I demand a lot from my sunglasses, just like all my other gear. AR 670-1 states that sunglasses must not be “trendy, or have lenses or frames with initials, designs, or other adornments.” The lenses must also not be “extreme or trendy colors, which include but are not limited to, red, yellow, blue, purple, bright green, or orange,” but rather “traditional gray, brown, or dark green shades.” Since my sunglasses have to go with everything I wear, brown is out… can’t wear those with a black suit or jacket. As an avid shooter and future second amendment participant, I want sunglasses to be rated at ANSI Z87.1-2003 high impact standards or better. Lastly, I want polarized lenses, but I also want to be able to swap the lenses out any time I want.

Oh, did I mention that I want them as light as possible (weightless would be ideal), comfortable, and in a style that my girlfriend will approve? Apparently the 80’s are over… goodbye, aviators and shields.

And I’m on a budget. (Yes, this is an important detail.)

After considering multiple options, I chose the Oakley Fives 3.0. Few of the others were even offered with polarized lenses; those that were, like the Revision Sawfly, were mostly shield-style wraparounds. My second choice was likely the Revision Hellfly (not polarized, unfortunately), but a $35 difference in price favored the Oakleys, and their styling was already better. Uvex does offer a few polarized pairs, but they are wire frames - not as light as plastic ones. I did consider Wiley-X, DeWALT, and ESS options as well, but the Oakleys won out.

The reason I’ve posted all this is because I got my Fives a week ago, I lost them Saturday evening, and I miss them so much I’ve already ordered another pair. I ordered my first pair of Fives because my Bolle pair started falling apart. Do you know how hard those little screws are to get back in?! The Bolles were a gift, and a very nice one at that - polarized, even - but not ballistic and I was just too hard on them. I demand a lot from my sunglasses - just like all my other gear.