Review: Oakley Sutro Prizm
(2020) For years we have trusted our cycling vision to Oakley eyewear. Our set of Radars are still in the rotation, still one of the few original pieces of equipment from our return to cycling over a decade ago. That’s the great thing about Oakley, their price tag may be a bit lofty, but we have several glasses over a decade old. One set still pops up every now and then over two decades old.
Known for their easy-to-identify glasses, Oakley has dominated pro and amatuer cycling for as long as anyone can remember. With recent challenges to their kingdom, the company surprised us with a set last year that skirted well below the average price for Oakley. Professional riders were sporting them, competing companies were already emulating them, and then we managed to get our hands on a set of Oakley Sutros with Prizm lenses. But each time it was an outdoor riding day it was cloudy. Maybe the Radars would be tapped for duty again. Then again, the glasses were out of the case.
Oakley Sutro lenses are large, and they help cut down on air flowing around the glasses in cold and spring conditions with pollen.
The first noticeable attribute of the Sutros is the lens size. The lenses are quite large compared to any within the Oakley cycling lineup. On a recent ride we plunged a testing descent without an ounce of windflow behind the lenses. This is always a telling downhill capable of finding little holes where drafts can cause wintry wind to freeze tears or spring pollen to blur vision. On today’s descent, all we found was enjoyment.
And speaking of the lenses, Oakley’s Prizm option had us from the start. On a cloudy gray day we would have swapped our Radar’s sun lense with iridium blue for countryside enhancement. Prizm made that completely unnecessary. The muted low light of the overcast day was accentuated by the Prizm lenses. What would have passed as dull and featureless became alive and rich. Called Prizm Sapphire, the lenses enhanced the field of vision in front of us while tapering to a lighter blue on the sides of the lens. The Prizm lens had us feeling the world was viewed better with Oakley lenses.
As a result the gray day proved the Oakley Sutro cycling glasses established themselves as a reliable eyepiece for riding in every season. The Radars remained shelved and the Bucks County countryside came alive with autumnal colors clinging to the bluffs and backcountry roads. To roll under yellow and orange leaves while sporting Prizm lenses gave the feeling that peak fall foliage was back again.
From the front Sutros look like a continuous lens, but from the wearer, the glasses are separated by a nosepiece.
The Sutro’s newness did have some drawbacks, including the slight jack-o-lantern look to the glasses. Their large size delivered on suspicions they would slide down the nose. Sure enough we tried to push them back up a couple of times only to find they were in place. While Oakley touts Unobtanium as their grip material, the Sutro has the least amount of any Oakley sport glasses we have ever owned. Perhaps those slight bumps in the road did lead to the glasses sliding down. While the price is nice, it could be that the Oakleys are now assembled in America, as opposed to once being made in America. Finally the Sutro’s arms were remarkably sharp and could poke an eye out for sure, let alone cut skin.
Oakley strived to create glasses that bridge the gap between sport and leisure. Too many sport glasses look ridiculous when meeting up with friends at the pub after a hard ride (during normal times). The Sutro is a great approach to cycling eyewear used for races and events but then remains stylish for the drive home. Their lower price tag and simplicity set them apart from the over engineered Jawbreaker or the exhausted Radars. Pros have been sprinting to victory wearing Sutros. With a lower price tag, larger lens, and vision enhancing technology, we suspect we’ll see more Sutros on the faces of cyclists as the 2021 season approaches.
