Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep Ascend sunglasses review

The original Oakley Sutro sunglasses sported great retro looks, with a bold full frame and drilled circular vents.

On-bike performance didn’t quite match the cool appearance, though, with a bit of fogging on the lens edges and light bouncing off the oversized brow vents.

This new Lite Sweep Ascend version impresses, albeit it’s arguably best suited to those with smaller faces.

Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep Ascend details

For the new Sutro Lite, Oakley has halved the frame and put an upsweep on the lens, but retained the retro styling cues of the drilled-out brow vents.

The lens itself is a curved shield that, at 133mm wide and 60mm deep (at its deepest), is intended to work well with all head sizes.

The lenses use Oakley’s Prizm contrast-enhancing tech. I had the Prizm black version on test, with 11 per cent light transmission.

The Sutro sweep is also available with Prizm Road (20 per cent transmission), Prizm Trail Torch (35 per cent), Prizm Road Jade (15 per cent) and Prizm Sapphire (12 per cent) lens options, and a multitude of frame colours.

The frame is minimal, helping the sunglasses to weigh just 31g, while the arms are spring loaded to help them snap open quickly.

The Sutro Lites come packaged with a soft cleaning pad, spare and different-sized nose pieces, and a hard case.

As is the case with practically all Oakley sunglasses, the Sutro Lite Sweep Ascends cost a premium.

For many, this might not be an issue because there’s an unquantifiable element of fashion involved here. However, in order to justify their price it's always important that the best cycling sunglasses perform well too.

Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep Ascend performance

Although the lens is designed to suit many head shapes and sizes, it works best on smaller faces, because the narrowing upsweep of the lens thins out to just 35mm at the edges.

I found the narrowness of the lens at the edges visible, and some glare was able to carry under the far edges.

That said, this isn’t necessarily a problem with the Sutro Sweep lens, and more a poor sizing choice on my part. With the benefit of hindsight, I’d recommend the standard Sutro Lite or the Sutro Lite Encircle if you have a larger head.

If nothing else, it’s a reminder that when spending premium money on sunglasses, it’s worth trying before buying. Fortunately, given Oakley’s wide-reaching presence in the eyecare and sports industries, finding samples to try on isn’t difficult.

The black-tinted Prizm lens is an absolute joy to use, with no distortion even at the edges and a punchy contrast that made these glasses great to use both on the road and in low-contrast conditions, such as woodland gravel riding.

The drilled vents reduce fogging to a minimum when working hard on hotter days, but they can occasionally catch the light on their internal edges.

The minimal frame is well sprung and the soft grip on the arms helps them stay put to the side of your head, though they occasionally needed readjusting on rougher rides.

The hinges themselves lock into place with a reassuring click, which along with the excellent finish and foil-blocked embossed logos on the arms, adds up to a sense of high quality.

Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep Ascend bottom line

The Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep Ascend sunglasses offer a degree of retro cool, married to high performance.

I’m a big fan of the design, but the sweep-style lens, with its narrowing taper, is best suited to smaller faces.

Overall, Oakley's Sutro Light Sweep Ascend glasses perform superbly in hot, sweaty conditions. There's minimal fogging and they stay put well on your head.