Words & Images: Cam Baker

Seated alongside the likes of Nike and Adidas, it’s reasonable to say that Oakley is one of the few brands to transcend their humble beginnings in sports to earn global appeal across mainstream fashion and technical wear. From Penny’s to Frogskins to Jawbreakers, Oakley has been at the forefront of just about any niche of eyewear imaginable.

After losing my glasses somewhere between the pub and home, a pair of Oakley Hydras and Oakley Sphaeras slid across my desk (or rather, through the window of Liam’s truck and into my basket at the local service station) at the perfect time. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been putting both pairs through their paces and have pretty good things to say about both. Let’s start with the Hydras.

Oakley Hydra Sunglasses

Taking inspiration from the original Razor Blades, the Hydras are fashion-forward technical eyewear. The Hydra features a wide-fit BiO-Matter frame with sharp lines reminiscent of early Oakleys. Of the two pairs of glasses, the Hydras have drawn the most compliments aesthetically. BiO-Matter is Oakley’s step towards producing glasses in a way that is kinder to Papatūānuku, using castor bean bio-resin instead of the classic O-Matter plastic that Oakley has used for years. BiO-Matter, to my hands and head, feels the same as O-Matter and is just as light, with the Hydras coming in at a skinny 26g.

The Hydra features a Prizm lens, and of all the lenses I’ve tried across brands, it may just be my favourite lens on the market. By cranking up vibrance and contrast, Prizm lenses increase the available detail in everything we see. It’s immediately evident on trails and roads, with fissures, surface changes, and Aotearoa’s many potholes showing clear as day through the tinted lens. Even in low light where I’d normally run a photochromatic or clear lens, I was impressed by how much detail remained through the lens of the Hydra.

I have a wide dome, so finding glasses that fit comfortably can be a challenge. The lightweight frame of the Hydra accommodates me nicely and is super comfortable to wear on rides long and short. Coverage is pretty good, though I did find the very edges of my field of view sit outside the shielding of the lens – something I only really noticed when looking far to one side through sharp corners and switchbacks. I also found that the top of the frame was constantly visible for me, particularly when I’m in the drops. Passing the glasses around over beers, it became clear that this was strictly personal – some could see it and some couldn’t. While it never bothered me, I could see it being a little niggle that bothers you on big days.

The Hydra performs well on the bike and around town, which makes sense considering they’re designed for general outdoor usage rather than cycling specifically. For running errands and cruisy rides, they’ve become my go-to, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. For bigger missions, I’d lean into something with a little more coverage, which brings me to my next review…

Oakley Sphaera Glasses

When it comes to the Sphaera, Oakley says: “Designed for boundary-pushing performance, no matter the sport, Sphaera’s wide field of view guarantees you’ll see it all.” After a couple of months, I can confirm that the Sphaeras do exactly what the tin says. At 33g, the Sphaera features an O-Matter frame complete with Unobtainium nose pads and earsocks for retention on both your face and when tucked inside the vents of your helmet.

The Prizm lens allows for 15% light transmission and, frankly, does an excellent job at highlighting anything and everything scattered across the road or trail surface. Unlike other glasses, the lens of the Sphaera is spherical, engulfing your field of view and sitting just above your cheek. I wondered if fogging would be an issue, but a small centre vent between the lens and frame takes care of this. I’ve ridden in the rain, crept up big hills, and done both at the same time – not once has the lens fogged while I’ve been moving. The times it has fogged sitting at traffic lights etc., it’s cleared up almost instantly, and never once fogged up to the point where it obscured my vision.

Oakley claims a wide fit with the Sphaera, and a wide fit it is. The coverage is perhaps the best I’ve had from any glasses, with even the far limits of my field of view covered, tinted, and protected. I find gaps in coverage pretty distracting, especially when looking through a corner or when I’m in the drops looking up, so the all-covering lens of the Sphaera was welcomed with open arms. On the topic of arms, I did find that the arms of the Sphaera grip particularly tight above your ears. This only bugged me on rides of four hours or more where I kept the glasses on the whole time. I suspect this is because the glasses are designed to be used by trail runners and the like, alongside cyclists, where retention is a bigger issue. On the topic of retention, the Sphaeras have held strong whenever I’ve fed them into my helmet’s vents.

The Sphaeras are a pair of glasses that have performed incredibly impressively. More than a few times they’ve protected my eyes from bugs, stones, wind, and rain. With their excellent coverage and even better lens, I can’t see myself not owning a set. And so with that said, as I box this pair up to return to Oakley, I add a pair to my cart and click ‘order now’.