Ray Ban Aviator Cockpit, Outdoorsman, Polarized Sunglasses Review

Ray Ban Aviators sunglasses represent the brand since its inception, and have become true classics during the last few decades. Originally designed for Air Force pilots, they feature masculine triangular lenses and a thin (usually metallic) frame: the lenses seem to break the boundaries of the rim, creating an intense and memorable look.

The teardrop lense shape is unique in its ability to cover the entire field of vision without being obtrusive; its fluid form, like water (as Bruce Lee once said), is at once soft and hard, and results in a smart, focused appearance. Ray Ban continue to experiment with this shape, rendering it sharper or softer in Cockpit and Aviator II models.

Later, all of these qualities – the masculinity, the military purpose – were used ironically: women were wearing aviators to emphasize their feminine strength, pacifists and anti-war political activists put them on in a sign of defiance.

Today, Aviator sunglasses are as much a fashion accessory as they are a professional tool.

If regular Large Metal Aviators are fit for jet fighter pilots, then Cockpit sunglasses suit jumbo plane captains. Cockpit spectacles make an interesting exchange with the original design: giving way in aggression, they gain in sophistication.

For many Ray Ban fans, it will be a matter of taste – which type of shades represents your personality best? Sometimes it's just a matter of inner feeling, in which case having both can be a good idea.

Outdoorsman category adds a touch of solidity to the frame by setting up a second browbar. This complimentary piece increases the sunglasses' decorative value, lends them more structural rigidity, and, curiously, injects them with an air of responsibility.

Lense selection includes violet, pink, orange (for a fashion statement), and more traditonal gray fade, and crystal green; grey or green silver mirror lenses exist in a polarized edition.