Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Helmets and Gear Eyewear

What do you wear under your helmet (if you wear a helmet)?
Sunglasses - polarized or not? Why? Why not?
Brand?

Wish list?

Sunglasses, wish they were polarized, really cuts down on the glare. Of course, if it is not summy...... I still wear glases so these old eyes can see...
I like the idea of a little 1/2 helmet with goggles, prescription, shaded and polarized.....but, I have really gotten used to the full face helmet, must be gettting ole....

I wear polarized sunglasses, BUT, if you wear a helmet with face shield, the polarization will play tricks on you. For some things, you will see different colors in each eye. For example, when it's bright out and the sun shines off of the highway, you may see the road in two different ways (one eye may sense a reflection while the other does not). It's hard as heck to describe the phenomenon. Try borrowing some polarized shades and check it out. It was a distraction at first, but no "important" objects were distorted. Cars still looked like cars, animals crossing the street didn't morph into anything and shapes don't change. Why do I continue to wear polarized lenses? Not everything looks goofy thru my shades and I like the idea of protecting myself against cataracts. Ride safe.

Under my full face I wear nothing, but with the half helmet on I started off wearing Oakley blades but the wind blast made me tear up real bad, so I bought a pair of WileyX XL-1's with Light Adjusting lenses. They have a foam piece that outlines the inside of the glasses, supposed to make a seal but doesn't really work for me, I guess it may depend on the shape of your face, have less tears with the WhileyX's, but still have some tearing. The LA lenses are great though and work as advertised.

Hello Blackwind,

Have tried many and now have the Tornado model from Velodrome.

Perfect fit and no problem doing the "Ton" without your eyes getting wet!
They also give you better visibility at dusk and dawn beacuse the yellow glasses.



Downside: Not so good when sun is right in your face but ill recomend them anyway.

Velodrome site

Hi Keith,

With the full face, I use a regular pair of very dark polarized sunglasses. Why polarized? Here in sunny South Florida, you get glare off everything. These help cut glare dramatically.

Riding with the half shell, I use Garney goggles. I have the Boulevard model which comes with three interchangeable lenses (clear, yellow & dark grey and I only use the dark and clear), comes with regular eyeglass frames or headband, case, and a prescription lens insert for $49.

I used the regular frames but prefer the headband and even at highway speeds these guys are very comfortable.

http://www.britishcycles.com/generic254.html

I put one of those little polarized strips on the top part of my face shield for my full face and it helps a lot with the bright sun. That's the problem with full face helmets, you can't use the "duck bills" on them which I always use on the 3/4 helmets. The sun blinds me, whenever we get it up here in the tundra. I'm going to go back to contacts again and will get a nice pair of Ray Bans for sunny days. Gotta go with the Ray Bans since they are local made, you know?

Clear, polarized,UV blocking polycarbonate 'active eye wear' (whatever the hell that is). I guess its leasure safety glasses. Bought in a cycle shop. When the sun is a problem (rare occassion in western PA)I wear the same in sunglass form.

Keith, I wear Gatorz sunglasses. The are made with billet aluminium and have really good glass... not cheap though, around 130 - 180, depending on style. ...Ride safe... Gordon

Global Vision Neptune

I picked up a pair of these at a HD shop. They were only $15 so I wasn't expecting much. However, they work great with my half helmet. ANSI safety lenses and a rubber seal above the eye that really is effective. The sales clerk tried to push me to the $150 Panoptix but they didn't look anywhere near that cost-level of quality. I have been riding with a pair of Smith sunglasses that set me back about $100 but they have glass lenses, not the best for safety.
For the price of the Global glasses, I am very pleased. If someone swipes them off my bike or bag it's not a total loss.

I wear proper goggles over precription glasses with my half helmet. With the full face, it's just glasses...either clear or sun.

Wish list? I'd like $450 to get me a pair of Panoptyx prescription goggles. I am considering these if I come across a cheap Davida helmet on ebay

I've been using prescription dark grey polarized polycarbonate, in a metal frame. Had these longer than the bike, and they work well under my full face w/clear shieled.

Was considering maybe another pair, non prescription, and did not know whether or not polarized was the way to go. Read an article in MOTORCYCLE CRUISER recently about "avoiding the Skid Demon", and Art Friedman said don't wear polarized lenses because they can disquise slick spots in the roadway, or hide them altogether.

I've been wearing them for years, and think I'll keep wearing them. The distortion and funny colors I'm used to. I don't like glare though, or headaches from it. Probably wouldn't like cataracts, either.

Thanks for the ideas / suggestions, all. I love this site. Feels like winding up and old toy, then watching it run. Put the question out there, people will answer.

I was in Kohl's ( a department store ) with my wife and found a pair of wraparound sunglasses that I liked. That's what I wear with my shorty helmet. If my eyes start to tear up I slow down.
With my Vader helmet, I just use the tinted shield.

A pair of dark lens Oakley's under a full face, although sometimes I remove the shield with them on. Cuts down on the glare dramatically.

fred and i both run with panoptix. i swear by them.

I wear a couple of different pairs. My fav's were purchased from big lots for three dollars, with a life time guarentee. Course it costs six dollars to send um back. I have owned a few pair of brand named high dollar sunblocks. Just don't seem to need to fit in quite as much as I used to. Cheap sunglasses will do a fine job and If you lose um ,no worries mate.

I rode with a set of panoptix toward the end of last summer once (a friend loaned them to me. I am getting some for this summer. They are fantastic riding glasses. No tears at all.

I have a pair of safety glasses I wear during the day, but at night I wear clear welding goggles. I am looking for a pair of prescription goggles for night riding though.

Basic, cheap sunglasses under the full face helmet. I have Panoptix shades for the 3/4 helmet and no helmet days. I also have Wiley clear glasses for night. The Panoptix were expensive, but they work great at sealing out the wind. I also found that they work great for skiing if it is not too cold, they tend to freeze up a little.

Sport RX offers a variety of prescription goggles and glasses for motorcycle use, including Panoptix. I haven't personally used them (yet) but a friend of mine ordered a pair of prescription goggles from them and referred me there...

This has been a huge issue for me. I have yet to find the ideal set up. I have a wonderful pair of shades that I bought in a running store. super comfortable lots of coverage but they're non rx. So, I have to wear my contacts when I ride.

A few weeks ago I bought a pair of clear and a pair of amber glasses, decent coverage, at the Triumph dealer. About $9.00 ea. Good for "other" lighting situations.
I don't want to wear my contacts all the time though.

Last summer I bought a pair of Oakleys/metal frames--don't recall the model #. Had my rx put into them rode for a couple of days and I absolutely hated them. I was able to do a store credit and got a regular pair of glasses. very chic, but not for the bike.

Now my eyes are in transition. The EyeDoc says I am borderline baby bifocal material. EEEEEKS! Yesterday I had an adjustment made to my eyeglass scrip. Haven't been able to see well with them for a couple of months and have recently been taking them off to read and to drive(that's scary), but I wouldn't dare ride the bike w/out.

My contact prescription sits between two steps. so I am experimeting.
I did buy a pair of Bolle Habu's that are Rx-able. I have 60 return policy on them. I will get some ride time in with them and if I really like them I will have transition lenses put in.

Here is a link to http://riderseyewear.com/.
These folks will send you a try on pair for 14 days to see if the frame fit right. The frames are reasonably priced.
Kinda makes me wonder why I just threw down 80 bucks for a pair of Bolles.

I AM SO CONFUSED. It is a frustrating process that can get very expensive. But we're talking about our eyes, right?

My eyecare insurance bites. I paid out of pocket for the exam, because the EyeDoc. I want to see isn't covered by my ins.

Even w/ coverage (I went elsewhere to have my lens scrip filled) The lenses alone w/ins. came to 260 smackers. ouch.
The owner of the shop said that since I hadn't used the frame portion of my annual coverage I could pick a pair of "covered frames" and he would throw in a basic pair of lenses gratis.

Good thing because it will take 1 week for my everyday glasses to be ready and I can pick the freebies up tomorrow. They're not too geekified either. I cannot wear those darn contacts everyday for 1 week. Not at least until I find the right pair.

My oh my, I have gone on and on ranting like Grump or babbling like brother Greg.

Hush now gerl -- relax. there you go deep breath...
mert

The only thing of worth I ever got at a Harley Dealership was a pair of $30 glasses with inter-changeable dark and clear lenses, with cushions around the eyepieces to minimize the flow of air to your eyeball, and with straight pieces that slide over your ears, without having to hook them.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you Mert. Been using goggles over prescription glasses for the most part, but I like the convenience of regular sunglasses. Problem is my presc. eyeglasses cause my eyes to water something fierce at anything over 40 mph. The goggles over glasses isn't all that confortable, but it's cheap and I'm all over cheap.

My big problem with RX compatible biker frames is my sphere and cyinder numbers aren't user friendly for that application. A -3.25 sphere in the left eye, and a -4.00 cylinder in both eyes makes it hard to find a pair of wrap arounds that work. I checked out that riderseyewear.com and although the frame prices are great, their prescription lens charge of $99 for clear and $110 for tinted seems a bit excessive.

So after all my searching, I'm thinking of just going with contacts and some cheap biker wrap arounds. Problem is I've never had contacts so I don't know how I'll take to those. At least I won't spend $250 for a pair of riding glasses that I might not like.

Being blind sure ain't cheap, is it?

so much for the Bolle's I bought. Tried them on the road this afternoon. they're too big and my eyes teared like crazy. In addition I was trying a new pair of contacts - new scrip - new style. No Go. I cut the ride short. Just as well. I wasn't too keen on the price tag. Rider's eyewear is my next stop.

So far my favorite sunglasses have been the $20.00 pair I bought at the runner's shop. Now if I could only get the right contact 'scrip.

mert

Babbling like brother Greg, eh?!! WTH!!!! I don't babble, I just tend to pontificate, perhaps rattle on, MAYBE extrapolate endlessly about nosnensical subjects that my mind wanders on ad nauseum!! But babble, never!!!

I've considered old aviator style goggles from Davida (together with one of their way kewl striped helmets), but seem to have a face that attracts large, mushy, blood-filled insects, so wear a modular helmet. Thus, I just wear my regular prescrips. But it's still a hassle with clear vs tinted visors, wear the tinted all the time, and have a hard time seeing at night, or flip the visor up and eat the aforementioned mushy bugs. I have clip ons for my prescrip that are decent, but not very dark, so I make do. Now I shall return to sitting in my dark room muttering to myself!!

Babble indeed!!

To solve my need to wear my glasses, I bought a pair of BIRDZ goggles that you wear over your regular glasses. They're so BIG, that I look like "The Fly" riding down the road. They are SCAREY LOOKIN' !!!!!!!

I have a pair of these Climax goggles. I wear them over clear and shaded perscription glasses. They fit easily, as I can lift them up over or back in place while tooling down the road. Lots of choices out on the market, but these work very well for me. Calling something "classic" is better for sales than referring to them a old, stodgy, dated, retro... I guess. There are a couple of styles, some fit over glasses, some are perscription.

I don't look at myself wearing them, but looking out through them the world is clear and distortion free.

http://www.britishcycles.com/generic4.html

john

i use prescription oaklys that are polarized and have polycarbonite lenses so they wont break if hit by a rock or what not

Frank

I just picked up a pair of "used" Panoptx from a friend at work today. He only wore them once, so they aren't really used. Apparently with the windshield setup on his HD the wind would curl up over the windshield and then drop down on his face and blow wind behind them. He said his eyes tear up like crazy. His only option was to get goggles. I told him that's was he gets for riding a Harley.

His loss I guess - I basically got a brand spankin' new pair for only $75! They are the black frame with the ColorTech gray lenses. MSRP: $130.00.

According to their website, they have speed rated frames and lenses - made specifically for motorcycling. They have a vented seal around your eye to keep wind, dust, sand, etc. out. They are also optically correct, de-centered, and tapered to eliminate distortion. And, they aren't just tinted - the ColorTec lenses boost the visibility of pirmary colors, and they are anti-fog treated. I guess they've thought of everything.

I was planning on getting a pair this year. I just wasn't expecting a good deal to fall in my lap, and on the exact same pair I was going to get no less!

I picked-up a set of Strike King Polarized shades at the local Wal-Mart for $15. They are fishing glasses/goggles with an adjustable strap rather than ear pieces. They do have vent holes to eliminate any fogging.

I got a couple pair of "moon shades" on ebay recently for $5 each. They are full coverage (no gap in nose piece) and have original "BluBlocker" lens. Love Them!! easy to wear 24 hours a day.
Ride Safe,
Dennis

The solution to the whole "glasses" hassle was to go with a modular helmet, then attach a "SuperVisor" to the face shield, eliminating any problems from harsh sunlight. There IS NO ideal fix. Everything's a compromise.

Recently a friend turned me onto some polarized glasses that fit over perscription glasses. He got his at WalMart, but I found a similar pair at Walgreens. Cost was $20, but my wife just went down to get herself a pair and found them onsale for $15 so she bought me an extra pair. IMO, they're much better than goggles, and after doing 1,000 miles with them on last weekend, the only problem I had was they'd vibrate at speeds over 75mph. Some of those eyewear retainers that slip over the ends of the temples and have a noose tightener thing on them should help. Any wind over the eyes was negligible and overall they were very comfortable on the 300 mile day we put in.

Found a site on the net that has something similar to what I bought, but not exactly the same.

Click here

This is the first time I've had polarized lenses to look through and I was suprised at the added clarity. Early Saturday morning we were riding down a mountain road when an Elk cow and her calf decided to cross the road in front of us. I saw them in plenty of time to slow to a stop and warn my riding buddy behind me.

So if you wear prescription glasses, you might want to give these a try.

I spent alot of timing on this also. I need a prescription for distance and my RX can't be done on typical curved lenses at a place like Pearl Vision. So I ended up ordering about 3 different pair of frames w/o lenses from Wiley X (they have special equipment to do RX on very curved lenses) to determine which fit my stupid head (oops, there's that brain washing from my Wife again!). Once I picked the best pair for me, I sent all 3 back, 2 for a credit and they made my RX for the ones I liked. I typically ride w/a half helmet so w/o a shield I went w/polarized, transitions lenses. It's worked pretty well, no fogging and they are great day or night. I still get a little air/dust up in them at times but overall they have worked out quite well and I would recommend them...

Hey Sal,
I too use the Solar Shield polarized sunglasses over my regular glasses. They're not goggles but do a pretty good job of blocking the wind.
I e-mailed the manufacturer to find out if they could make the same thing in a "clear" for night time.
They turned me on to their safety glasses at Wal-Mart. I found them in the Jewelry section. Except for the clear frames they are the same size as the Solar Shields.

I decided to just use my goggles as backups since they come with 3 different color inserts, including clear. I rarely ride any distance at night, and my regular prescription glasses are fine for night driving in town at speeds under 50 mph.

I wear a pair of Panoptix with the photo gray lenses. Dark in the sun and clear in at night. I would recommend them to anyone, they work great. They're pricey, but worth it.

I have these, trying them out for fit and so far so good, cheap too. They are not as bug eyed as shown in pic.
Comes with a card, can order Rx direct from Bobster for $80.00 per lens. I think I'll order the tinted to my Rx. Nice goggles.
Got mine at HD shop, but here's a link to SportRX site same thing.
http://www.sportrx.com/order.asp?product_id=SP11

cheers!

Sorry, thats $90.00 per lens color, $160.00 for two colors.

I have Panoptx prescription goggles. Half shell helmet, no face shield. I can't wear contacts and am too blind to see without glasses, so there weren't too many options. Pricey goggles but the best add-on investment I have made for the bike.

The clarity is far superior to having a face shield. We have major road construction here in Houston and the sandblasting and dust never get behind the lenses. A sudden deluge doesn't faze them and it seems the extreme curve actually rolls the rain off the lenses, way better than a face shield where you have to keep wiping.

I tried on all the styles of Wiley X and Panoptx at a HD dealer, with the helmet on, until I found the best fit. Ordered a pair of polarized dark grey and a pair of clear. Took me 2 months to make up my mind to spend so much money, but I could be a salesman for them I love 'em so much.