Serengetti 6698's - best in the world?

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Sometime ago I ran a thread about which are the best sunglasses for airline flying. There have been several threads over the years here on PPRuNe.

Having tried a lot of products I must say I found the best to be the Serengetti 6698 frame with the gradient Drivers lens.

I had a pair of the Serengetti Aviator style ones for some time but found them a little too heavy after several hours wear. Also you got quite a lot of light leaking in around the edges as is normal with that style.

The 6698's are just awesome though. So light, tough construction, sprung hinges, almost total wraparound coverage without the skateboarder/Oakley look. The lens is superb and works well with B733 EFIS so far.

Listed at £155 in the UK I bought them online from the US and fedexed them across in 5 days for £85 total.

Just so pleased and so impressed I thought I'd share my thoughts here. :)

Cheers

WWW

http://store1.yimg.com/I/shadesaver_1727_39485

[Hogg]

http://dixiesgifts.com/funny_glasses.jpg






Currently find these quite good, especially an early morning arrival....... when I run outa matchsticks :p

Hogg :8

[Silver Tongued Cavalier]

Serengetti - Lassen with drivers gradient lense.

Yes I completely agree, the best lense, and the best frame without doubt, although quite expensive in the UK and Ireland rip off high street opticians. I got mine too online for $120. Half the price of high street!

Just don't drop, sit on, or scatch them though! They're a delicate glass, even a bit like the EFIS screens themselves! ;)

You can even wear them on holiday without looking like some Aviators wearing 70s porn star or weekend warrior TopGun Ace!! :cool:

[fernytickles]

Couldn't agree more about Serengeti's for flying. They make everything seem so much clearer, and no one can see when you are snoozing....
For some daft reason you can get them significantly cheaper in Costco ($70), especially in Canada, than in the UK/US.
Still not as cheap as the $3.99 sunny's from Walmart, but its cheaper than trying to buy a new pair of eyes.......:rolleyes:
WWW - where in the US, or online did you get them - I have a feeling I could start up a little side line here ;)

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Well I think they escaped Customs attention which would hamper an eBay powered sideline in UK distribution...

Its so annoying to find them for £75 in the US whilst nobody will retail them for less than £155 in the UK. One knows that things are a bit dearer here but that is ridiculous.

Cheers

WWW

[MidnightSpecial]

W cubed:

Thanks for the recommendation. I have a broken pair of Serengeti aviators and was thinking of an upgrade.

MS

[GaelicPilot]

Ok, first post, so here goes!

I was reading the other post lately bout sunglasses, and having had my first lesson on saturday I now realise how neccessary they are to have, especially trying to find the airport while flying into the sun.

So should I just buy an expensive pair to start out with or should I get a cheaper pair to see what tint\colour suits?

Do all pilots get sunglasses as a rule or do most do without?
I am going to start with a flight training org soon and woz wondering do you think they will have regulations on which to use?

Thanks 4 ur help!:cool:

[mooney59]

Someone posted on this topic that Serengeti glasses with their photo-chromatic lenses are unsuitable for flying.
Is this true? I use them and they are great.

[Jerricho]

A pilot buddy of mine once swore blind ;) that Revo lenses were the best he had ever used. No colour distortion and frames seemed to fit nicely with a headset. Apparently something to do with NASA or something.

Downside they're very expensive. Anybody ever tried a pair.

[Cardinal Puff]

About US$400 at rip off monkey in South Africa.

Like looking through silk though...... Smoooooth!:ok:

[Silver Tongued Cavalier]

Serengeti lenses use a patented type of technology which changes the amount of light allowed through depending on the conditions.

They are not polarised in a manner which conflicts with airliner cockpit windows, unlike some other polarised glasses.

Seringeti glasses are great for Airliner flying, due to the clarity of the EFIS screens, howver I have found that the tint of the glasses themselves seems fairly weak in high glare when out of the cockpit, which is made up for by the tinted cockpit windows when flying.

For Skiing/Sailing/GA non tinted cockpit flying Oakleys etc are better value for money in my opinion.

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Quite so - whilst walking about in bright sunshine they are quite a mild lens. They would be rubbish for sailing of skiing for this reason.

Perfect for the flightdeck though.

Cheers

WWW

[ww1]

Serengettis are very nice, if a bit expensive. The Ray-Bans with the green G-15 lenses do it for me. My aviator-style R-Bs served me well for many years through Flight School, turboprops, and light jets. Now, in the big jets those lenses still work. The new wraparound frame styles keep light leakage to a minimum, and the G-15s work well with EFIS panels. The tint's not so dark as to be a problem inside the flight deck, but are terrific against glare when flying near clouds on a bright sunny day. Paid US$100. Cheap.

[progolfer]

my bolle polarised kenses are great. You see the efis screen in a whole new pyshcodelic light. almost like drugs.

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Green G15 lenses with EFIS that uses green and taxiway lighting in green? Great for cloud definition but surely not the best colour for the flightdeck? Also do you not find them a bit heavy at the end of a 12hr day?

Cheers

WWW

[ww1]

WWW
The green lenses aren't at all a problem - to me, the greens are still green and I have no problem discerning the ambers, blues, whites, magentas etc etc on the EFIS. And I have yet to run an airplane off the taxiway ("those lights were RED...?") or keep on truckin' along when the PAPIs are screaming at me. Yet. Maybe tomorrow.
The weight doesn't bother - the newer styles are quite lightweight. Maybe it's my hard head.
cheers

[pilot74]

I've suffered badly in the past from headaches after flying long trips above a constant cloud layer (during the day) or into sun.
Tried loads of different sun glasses with no joy, the only ones that work for me are serengetti's.- Sound like an advert.
I've found no problems either with the EFIS screens.
Last pair I bought were the driver type- 150 euros from Schipol airport (AMS).
74.

[Squawk7777]

I don't know if I am violating any rules here, but at Marv Golden (http://www.marvgolden.com) in San Diego you can get them for $85. Send them a check or money order and they'll ship them for free.

[FairPayer]

What about Silhouette's? Does anyone have anything good to say about them?

They are very light and comfy to wear but because of their hingeless construction are rather difficult to pop into a shirt pocket or casually carry and are very easily damaged. I like wearing them but have been through 3 paris as a result of damage which other sunglasses would have withstood.

Are Serengetti's just as comfy to wear and do they survice the rough and tumble of everyday use?

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

With a titanium frame and expensively engineered hinge the Serengettis last well in my experience.

Mind you for indestructibilty its hard to beat Oakley - I have a 14yr old pair of frogskins that are still going strong despite them being my rough-useage pair for many years now. Shotgun pellet proof - which is nice.

Cheers

WWW

[Boeing 7E7]

Does anyone know whether you can get these as perscription lenses and how you can go about it (and still get them relatively cheap)?

[Miserlou]

I chose Randolph first over Ray Ban as I thought the former better. Ray Ban's are for people (posers) who want to look like pilots.
Neither were very comfortable for longer periods.

Then having followed some threads here I bought some Serengeti Velocity with Drivers Gradient lenses.

Without a doubt the best sunglasses I've ever owned!