Ever since the first pictures of the then as-yet unannounced Oakley Flight Jacket sunglasses leaked onto social media a few months ago, I knew I wanted a pair. Specifically, I wanted the pair with the pink frames to match my blue/pink Rapha kit.
Yes, I'm that vain.
So as soon as the glasses became available on Oakley's UK website, my order was placed. And just three days later, the glasses had arrived.
They look a bit strange, what with the half-rim design. But worn with a helmet, you don't notice the lack of a brow piece. For me, the design takes what Oakley started with the Jawbreaker and then 100% improved (feel free to disagree) with the Speedtrap design and then ramps it up another notch.
In use, they are fantastic. Very comfortable and that lack of a top rim really does improve the visibility over the already very good Jawbreaker design. The Flight Jacket glasses come with two sets of arms (of different lengths) so you can match to your helmet. For me the default arms worked fine with both my Giant Pursuit and Bontrager Ballista helmets.
The lens on the black/pink Flight Jacket is a Prizm Road, and it works just as well as you would expect. Nice and sharp and good colour definition.
One small gripe is that Oakley is currently only offering a range of 'pre-configured' glasses. I really wanted the orange/black pair to match my Race Hub cycling kit, but that meant I had to have the Prizm Trail lens, which is good for off-road and duller conditions, but useless in bright light. Oakley says you can swap the lenses, but the frames are not designed to do that too often.
In terms of misting or steaming, well I haven't managed it yet. I think that speaks well for the Flight Jacket's ventilation. You do have the option to increase the airflow further using a movable nose bridge, but I really haven't needed to do this yet.
At £185 per pair, the Oakley Flight Jacket isn't cheap (Oakley never is!), but I would say the frame and lens quality is up there. I think these (when you can get the right choice of frame and lens combinations) will become my favourite cycling glasses.
