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ESS Sport RX glasses vs. Oakley RX glasses

nightpoison

nightpoison

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So I wear glasses and I really don't want to buy wrap around safety glasses. I've been looking at different brands and I've come across sort of an extreme.

Oakley - so you have Oakley which has a multitude of different options for frames, lens shape, and lens color. Of course you also have a multitude of prices. Especially when you have the lenses made with your Rx.

ESS eye pro - seems like a great company, making eye wear for the military. However do they make it for the military because they do it cheap and a good enough value for them, or they really that good. My big thing is the Rx inserts, are they good or are they a waste.

I'm thinking about spending the $100 or so dollars on the ESS ICE tactical Kit and the Rx inserts or the crossbow 3LS kit with Rx, but I don't won't to waste $100, when I could just put $100 towards the Oakley’s which I know will last me.

Any input??????
 
Last edited:
Look for a very old thread here that I posted about ESS ICE. Lots of detail there.

I bought them and they work very well IFF the person cutting the Rx lenses knows a bit about shooting. First attempt at Rx lenses were a disaster (I wear graduated bifocals normally and am far-sighted). Next attempt was great, the lady had shot before and I brought a blue gun for proper "focal length". She had Rx cut with lined tri-focals and I can now wear them, walk, talk and chew gum as well as shoot with them on.

ESS ICE gets a high recommendation from me. Getting the Rx done depends on your local optician and YMMV.
 
I've had excellent luck with Oakley Rx sunglasses and I use them for shooting, but my prescription is nothing special, a fairly typical 1.5 diopter for nearsightedness.
 
Oakley has discounts of around 50% for Military members, police, fire, EMT, etc. A whole bunch of jobs/associations qualify.
 
cevtv said:
Go to the very bottom of the page & look for the copyright info. [wink]

http://www.esseyepro.com/index.html
Click to expand...

Its funny cause right after you posted that comment, I went right to the ESS site, and saw exactly what you were talking about. Thats kind of funny. At this point I am actually leaning towards both. I think I'm going to do the ESS Crossbow 3 lens kit for shooting, and i'm going to get a nice pair of Oakleys for casual summer use.
 
I love my Rudy Project sunglasses, but mine aren't rx; I wear contacts. They have a 35% discount for shooters using promo code '2alpha', plus you get a free hat. This week only, it's bumped to 40%.
 
I'm liking my ESS with prescription insert. 2 inserts in fact. The nice folks at Vision Associates in Marlborough, Jon in particular, set me up with center of focus offset for one handed bullseye shooting plus a regular set for IDPA. Might go back for a third optimized for rifle too!
 
nightpoison said:
Its funny cause right after you posted that comment, I went right to the ESS site, and saw exactly what you were talking about. Thats kind of funny. At this point I am actually leaning towards both. I think I'm going to do the ESS Crossbow 3 lens kit for shooting, and i'm going to get a nice pair of Oakleys for casual summer use.
Click to expand...

I have the ESS ICE NARO and love them, but I'm waiting for the RX inserts......
 
i dont have shooting glasses by them, but i wear Oakley Rx glasses and Rx sunglasses daily. although not cheap by any means, they are very good and the most comfortable glasses i have ever worn
 
Go with the Crossbows. I am intimately familiar with all ESS models and most shooting/tactical Oakley models.

The talk here has been about the ICE and Crossbow, so in Oakley, I assume you are comparing them to the M-Frame or its variants. The Crossbow was built to provide the protection and quality of fit competitive to the M-Frame. I have both, and I can assure you that the Crossbow fits much better. Second. The Crossbow, in a commercial set, generally comes with two sets of lenses and frames...that's two complete sets of glasses; one smoke colored and one clear. The prescription inserts for all three models are similar in design or interchangeable.

The Frame itself is far sturdier in the Crossbows and M-Frame than the ICEs. The M-Frames are dipped for Fog and Scratch prevention, which is good but not as good as the flow application used on the Crossbows. The ‘Flow’ application allows for better fog protection to be applied to the inside of the lenses, and applied thicker, as well as a thicker coat of scratch prevention added to the outside of the lenses. The M-Frame, is dipped in a lesser chemical that does both.

Regardless of your choice, stick with Oakley or ESS. There are refractive (bending of light; seeing items in relation to where they actually are) standards set forth by both companies that they must maintain to stay on the Army's APEL (Authorized Protective Eyewear Listing). Both companies exceed the military standard by far. Other competitors, some with a good rep, barely meet the standard.

If you aren't set on larger wrap-arounds...check out the ESS CDI's or CDI Max's. They can take prescription lenses (not inserts), are comfortable and offer a good amount of side protection, even though it is not enough to allow them on the APEL. They come in multiple color lenses (rose, yellow, etc), and while they don't come with an extra set of frames...the sets I have owned come with smoke and clear lenses. Depending on your application, they are great shooting glasses and stylish enough to wear as daily wear sunglasses. They might not protect your eyesight in a side-explosion from an IED, but will serve you well as shooting glasses.
 
Thank you. It seems I will be investing in a pair of ESS Crossbows shortly. Thanks for the breakdown, it was informative.

MajorChaos said:
Go with the Crossbows. I am intimately familiar with all ESS models and most shooting/tactical Oakley models.

The talk here has been about the ICE and Crossbow, so in Oakley, I assume you are comparing them to the M-Frame or its variants. The Crossbow was built to provide the protection and quality of fit competitive to the M-Frame. I have both, and I can assure you that the Crossbow fits much better. Second. The Crossbow, in a commercial set, generally comes with two sets of lenses and frames...that's two complete sets of glasses; one smoke colored and one clear. The prescription inserts for all three models are similar in design or interchangeable.

The Frame itself is far sturdier in the Crossbows and M-Frame than the ICEs. The M-Frames are dipped for Fog and Scratch prevention, which is good but not as good as the flow application used on the Crossbows. The ‘Flow’ application allows for better fog protection to be applied to the inside of the lenses, and applied thicker, as well as a thicker coat of scratch prevention added to the outside of the lenses. The M-Frame, is dipped in a lesser chemical that does both.

Regardless of your choice, stick with Oakley or ESS. There are refractive (bending of light; seeing items in relation to where they actually are) standards set forth by both companies that they must maintain to stay on the Army's APEL (Authorized Protective Eyewear Listing). Both companies exceed the military standard by far. Other competitors, some with a good rep, barely meet the standard.

If you aren't set on larger wrap-arounds...check out the ESS CDI's or CDI Max's. They can take prescription lenses (not inserts), are comfortable and offer a good amount of side protection, even though it is not enough to allow them on the APEL. They come in multiple color lenses (rose, yellow, etc), and while they don't come with an extra set of frames...the sets I have owned come with smoke and clear lenses. Depending on your application, they are great shooting glasses and stylish enough to wear as daily wear sunglasses. They might not protect your eyesight in a side-explosion from an IED, but will serve you well as shooting glasses.
Click to expand...
 

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