 3M ones in particular makes them a must-carry if you're usually not using sunglasses, since UV damage to eyesight is a pretty serious thing.

I like all these other options, though. Seems like price is king on BPL, with the exception of titanium oakleys.

I get a headache using almost any cheap sunglasses due to the optical aberrations that so often plague poorly designed plastic lenses.

I'm currently using a pair of rather expensive Smith sunglasses made with true glass lenses (my only pair, actually). They weigh 1.25 ounces. To me, saving an ounce is not worth headaches, though I realize not everyone has these issues.

Since I'll hit the half century marker this year, readers are a must. I also wear low prescriptions, but I prefer wrap around sunglasses. Not just hiking, but I like a little protection when road riding from debris.

I was in the fishing section at Walmart a couple years ago now, and Berkley makes a polycarbonate polarized fishing sunglass with built in readers for $20 and about an ounce. I love them enough I bought another pair last summer.

As I continue to pare down my weights though, this year I'm going to try just using the slip of tinted plastic that slides behind the lenses of prescriptions that the Dr. gives wearers after dilation drops. They weigh about 3 grams.

+1 On those safety glasses!

Found them at Home depot for around 6 dollars, super flexible and durable, even the hinge won't break while twisting the glasses back and forth! Don't remember the weight, but definitely lighter then my old sunglasses that broke twice in my pack…

got the sporteyes and the 3mm, for fun, and like them both.

Would never have heard/thought about them were it not for this forum

I had to try a pair and received them today. They are perfectly acceptable sunglasses! Now I have to find a pair with reading bifocals so I can read maps and electronics without swapping them. Nice find, Max!

I've used safety glasses like those 3M ones for years, I get them free from my father who gets loads of them at work (He's a sparky). They work really well. Downsides are they tend to scratch up easy (no frame bumps to protect them, they aren't designed to be resistant to light scratches), you tend to be careless with them as they were so cheap/free so you end up scratching/breaking/losing them, and the worst bit is that if you wear them for hours and hours on end, they can hurt your nose-no padding or anything. Thats particularly a problem if you are wearing a bike helmet and/or hat that presses down on them.

I got the sportEYZ recently for my wife and I, and so far they are fantastic! My new backpacking glasses for sure. I've cycled in them too and I think they'd be fine for most road cycling. Though they would have less impact resistance to other glasses, the bonus is better, tighter coverage especially at the top, and inbuilt retention straps, no chance of them moving or coming off. All for basically no weight. Being able to carry an evening/night version compactly too is a big bonus.

Will probably end up sewing a tiny stuff sack for them rather than the solid case. As long as they are rolled, all they need is a little protection from scratches, the solid case is unnecessary IMHO.

Holding my new 3M jobs now as I type, thanks for the recommendation!

Nylon umbrella sleeve holds them nicely (knew I kept that 'garbage' for something).

You're welcome!