Hey gang. I am in the market for some new range glasses as well as new around town shades. I want to get a pair that I can wear around town and not look like a tacticool jackass yet still provide me with true ballistic protection. I wear a size 7 hat so my head is smaller. I initially was looking into the smith aegis echo glasses but after seeing them in some pictures on people they looked like they would be too large for around town use and would therefore violate need number one of not looking rediculous. This lead me to the new 3.0 M frames. From the limited pictures I found on the net they look like they could work for around town use especially if I get the tan bone colored ones since they will break up the dark color of the lenses. My question to you all is if any of you have any personal experience with the new M frames and if you thought they were acceptable to be worn on a daily basis.
I too was considering Oakley’s, until I spoke with someone who’s been in the optical business for years with nothing to gain having me reconsider Maui Jim’s.
According to this person the lens quality of the M.J.'s for color perception, light and glare resistance (or whatever the optical terminology is) is better than Oakleys.
I ended up buying the M.J.'s Lagoon’s.
Are they dedicated to shooting sports?
No, but they’re still a good choice and don’t have the 'tacticool look.
For me, most of the Oakley’s simply have too much mass to them.
My hat size is 7 1/4. I like the 2.0’s better than my current 3.0s.
the 3.0s are too tight right above the ears for my liking. They work fine and it isn’t terrible but, again, I like the 2.0s better.
A lot of Oakleys If not all, like the Flak Jackets for example meet the ballistic ANSI Z87.1 protection rating.
So don’t think that the ballistic M Frames are your only options. The standard M Frames, half jacket, flak jacket, fuel cell etc etc etc meet the same ANSI rating as the ballistic M frame.
I too have been looking for sunglasses that will also double as eye protection in class/range. If you do some searching on the forum you will find a lot of good options. But for me, I like to try before I buy and that narrows down my options quite a bit. The only brands I have found local to me in Houston are Oakley, Smith Optics ( hard to find, I think sunglass hut carries them), and Wiley X. Those three brands carry a line of glasses that meet the mil-spec ballistic requirements.
Here is what I am currently looking at
Smith Optics tactical line up
Oakley SI gascan
Wiley X Valor or Saint
Random question - is your face flat?
Mine, being asian, is. And that means the vast majority of eyepro simply does not fit my face - the nose bridge area simply doesn’t contact my nose while the edges/frame of the eye pro are on my face. This makes them very easy to slip off or down.
Second the Flak Jackets, especially the XLJ as the lens covers more. Easy to change out lenses, and a little better suited for casual settings.
Koshinn, have you tried any of the Oakleys in Asian fit? http://www.oakley.com/store/products/men/sunglasses/asian-fit
I was focusing on the new M frames because of their thin ear pieces. I wear over the ear hearing pro and need a thin ear frame to avoid headaches after long periods like I get with traditional sunglasses. The half jackets “appear” to have a traditional sunglasses thick frame. You guys recommending them, do you wear over the ear hearing pro?
I’ve worn flak jackets with MSA Sordins over them for 10 hour days at the range several times with no problems. Sometimes a beanie with the ear pieces over the beanie and Sordins on top of that. They feel much better than the 3.0s. I’ve just been wearing the 3.0s with clear at night and tinted flaks during the day.
Don’t know about flat, but I have issues with most oak keys fitting my face. Eyelashes rub on the lenses and drive me batshit crazy. Found that if I up the nose piece to the large ones this issue goes away. The large nose piece does make the glasses sit further from my eyes, but not enough to allow debris to get in. Have not found any large nose pieces for any of the M varieties yet so I’ve had to pass.
I know it’s not Oakley, but ESS crossbows have a variant that has the thin ear pieces that fit well under ear pro. Definitely NOT as cool looking as Oakley, but they work.
If I recall correctly Oakley sells some models in ‘Asian Fit’ - I see them on their website.
Oops someone else handled it!
I wear a cover size 7 and like them very much myself. I also wear Flak Jacket XLJ’s and 5 Squared’s. I like the M frames for the coverage they provide.
Yep, they’re only ok and they don’t have ballistic rated Asian fit stuff.
I wear the discontinued Oakley Splinter now, it has wire nose pieces like regular glasses, so with some bending of the bridge area and the nose piece arms, it fits perfectly.
Wish I could get replacement lenses, mine are scratched to hell.
Btw, Oakley released a new wire frame ballistic rated model.
https://www.oakleysi.com/Product_Detail.cfm?id=839
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I have not, but thank you for the recommendation.
I have two pairs of the M Frame 3.0, one in Multicam, one in bone. Honestly, I think they’d be terrible for EDC wear; the matte finish definitely makes it stand out, and not in a good way, IMO. Of course, I tend to feel that almost any of the single lens sports style shades look ****ing terrible for EDC, and even the two lens ones (e.g., the aformentioned Flak Jackets) still are suboptimal; then again, I wear Persols for EDC, so, take my opinion for what it’s worth.
As for the need to wear it under the ear pro, I think it depends strongly on the ear pro you have. I’ve used Oakley Squared Xs, Radars, and Square Wires under my MSA-Sordins with gel earpads just fine, but I think that’s largely a function of the gel ear pads; I doubt the seal would be half as good with some of the stiffer foam earpads used by, say, the Howard Leights.
I am Asian too but never needed Asian fit since standard Oakleys, ESS etc fit me just fine. Only glasses that slipped off my face were the older issued ESS ICE. I was happy when the Marine Corps switched to the Crossbows, even bought 2 pairs for myself since I had to turn mine back in before I EAS’ ed.
Anyway, OP look into the Smith Optics Tactical line. I wear the Smith Tactical Director everyday, they fit my face really well, look great (already had more than one pretty girl compliment them 
) and they are ANSI & MIL-PRF-31013 rated.
Yea I wear the cheap Howard Leight Impacts for now. I am trying to decide if I want to up my hearing pro to I better set of over the ear or go for in the ear. You guys have me going away from the M frames. I am going to see if my local cabelas has the Flak Jackets in stock so I can try them out. Of course I am going to bring my hearing pro and try them out as a combo and get all kinds of fun looks. Really liking all the feed back and opinions, much appreciated.
I use the Half Jacket XLJs. I can wear them under ear muffs with no problem. I need to get a second pair so I’m not switching out the lenses all the time. I bought the set that comes with grey, clear, and orange lenses and I bought some of the black iridium lenses to use in stead of grey. When I’m outside shooting I use the iridiums and and inside I use the clear or the orange lenses.
The only thing I’d do different is get the black iridium polarized lenses. I bought the regulars by mistake but they still do a good job of blocking bright light. I bought mine from US Standard Issue so I was able to get them cheap and I prefer the matte frame they come in over the regular shiney frame. A guy I use to work with liked Native Eyewear and they give a military discount.
Thanks for all the input guys. So I went down to my local cabelas and put a set of the flak xljs on. For good measure I put on my hearing pro as well. For the couple of minutes I did that it felt fine. The wide and pretty flat ear piece seemed to make it so the hearing pro didn’t dig them into my head. Put them back on the shelf and went home to order. I ended up getting the si matte black ones with the grey polorized lenses. I am thinking of picking up a set of the perismmon lenses for range use on cloudier days. Anyone actually using the perismmon lenses?
Range use, I use my ballistic 2.0’s but I want a pair of the bone 3.0’s. I highly recommend the m-frames with the sweep lenses.
EDC, I use my Arnettes.