Good sun protection is just as important for your eyes as it is for your skin when you spend a lot of time outdoors hiking, golfing, playing pickleball or anything else that moves you. But for prescription glasses wearers, it can be a chore trying to find sunglasses that are built for sports, effective at blocking out harmful UV rays and able to be customized with your prescription.
Whether you're looking for the cheapest possible option or a way to fully customize your prescription sunglasses with the latest lens technology, we've rounded up the best options for prescription sports sunglasses in 2024.
Best prescription sports sunglasses overall: Oakley
Oakley is well known for making premium performance shades, optimized for different sports. The brand's non-slip Oakley Sutros fitted with its signature Golf Prizm lenses are our favorite golf sunglasses, for example. And there's great news for prescription glasses wearers: You can now get just about any pair of Oakleys with just about any lens technology you want (Golf Prizm lenses included) with your prescription added --all directly from Oakley.
The leading sunglasses brand has created a flexible process that allows you to choose from free shipping or in-store pickup at one of their partner locations. They accept most major insurance plans so you can max out your benefits on a sweet new pair of prescription Oakleys. If your prescription is expired, they even partner with optometrists nationwide so you can book an eye exam right from Oakley's website.
The selection of sport-specific sunglasses is unmatched, with high-performance designs for everything from surfing and skating to golfing or cycling. The seamless process of getting your prescription added to them just makes it all the better.
Top features of Oakley prescription sunglasses:
- Oakley has a wide selection of innovative shades optimized for specific sports, many of which can be customized with your prescription.
- The brand makes it easy to get your prescription added to your favorite Oakleys.
- You can also choose from other customizable options like different tints and lens technologies to build your dream pair of Oakley sunglasses.
- Ordering prescription sunglasses directly from Oakley ensures you can keep the brand's signature lens technology, like Golf Prizm lenses.
Most customizable prescription sports sunglasses: Lensabl
Lensabl promises that its team can take just about any set of frames you want and custom-fit them with prescription lenses -- including prescription sunglass lenses. You even have the option of mailing in a pair of shades you already own and just paying for the lens swap. So if budget is a high priority, you can save by sending in old shades.
If you don't like any of your old shades enough to go that route, you can choose from a huge selection of frames from top brands like Ray-Ban, Oakley, Hugo Boss and more.
However, it's worth noting that the replacement lenses added by Lensabl may not be able to match all of the brand-specific technologies. So if you're choosing Oakleys for their lenses, for example, you should order your custom prescription pair directly from the brand.
With that said, if you're just choosing the brand for the frames, Lensabl has an impressive range of customization options for the lenses. In some cases, you might even be able to upgrade the lenses beyond what you'd be able to get from the brand directly.
In addition to adding your prescription, Lensabl offers two different high-index lenses--thinner lenses for those with stronger prescriptions--along with an impressive range of tints, gradients, and cool extra features like anti-fog, anti-glare, anti-scratch and more.
While each of the upgrades cost extra, Lensabl is one of the best options for those who want to be able to fully customize a pair of sunnies to their exact needs.
Top features of Lensabl prescription sunglasses:
- In addition to your prescription, you can choose from an impressive range of tints, gradients, and lens upgrades to get your dream lenses in your dream frames.
- Choose from a wide selection of frames from leading brands or send in frames you already own and just pay for the replacement lenses.
- A wide selection of frames and lens options at every price point gives you the flexibility to stick to any budget.
Best budget prescription sunglasses: Zenni Optical
Zenni Optical is a major eyewear retailer with a wide range of frames to choose from, including a surprisingly wide selection of ultra-low-cost frames. With sports frames starting at just $13 per pair, it's easy to keep the total cost of your prescription sunglasses down, even if you want to splurge on a couple of lens upgrades like gradient tints or polarization.
Zenni can even add your prescription to protective eyewear like ski or swim goggles. That way, you won't have to squish your goggles over prescription glasses or sacrifice your visibility for comfort.
While the retailer doesn't offer quite as many customization options for the lenses as you get with Lensabl, all the essential options are there. So you can still get reliable prescription sports sunglasses without blowing your budget.
Top features of Zenni Optical:
- Performance frames for sports start at just $13 per pair so it's easy to keep your total cost down, especially if you skip most of the fancy lens upgrades.
- The wide selection of affordable frames allows you to find the right balance of performance and style without breaking your budget.
- Zenni offers prescription protective eyewear, like swim goggles, so you can enjoy crystal-clear vision even underwater.
More great options for prescription sports sunglasses:
- CBS Essentials readers' top choice for budget prescription glasses: GlassesUSA.com
- Top-rated sports sunglasses now available in your RX: Tifosi RX
- Stylish yet functional prescription sunglasses: Blender prescription sunglasses
- Fast delivery and frequent deals: EyeBuyDirect
