I used to never blink twice at dropping $150 on a pair of sunglasses. I was arguably Ray Bans’ biggest customer – I’ve gone through about 4 pairs of Aviators, 2 of the Hexagonal flat lenses and was a fan of the Classic Round for a while. Added up that’s over $1000 on sunglasses. What’s crazier is that no pair ever lasted me longer than six months. I either sat on them, lost them and even managed to snap a pair in two.
I was hit with an ad on Instagram for a company called Blenders and figured it was time to give another brand a try.
Founded by pro-surfer, Chase Fisher, Blenders set out to create what they discovered didn’t exist: fresh, comfortable and quality sunglasses at a reasonable price. And they’re doing just that. But as a Ray Bans loyalist they had a lot to live up to. Here’s how Blenders compared.
Firstly, the price.
The average price point for a pair of Blenders is $47. For Ray Bans, it’s $149. Quite literally triple the price. The cheapest pair of Ray Bans will set you back $105 (which is a real Grandad pair of shades – see below… they’re also not Polarized) and go as high as $493 for premium materials like Titanium (there’s also a gold rimmed pair of Aviators which is $3,200 but if you’re buying those you’re likely not reading this).
The cheapest pair of Blenders starts at $38 and are actually pretty cool. The most expensive pair of Blenders I’ve managed to come across will set you back $68, still far cheaper than the Grandaddy-Cool pair. For the cost of one pair of Ray Bans, you could theoretically get four different styles of Blenders to rotate into your everyday.
Speaking of the styles…
Not only does Blenders have a ton of Ray Ban dupes (think styles like Aviators, RB359 and Erikas) but Blenders has loads more really cool and unique styles. Plus, there is so much variety. Blenders has an abundance of different colored lenses, frame materials as well as a huge selection for a variety of different face shapes. Ray Bans are known to only suit square faces but Blenders has so many options as well as a section on their website to help you choose the right style for your face.
Quantity AND quality…
In terms of quality, the true test, Blenders make a bold claim that their glasses are one of the most ‘dependable’. With their founder’s sponsored athlete background, it’s no surprise that Blenders strives to create sunglasses that can withstand a fair amount of action. To prove it, they offer a 45-day warranty and will also replace your sunglasses with a brand new pair rather than simply repair the damaged one. What’s even better is that, with the exception of the Halo and Hexagram collection which offer 300+ UVA/UVB protection, all Blenders shades come with 400UVA/UVB protection. This is the highest level of protection your sunglasses lenses can have, blocking 99-100% of harmful rays from the sun to keep your eyes safe.
So far, I’m loving my five pairs of Blenders. I bought them all last Summer and they’ve survived a trip to Greece, a yacht-week in Croatia and a winter trip to Vancouver. They’re shockingly still intact, scratch free and still fit snugly on my head (my aviators would always bend and end up falling off my face). I’m shook when I look back at how much money I used to spend on Ray Bans, purely because they were the most heard of brand. Little did I know that there were so many more affordable and better styles out there.