The Skeleton Optics sun glasses just might be the best sun glasses of its kind. They are sold by US Tactical Supply, and what a product they are! US Tactical Supply is the premiere provider of quality tactical accessories, serving military, law enforcement, first responders, and the public. Your mission matters.
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I’m not going to pretend I understand all the technical specs on the Skeleton Optics sun glasses, but I’ll lay out the specs as best I can in this article. Regular readers will know that the nice folks at US Tactical Supply in Albany, OR simply carry the best of the best for their customers and take no short cuts. They try to stock and sell as many products as they can that are made in the USA. Of course, in a global economy, this isn’t always possible. However, in my humble opinion, US Tactical Supply still carries the best products they can find for their customers. Excuse my grammar, but “They don’t sell no junk!”.
Skeleton Optics SCOUT Sample
US Tactical Supply recently sent me an e-mail with one of their brand new products— Skeleton Optics. I’ve never heard of them, but they’ve been around more than a year. And they have some serious endorsements by some well-known people. US Tactical Supply arranged for me to test the SCOUT version of the Skeleton Optics, and to be sure they have several different models and styles of eye wear, for men and women!
I’ve been a writer for 25 years now, and I’ve seen and heard all the hype on various products. A lot of it is hype, put out by the company’s marketing/PR division. However, when I was told by Kevin at US Tactical Supply just how great this eye wear was, I honestly had some doubts about what he was saying.
First off, I was told that the Skeleton Optics eye wear lenses were incredibly sharp. I’ve been down this road before, and it’s not usually quite what they say. But I trust Kevin. He’s “good people”, real good people.
Skeleton Optics – Polarized Lenses Compliant by Zeiss
From the Skeleton Optics website “Every pair of Skeleton Optics sun glasses uses cutting edge Tri-pel/Ri-pel lens technology. Skeleton Optics feature polarized lenses that are ANSI-Z80.3 standard compliant by Zeiss, the world’s recognized leader in optics, to provide most visually accurate lens technology in the world for the active outdoorsman.” I am more than a little familiar with Zeiss lenses in rifle scopes, binoculars, and camera lenses; they are without a doubt the best of the best lenses, end of story.
If you want serious eye protection, you have to have polarized lenses in your sun glasses. And Skeleton Optics hit the mark with 100% total UV protection. They also have visual clarity, and the lenses are anti-scratch, which is very important in an expensive pair of eye wear. They also have this Tri-pel coating mirror with hydrophobic. This makes the eye wear easy to clean.
Lenses Easy to Clean and Repel Water, Mud, Sweat, Oil, and More
Here’s something really cool. These lenses help repel water, dirt, mud, sweat, salt, oil, sunscreen, and other nasty stuff. The lenses are easy to clean using the included cloth bag that they come in. That’s right; you simply use the bag the sun glasses come in to clean the lenses. Don’t use anything else. The frames are made in Italy and use proprietary design molds for the entire frame collection, and the frames are manufactured out of tough polymer that is light-weight and super-tough for serious outdoor use. To be sure, the Skeleton Optics are manufactured in Italy.
Performance Test
Okay, that is enough of the technical specs. So how do the Skeleton Optics perform in the real world? Glad you asked! I don’t like to torture test many products. Anything can be broken under the right conditions. However, I did test the Skeleton Optics SCOUT sun glasses under several conditions. Sure enough, the Zeiss lenses do repel water, dirt, dust, et cetera, as advertised, and they are very easy to clean-up, too.
Results- Could See MUCH Better With Skeleton Optics
I own quite a few different makes and types of sun glasses, and I wanted to test them side-by-side against the Skeleton Optics. This was an easy test to do. Sitting in my pickup, I put one pair of sun glasses on after another to see if there was much difference between them when it came to clarity. Well, the Skeleton Optics beat them all out. They were the clearest. But that’s not the end of the story.
I could see better and sharper with the Skeleton Optics on than I could see with my naked eye! What? Wait! Huh? Yeah, sure enough, when observing with my naked eye compared to wearing the SCOUT sun glasses, I could see MUCH clearer and sharper with the sun glasses on than with just my naked eye. And, it wasn’t just me. My wife and oldest daughter did the same test and said the same thing. Plus, I stopped in at the local gun shop I haunt and let everyone there run the same test. I got the same results from them. You can see with more clarity and sharpness with the Skeleton Optics. WOW! I was impressed, to say the least.
Mandatory Protection
Near as I can tell, there is no cure for blindness, other than an eye transplant. Therefore, I wear eye protection when I’m out shooting. And more than once, I’ve had something come back at me and hit my body, face, or eye. I’m convinced that without eye protection I could have damaged my eyes. When I was teaching firearms classes, I always told students to bring some type of eye protection, but without fail there was always someone who forgot. So I provided eye protection for them. I just don’t understand people. It’s such a simple task to put on some eye protection when shooting, and they don’t do it. I’m not going to mince words here. Skeleton Optics sun glasses aren’t cheap.
Then again, as I’ve mentioned many times, quality, real quality, never comes cheap. And, you have to ask yourself, what is your eyesight worth? When was the last time a product for your eye protection actually allowed you to see clearer and with more sharpness? I wear contact lenses, and my corrected vision is 20/25, which is almost perfect. Yet, with the Skeleton Optics sunglasses I could see even better. Kevin at US Tactical Supply told me that many police officers came in to the store wearing their Oakley sun glasses and put on the Skeleton Optics, and every one of them said the Skeleton Optics allowed more clarity and sharpness, every one of them! Hmm. There are the same results in my testing with other folks.
Various Styles and Options
There are several different styles and types of sun glasses that Skeleton Optics manufactures, and US Tactical Supply carries them all. They are available with different colored lenses and frames, so I’m not going to list any prices. Go to the US Tactical Supply website for more information, and if you have questions give them a call. They have the absolute nicest customer service and knowledgeable people on-hand to answer your questions. I promise, you won’t be disappointed with this eye wear, ever! In my golden years, I decided to buy myself what I consider some of the best products I can afford, even if sometimes I have to make payments. I love my Seiko wrist watch and some of my better handguns, and I’m adding the Skeleton Optics sun glasses to this list. I want to treat myself, just once in a while to the best of the best.
– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio
I did a cursory browse of Skeleton Optics website and did not see any product useful to shooters who wear corrective lenses. Something like cocoon glasses that fit over regular glasses would be helpful.
I also wear Fit overs, are they comming??
Being a retired cop and having gone through many pairs of sunglasses I find the average cost of $200 to be a price point I and probably most people can’t pay and for those who can would probably put their money into more useful items for survival. For less than $100 and even into the $50 range a person can buy a very useful pair of sunglasses and if they get broke or lost, oh well, go buy another pair.
I get my sunglasses (smoked and amber safety glasses) from the auto parts store. Same UV protection. Meets or exceeds ANSI requirements. All for less than $20. I use them anytime I’m outdoors including driving and shooting.
To each their own, though. Not for me to tell someone how to spend their money.
Sounds like these are probably made in the same place as Serengeti sunglasses. Hands down, the best sunglasses I’ve owned or tried… Can often find models on clearance/firesale at various online outlets.
However and importantly, these Skeleton glasses do not appear to be safety/shooting glasses — safety glasses are are ANSI Z87 rated not ANSI Z80 like here which is more UV protection IIRC.
Also for shooting glasses, you want ballistic glasses not shooting glasses and the ~3 times plus greater protection they are required to provide over Z87 — look for MIL-PRF-31013 certified glasses.