Oakley has always strived to be at the forefront of lens technology, which has established itself as one of the leaders in the sunglasses market. It offers several lens options across its entire range, allowing you to customize your sunglasses for your specific riding environment.
When it comes to cycling sunglasses, most people think of the Flight Jacket or the Jawbreaker, so why? The apparent reason is that Oakley designed them to fit the cyclist perfectly, so can you tell the difference between them?
We can see that they are somewhat similar in appearance, but also have subtle differences. This post will detail the difference between the two. Read on to find out which sunglasses are worth your time in our article!
Jawbreaker
The Oakley Jawbreaker sunglasses are the hottest addition to the Oakley sports sunglasses collection and are designed for cycling. We can change lenses based on different light conditions, and the process is simple and easy. Coupled with a large visor-like lens, the expanded viewing range provides superior performance!
Design
Jawbreaker extends the view of the upper peripheral area to optimize your ride, allowing you to be covered in any environment. And it has upward curved lenses with cozy space around the cheekbones and the frame itself has an exaggerated rounded curvature.
Coverage
The 53mm high lens is perfect for riding through water drops. Jawbreaker feels more like traditional sunglasses. The elongated top half gives you a view of the road when your head is tilted downward. 131 mm wide scalloped bottom half wraps around your face and fits comfortably around your cheekbones.
Changeable Arms / Ear stems
The arms on sunglasses are a bit tighter, so the wrap is better. It means these squeeze your head more not in an uncomfortable way just in a grippy way. And the arms and ear stems are adjustable as it allows this frame to fit a variety of head shapes and sizes.
Nosepads and Vents
For added comfort, the nose rest is adjustable. Oakley’s signature “Unobtanium” rubber grips prevent every part from slipping off, even on a sweaty face. Jawbreaker has some cutouts that the Flight Jacket doesn’t have, these vents on the lens come into play. It does not fog up easily, despite a slow and laborious climb throughout the temperature range.
Lens Technology
MRY’s distortion-free Prizm lens and road-specific tint make the road clear, while its 53 mm high lens provides an unobstructed view even when riding in drops.
Frame Material
The Jawbreaker and Flight Jacket frames are made of Oakley’s proprietary “O Matter” material. This reduces the overall weight of the frame while providing durability. Combined with Unobtainium earcups, grips and advanced airflow design, Oakley is even more competitive.
Flight Jacket
Building on the strong reputation of Oakley’s popular Jawbreaker models, Oakley Flight Jacket incorporates superior lens performance with increased peripheral visibility and improved airflow and ventilation. Aerodynamic engineering makes this speed specialist the ultimate eyewear for cycling, running, and beyond. An open-edge brow maximizes the upper field of view.
Design
The Flight Jacket is similar in design to the Oakley Jawbreakers, but with the top of the frame removed and the lens volume increased. The new Advancer nose bridge instantly opens airflow to combat fogging and overheating and is an upgraded model with a futuristic look.
Coverage
These uniquely styled glasses feature large spherical lenses at 140 mm wide and 53 mm high and excellent coverage with a wrap-around curvature that fits the face perfectly. But unlike the Jawbreaker it doesn’t have an upper frame, so essentially the entire lenses are fixed to the bottom, and while the upper edge provides a wide field of view in an aggressive riding position, the thick lower frame can hinder visibility when looking down at gear or turning back to view blind spots.
Unchangeable Arms
One feature that the flight Jacket doesn’t have over the Jawbreaker is adjustable arm length, but a longer pair of arms are actually included in case you need them. Still, they don’t have as much grip as the Jawbreaker, which means they may fall off more easily.
Nosepads and Vents
Flight Jacket hasn’t got any holes on the bottom because it gets enough ventilation. The unique adjustable Advancer nose pad is anti-fog and very easy to replace. With Oakley’s Advancer feature, the rider can pop out the nose bridge and push the lens further away from the face to further regulate airflow when it starts to get a little hot and humid. But the Advancer switch is not so easy to use as one can accidentally touch the lens.
Lens Technology
They come with Oakley’s signature Prizm lenses, which provide stunning optical clarity in a variety of conditions and help increase contrast.
Conclusion
As you can see, neither of these has any real drawbacks. They are both excellent glasses. If you own one of these and just have a scratched lens, then you should never give up on it, replacement lenses can revive your worn-out sunglasses. Replacement lenses are generally cheaper than Oakley’s original lenses and don’t cost an arm and a leg. I have used Oakley replacement lenses from MRY and Oowlit and Custom Lenses and in comparison, the optical quality of MRY lenses is better and the after-sales service is impeccable. Of course, there are other brands of replacement lenses on the market, so the point is to identify for yourself which brand does a better job. Price and quality are always the keys to choosing replacement lenses.
