UKH

A durable pair of shades with the option of a photochromic lens that ranges from cat 1 to cat 3 in response to light levels, the Spark is well suited to all uses outside of the high mountains. They look great, too, reckons Penny Orr.

I've got a fantastic pair of polaroid sunglasses that I bought from Billy Clarke's angling centre for £12. Anyone that pays £115 for sunglasses needs their head looking at.

Si.

Look good - though you can get polaroid, photochromic cat 2 - 4 sunglasses from Decathlon for about £30 - less worried about breaking them!  Used for running, cycling, climbing (UK and Dolomites)

Hurray! It's a classic Simes303 "how much? You must be bonkers!" post on a review! All is ok with world!  

On sunnies I'm inclined to agree that over 100 quid is an awful lot, although still a lot less than Oakley and similar charge for theirs! I did splash out about 35 quid on some Decathlon ones this summer which are whatdyacallit... get darker when it's sunny, get lighter when it the sun goes away. I'm really happy with them, so in that case the investment has been worth it - use them a lot cycling, even if its just commuting to work.

Hi Toby. Yeah I'm sorry. I've seen several reviews recently and resisted, but this one really got to me. I'm glad you used the word "classic" rather than anything ruder. My comment has got two likes so far, and only one dislike, so I'm not alone. Have a good weekend. Cheers, Si. 

One of those likes was mine! Keep on the playing the classics - we love 'em! 😀

I had a review go up the other week of a 500 quid goretex jacket where no one seemed to have checked if you could fit a phone in the pockets (you can't) before they sent the design to the factory. I was fully expecting a "how much?" post on that one - almost a little disappointed that no one moaned! 😉

I just wrote a really long reply here talking about sunglasses then managed to go back in my browser and lose it. But the short version is you mention polaroid sunglasses for 12 quid, but the ones being reviewed aren't polarised they're photochromic, which is different. I looked to replace some very old photochromic cycling ones last year, and by far the cheapest I could find that were similar were the Decathlon ones I mentioned which were 30 or 40 quid. So not saying 115 isn't a lot of money, but if you want photochromic lenses (which I find really useful in the UK on my bike) they seem to cost more than simple cat. 3 sunglasses.

Those Decathlon's are currently on sale at £20, BTW.

Yeah I understand the difference. 

I don't mean to be annoying. Si.

My friends said similar when I bought my Phantom 6000s... 'how much???'  I just considered it 60 euros per toe insurance. 

I spent probably 90-100 euros on my julbo explorer 2-4 cat glasses and don't regret it.  They fit me better than anything else (was actually planning for a cheaper pair but they all had big gaps to my apparently awkward face), and I'm not sure i totally trust 30 euro glasses to be genuinely cat 4.  Plus, the Julbo photochromic can't be scratched off, unlike the coating on my old glacier glasses.

So, would I spend 50 euros per eye for insurance to keep them from getting knackered at high altitude?  Totally!  I like my eyes and only have two

Feel free to examine my head.  Haha

Whatever they cost I'm usually most annoyed / satisfied by what shape the side bits are. Even super sexy jobs that sit on the top of Red Bull Athlete heads often have straight (but grippy) sides which I find don't sit right when you put a hat on. I need a good downward bend behind me tabs.