Oakley reinvents prescription cycling glasses with this new technology

Oakley has just introduced an important innovation for cyclists who need prescription glasses. For the first time in 30 years, the brand has managed to integrate optical correction directly into its Shield-type lenses, the large wraparound screens that characterize models like the Sutro. The new technology is called Shield Fusion and allows for the elimination of the usual prescription inserts placed behind the main lens.

Oakley manages to directly prescribe its Shield lenses

Large screen glasses have become common on the road, gravel, and MTB due to the protection and wide field of vision they offer. However, their wraparound geometry complicates things quite a bit when the user needs a prescription.

The most common solution until now consisted of installing a small optical insert behind the screen. It is a functional system, but it adds another element to the glasses and modifies both their aesthetics and the space available in front of the eyes.

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With Shield Fusion, Oakley proposes a different solution. The correction is incorporated directly into the screen itself through a technology developed alongside Shamir, a company specialized in optical solutions that, like Oakley, belongs to EssilorLuxottica.

The process uses a lamination technique to bond the corrective part to the back surface of the Shield lens. In this way, from the front, it is hardly noticeable that these are prescription glasses, and the original design of the frame is preserved.

As explained by Vincenzo Spremulli, global senior director of R&D and Innovation at Oakley, the goal was to develop the prescription as an integral part of the glasses from the beginning and not as an added feature later.

The Oakley Sutro will be the first to receive Shield Fusion

Oakley has chosen one of its most popular families in cycling to debut this technology. Shield Fusion will be available in four models:

• Oakley Sutro
• Oakley Sutro Lite
• Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep
• Oakley Sutro Lite Small

The available prescription will range from -3.00 to +3.00 diopters, while the cylinder value can reach -3.00 diopters.

Additionally, the new solution will be compatible with all available Prizm lens colors within the Sutro range, so using optical correction will not require giving up the different lens options that Oakley offers for these models.

By eliminating the independent insert, Oakley keeps the panoramic screen concept practically intact, which has made the Sutro one of its most recognizable models in cycling.

The technology has been developed jointly by Oakley and Shamir from the early phases of the project. Shamir has been particularly responsible for the optical solution and the lamination process necessary to integrate the correction into the back of the screen.

Oakley confirms that Shield Fusion is already available through selected brand distributors. For now, the company has announced its application in the Sutro family and has not detailed its arrival in other Shield models in its catalog.