Oakley Sphaera sunglasses review

The Oakley Sphaera glasses feel lightweight and comfortable on the face, delivering great coverage and a clear field of vision when riding.

While they are pitched as being suitable for cyclists (the sunglasses are modelled by Oakley-sponsored Mark Cavendish), they’re designed for use in other sports too with lens variations designed specifically for other purposes.

The sunglasses have a slightly plain look and feel, though, and the alternative nose piece makes little difference to the fit on the nose.

The Sphaera glasses are priced at £191 / $231 / €214.

Oakley Sphaera details and specifications

The Oakley Sphaera was announced in February 2024, accompanied by the brand’s claim that it “reflects the order of the universe” and “stands for both the visible world around us and the invisible, sacred centre within us”.

Whatever you think of this somewhat ethereal stance, the Sphaera is designed to feel lightweight on the face, tipping the scales at 33g.

The arms curve around the side of the head, with arm socks that extend from the end of the arms all the way to the temple holes.

I lost one of the much smaller arm socks from my favourite Oakley Jawbreakers long ago. The hope is this approach might eliminate the problem, while improving hold and weight distribution on the head.

The temple holes are a small design departure compared to previous Oakley cycling sunglasses, one which may or may not appeal. It appears to be a purely aesthetic choice, given Oakley doesn’t give a practical reason for its presence.

The lens wraps around the face in order to give the widest field of vision, while it’s also shaped to drop close to the cheeks.

It’s replaceable too, with Oakley offering 11 colours. Some of these are designed for specific sports (the Prizm Golf and Prizm Deep Water Polarized, for example), but most are suitable for cycling if you like a specific colour. These cost at least £78 / $92 / €86 each.

We have the popular and well-regarded Prizm Road lens on test, which is said to offer optimised contrast for use on the road and comes with a ‘Matt Grey Smoke’ frame. Notably, a Prizm Road Jade version is also available, as is a Prizm Trail Torch for off-road riding.

The nose piece is replaceable, with one of the same size supplied in the box. A central pillar connects the frame top to the nose piece. It’s not adjustable, though, and the bridge is visible in the inner corners of your field of vision.

The glasses come with an Oakley soft bag for storage and cleaning, and a spare nose piece, which sits slightly closer to the nose than the standard one.

Oakley Sphaera performance

The Oakley Sphaeras are very good sunglasses, although I’m not sure the style will be to everyone’s tastes.

I find the overall aesthetic a little unbalanced, with the prominent frame top at odds with the open-bottom lens.

Style is, of course, subjective, and you may prefer this relatively understated design.

The frame also has a slightly cheap feeling – when I hold a set of Jawbreakers or Radar EV Paths, for example, the finish seems a little more premium.

This is a shame in sunglasses costing this much.

The latter might be down to the lightweight construction, though, which bears fruit when worn – 33g isn’t completely unnoticeable, but the shape of the arms seems to help distribute the very limited weight effectively.

The standard nose piece shape suited me and I was left with less of a pressure mark on my nose than I normally see at the end of a ride. That said, while the supplied spare sits a little narrower, I found it made little difference to the fit – all things being equal, it should feel tighter on the nose.

I found the frames held fast when jogging, which is never a given and a further indication of how well they grip to the head.

Another plus point is the relatively low-sitting top bar. It may be visually prominent, but when riding with three different helmets (a Trek Velocis MIPS, Scott Cadence Plus and a Lazer Z1 Kineticore), I didn’t feel it coming into contact with any of the lids’ brows.

Excess light doesn’t sneak in from the top, while the low-cut lens shields you from the bottom. With the wide and very clear field of vision, you get a sense of enclosure and complete protection from bright sunlight.

Oakley’s Prizm Road optics have been a standard-setter for years. That remains true here, even if brands such as 100%, Koo and Sweet Protection appear to have closed the gap.

The glasses seem well ventilated too, thanks in part to a cutout in the central upper portion of the lens, as well as the lens sitting a small distance away from the face.

I have fairly long eyelashes, which, when damp with sweat, tend to cause obscuring marks on the inner face of the lens. Not here, though.

The central pillar, which adjoins the top bar with the nose bridge, is unnoticeable, although the bridge structure is visible in the corner of your eye.

I tested the Sweet Protection Shinobi sunglasses alongside the Sphaeras – these have a similar design, albeit slightly less prominent. In both cases, though, I tended to focus past it when riding, and my brain soon ignored it.

Oakley Sphaera bottom line

The Oakley Sphaera sunglasses might not have quite the same striking, premium look and feel of some previous Oakley sunglasses, but they perform very well.

The protection and visual clarity are excellent, and the glasses feel lightweight on the face, don't move around unnecessarily and are well-ventilated.

The multi-sport design of the Sphaera may also appeal to you, although, of course, you’ll need to part with a hefty sum to own a set.