Oakley AR Coatings

Anti-Reflective Coatings

Anti Reflective coatings on Oakley Prescription Sunglasses allow more light to pass through a lens instead of reflecting off of it.  (Normally 4% of light will be reflected off the front of the lens, then another 4% will be reflected inside the lens by the back surface.)  An AR coating prevents glare and the “starburst effect” from light bouncing back and forth inside the lens.  AR Coatings also make a lens more scratch resistant, more hydrophobic, and less likely to fog. An AR Coating is very highly recommended for all Clear or Transitions lenses.

A flatter frame is more likely to have light hit the back of the lens.  Eight-Base frames with thicker temples are the least likely to allow light to reflect off the back of the lens.  Boaters and fishermen are exposed to much higher levels of reflected light.  An AR Coating is always recommended in this environment.

Standard AR Coating

An AR Coating is actually a series of several coatings. Each one effects a different part of the color spectrum.  Oakley's Standard AR Coating covers the most common parts of the color spectrum.  On a tinted or polarized lens the AR Coating is on the back of the lens. This keeps light and UV rays from bouncing off the back of the lens and into your eye. On clear or Transitions lenses, the AR Coating is on both the front and the back of the lens. For a backside coating, the Standard AR Coating is fine.

Premium AR Coating

Oakley's Premium Anti-Reflective Coating has more layers and covers a larger portion of the color spectrum. It also gives the lens more scratch resistance and makes it more fog resistant. A Premium coating is most important on a clear or Transitions lens.

Summary

Oakley's Standard AR Coating is very impressive.  The Premium coating is even better.