No one brand or style will work for everyone, but after researching more than 142 affordable sunglasses from trusted retailers, we found 11 pairs of cheap polarized sunglasses. This vetted assortment should provide enough variety for most people to find sunglasses in the size and style that work with their lifestyle and face shape. kent hybrid bike The Nooz Optics Cruz sunglasses are more expensive than some others we recommend—nearly four times as much as the Sungait Vintage Round Sunglasses—but the price isn’t absurd, and we think they’re worth it. Despite their petite frame, they don’t look cramped or undersized on the face, and they fit all of our testers well.
Our carbon fiber formula results in lighter, stiffer, and stronger bikes that last a lifetime. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions.
These sunglasses are perfectly comfortable and look good on just about every face. If you want to buy something more eye-catching than a classic black frame, the Camina sunglasses also come in pink, translucent brown, and tortoise. These sunglasses are ultralight, ultraflat, and ultraflexible, so they’re perfect for traveling—they take up barely any room at all. If your bike or E-scooter is left with us for a repair or service we’ll book you into our system. This enables us to give you updates as your job flows through the repair process and notify you of updates, if we need to speak with you and confirming when your bike is ready to collect.
Goodr’s BFGs frames are thicker than our pick from Goodr, the Wayfarer-style The OGs. If you’re looking for a bigger pair of sunglasses, with a glossier, grayer coloring, the BFGs are a solid choice, but we think most people will prefer Goodr’s The OGs. The EyeBuyDirect Taylor sunglasses (without a prescription) were comfortable and cute—though their matte coloring dulled them—and they come with anti-scratch coating, which is useful. Unfortunately, they simply cannot compete with our round Kent Wang Keyhole pick, which I will have buried with me. Not only do the Keyholes have a more interesting design, but they also come with Kent Wang’s 60-day return policy and two-year warranty, in contrast to EyeBuyDirect’s 14-day return policy and one-year warranty.
They sat comfortably on our testers’ faces, thanks in part to their keyhole nose bridge, in contrast to other glasses we tried, which felt too tight or awkward. Kent Wang offers three frame colors to choose from—gold, gunmetal, and silver—and the lenses on each are the same dark shade. The colors are classic but not as exciting as the wackier variety of color options available for our J+S aviators pick. The J+S sunglasses have a sturdy metal build, and their spring hinges produce a satisfying click when you open and close the arms. These sunglasses feel well made, and we never worried about them falling apart—a good sign, especially at this price.
However, Knockaround does have a tool that lets you build your own sunglasses, which is extremely cool. The Goodr Circle Gs are a matte option that felt tight around the face and sat higher on the nose than other round sunglasses we tested, making them feel less comfortable and attractive. The Sunski Headland sunglasses are a previous pick, and they look good. We still like them, and we appreciate Sunski’s mission to create less waste by choosing recycled plastic to make its sunglasses.
The main reason polarized lenses are so much better than non-polarized versions is that they reduce glare—if you were to compare the two types of lenses side by side, you’d never go with non-polarized lenses again. If you have difficulty finding sunglasses that are big enough, Goodr sells a variant of The OGs called BFGs. Per Goodr, these glasses have “wider frames, longer arms, and bigger lenses than our OGs,” with an overall frame width of 146 mm and a temple length of 155 mm, notably longer than anything else we looked at. Although we didn’t test this version of The OGs, we still think it would be worth considering for someone who has a larger head and is looking for a Wayfarer-style pair. “They have a pretty, classic shape, and they weren’t overwhelmingly large,” said Wirecutter staff writer Dorie Chevlen, who also noted the glasses’ good-looking tortoiseshell pattern. At this writing, EyeBuyDirect offers the Cartel frames in clear brown, tortoiseshell, and navy, but the company seems to cycle colors regularly.