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Pilot Sunglasses: Flying Eyes, Oakley Faves

You don't have to look far into any aviation retailers catalogue to find sunglasses that cater to pilots. Yes, we know there are plenty of cheaper brands you can find at Sunglass Hut and other non-aviation retailers, and we also know that selecting glasses is as personal as selecting clothing. A cheap pair of drugstore shades may suit you just fine.

You don’t have to look far into any aviation retailer’s catalogue to find sunglasses that cater to pilots. Yes, we know there are plenty of cheaper brands you can find at Sunglass Hut and other non-aviation retailers, and we also know that selecting glasses is as personal as selecting clothing. A cheap pair of drugstore shades may suit you just fine.

Still, since we last did an aviator sunglasses roundup nearly eight years ago, there are some new brands and styles worth looking at to see how they compare to more mainstream models from Oakley and Ray-Ban, for example.We kept this review contained to eight favorites, based on build quality, versatility and comfort. Inevitably, there will be glasses that work for you that we didn’t cover, so tell us about them and we’ll include your comments in a long-term follow-up report on how our top picks held up.

Larry Anglisano

Editor in Chief Larry Anglisano has been a staple at Aviation Consumer since 1995. An active land, sea and glider pilot, Larry has over 30 years’ experience as an avionics repairman and flight test pilot. He’s the editorial director overseeing sister publications Aviation Safety magazine, IFR magazine and is a regular contributor to KITPLANES magazine with his Avionics Bootcamp column.