If you have smith glasses, don’t crash in them, they won’t sell you spares if you break a temple piece or loose a screw. It’s really sad that they just expect you to send your $450 pair of prescription riding glasses right to the landfill when they could easily be repaired. I’d have been happy for them to rape me for $40 for a 30 cent part for them. Maybe we can make the industry better if we can put enough pressure on them as consumers. Let’s blast em on the socials. My tictok already seems to have gotten some traction, YouTube short not so much.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRoXPy7k/
@smithoptics is #anticonsumer and #righttorepair and won’t sell spare parts, #buyerbeware #mtb
https://youtube.com/shorts/jNq9V1sjN0o?feature=share
by Leafy0
13 Comments
I recommend Wiley X, had an arm crack on my prescription sunglasses I’d had for over a year and they sent me a new arm at no charge. I was expecting to pay given I had the glasses for a while, they will always be my choice now for standing behind their product.
smith have always been like this unfortunately, its very hard(or impossible) to get new lenses for certain goggles as well
I’ve had the same experience, but they replaced the entire pair of $250 sunglasses over a part that can’t cost more than 75 cents. It’s absolutely baffling that the economics work out that way for them.
They’re no longer a big player, but decades ago I had a few sets of Zeal Optics riding glasses with interchangeable lenses. The company is still around, and their policy is to try to repair anything that’s broken before forcing you to replace the set.
Those were my favorite riding glasses ever, and it’s a shame they’re not available any longer.
For your case, it might be worth getting some epoxy or JB weld and seeing if you can mold a new part of that arm if it’s going in the bin anyway.
I purchased some Tifosi sunglasses for $80 and have been happy with them. They come with 3 lenses and a case.
There a reason these brands are loosing brick & mortar dealers. Shimano & other brands making $125-150 (CAD) glasses with lenses support and some frame part options (at least through warranty support) is hard to justify paying $300+ for a similar functional performance.
My lens was peeling and instead of sending me a replacement lens, which they already sell, they said to send pictures of the glasses destroyed beyond use and had me buy another pair worth up to $350. Didn’t really complain, but it is wasteful.
Thats surprising I broke a pair of ski goggles in a crash messaged them and they replaced it with a new pair. If you bought your glasses on a credit card usually those have an extended warranty that covers damage.
Hack: Milwaukee tools protective eyeglasses have a compatible arm/hinge system with smith glasses like the wildcat. My friend is running them on his after they broke
That is disappointing to hear about Smith but after my experience with their Chromapop lenses, I wouldn’t buy them again anyways. They put the reflective mirroring on the inside of the lens and it would reflect the background into my periphery; it was the worst design I’ve ever seen. I really like Oakley lenses but they tend to scratch easy. The best lens I’ve had are Wave 500 lenses in blue from Costa but they are glass I believe.
My husband broke the arm piece (or whatever it’s called) and they wouldn’t sell him one singular piece. He had to buy brand new sunglasses. So stupid.
Get Tifosi instead. They do Rx as well. I returned a pair of Smith sunglasses because I kept seeing reflections in the other lens, just didn’t make sense to pay $200+ for a worse product.
Check out Julbo. Can say first hand that they’ll take care of you. Small, independent and with their US office located in Vermont. They are real people who actually live the lives their gear is intended for so they get it