A combination of age, expiration of vanity, and laziness has me wearing my glasses full time now in lieu of my contacts. I’m interested in options for eye protection with interchangeable outer lenses with some kind of prescription inner lens.
I have a pair of Oakley SI Ballistic M Frame Strike 2.0, but I don’t know if there’s a prescription kit available for them. If there is, that would be ideal.
Yes Oakley sell them in a few different styles and configurations. Here’s the link.
https://usstandardissue.com/catalog/prescriptioneyewear.aspx
Rob,
The Oakleys are nice, but have you looked at your local optical shops? I had a pair of glasses made for me. Nike wrap around frames, polycarb lenses, with UV/scratch coatings and extra dark photo gray. I wear them everyday and they’ve held up great through two 6 day classes at BW, a 2 day SI class and multiple team training events. The photo grey unlike the old stuff changes pretty fast and adjusts the darkness to the current conditions. Total price was $234 and if my scrip changes this year they have held up well enough I’m just going to have new lenses put into the same frames.
Just a suggestion.
I’m very interested in what comes out of this thread. My eyes require a relatively complex, compound prescription that doesn’t play nice with the curved lenses popular these days.
For shooting I wear glasses that I had made for especially for riding and driving at night – slightly stronger than my prescription. I’m curious if anyone else uses “plus” lenses for shooting.
Best advice is to find a good optometrist and optics shop. Explain your needs, especially the issue of focusing on the front sight. A good one will work with you to get you what you need.
This article has some useful information for shooters with less than 20/20, written by an eye doctor - Dr. Normon Wong, who is a shooter himself.
BULLSEYE SHOOTERS’ GUIDE FOR THE EYECARE PROFESSIONAL
Topics include:
Rudy Project makes prescription inserts for their eyewear.
A few years ago i was working for Luxottica retail and i looked into getting Rx Oakley shooting glasses. I Found Inserts for M frames were available at that time but only for relatively weak scripts, (less than 3 diopters) This meant I was SOL because i need about a -4 correction in each eye. I did however have LensCrafters make me some Rx safetys, Ugly as sin but hell they work. So if you don’t need the CID factor, that is a good alternative.
Seeing as how Oakley was recently acquired by Luxottica ,(owner of LensCrafters, Ray Ban, etc) it may be worth looking into Rx Oaks again. But don’t get your hopes up, from my experience, anything wrap around is going to be a bitch to get your script in unless you don’t need a lot of correction. And almost all Oakeys have a base curve of 6 or more making Rx lenses very difficult to fit the frames.
Ants
They don’t HAVE to be Oakleys, I have just been really happy with the 2.0s.
What they do have to have is the ability to change the lenses. Whether it be two sets of prescription lenses that fit in the same frame, or a frame with prescription inserts that allow me to use non-prescription tints.
I went with photoreactive tinting lenses and when they can’t darken the sun enough, I squint. My prescription is so AFU that no-one is making a set of glasses like Rob is looking for that I can use.
I had considered going with a set of safety goggle type glasses, and then realized that they would never get worn, as they were heavy as heck and had poor air movement.
I am hoping, that as more folks who are active outdoors age, the companies will catch up and give us semi blind folk a hand.
You’ll have to order them from Oakley.com. Usstandardissue.com is LEO and Military only.
Went to the WileyX website today and found a local retailer. Went to the retailer and asked about WileyX shooting glasses and they looked at me like I had C4 strapped to my chest. 
Of course, they had nothing.
I’m going to try to call them tomorrow. I need to see a pair of these in person before I order.
This is an issue that I have struggled with myself, as I require corrective lenses and can no longer tolerate contacts and am too chicken for surgery…
Like rob_s, I wanted an array with dark/clear lenses and a prescription insert. I got some pretty mixed reviews when I queried about such a combo on another forum. The common recommendation in my research has been Oakley, so when I found out that I qualified for their government pricingI went that route and have been well pleased.
Prior to the Oakley purchase, I considered Revision Sawfly, Rudy Project, and ESS Ice. It is my understanding that ESS has been purchased by Oakley, who has since been purchased by Luxotica.
Gunners’ Alley has some good info on the prescription ESS glasses.
i’m pretty much as blind as a bat, and wear glasses - i don’t have contacts. for shooting i’ve been very happy with revision eyewear. i reviewed the sawflys about halfway down this page:
http://www.militarymorons.com/equipment/headwear.html
the prescription inserts also work in their locust goggles.
Rob-
I’ll send you a PM. I have a set of Sawfly’s for sale.
Now to slit my own throat so to speak. I had a problem with the reflection/glare between the inner prescription and outer protective lenses. Maybe I am over sensitive. The big plus is you can have one set of glasses and just change the lenses in the RX carrier.
I decided to go with the Oakley prescription SI Fives through the Govt. sales program.
ESS ICE
I have prescription sunglasses made here: http://www.sportsoptical.com/store/prescription_sunglasses.html
I use the Rudy Project Ketyum style. This place makes the lenses to your prescription, so no inserts that add extra weight. I have yellow lenses for indoors and a variety of lenses for outside. The lenses snap in and out. They do a good job, but it takes some type and they are not cheap.
I did have a minus prescription (less strong) made once for contact lenses that made the front sight clear for pistol shooting. I don’t use those anymore though since I’m not likely to have them in when I need to use a pistol. I am seriously thinking about a red dot for pistol shooting as that would solve the dual focal plane problem. Like most people over 50, I’ve lost some ability to refocus.
I have a pair of Wiley x SG-1s with prescription lenses I wear almost everyday.
Is the lens itself prescription? In other words, if you want one clear and one tinted, do they both have to be prescription?
Yes, they would both have to be ground to your prescription. So it does cost more than for the insert system, but for me its worth it.