Look Good and Be Prepared for Anything: Wiley X Apex Sunglasses Review

Form over fashion is my stance on sunglasses. As an angler, hunter, and outdoorsman, I want something that performs in the field above all else. Appearance and general coolness are the last things I take into account when selecting my next set of shades.

Almost all of my sunglasses have a full wrap, which certainly isn’t cool. Some are passable in the looks department, and others are outright dorky. I did, however, marry a bit of a social butterfly. Weddings and business casual dinners are a thing. For some reason, I’m supposed to care about how I look.

Thanks to the Wiley X Apex Sunglasses, I can look good and get the performance I need in the field — no matter the pursuit.

I’ve always been a sunglass snob, having worked as a fishing guide where I relied on the latest and greatest technology to implement sight fishing techniques. Currently, I own seven different pairs. That isn’t solely because I write for GearJunkie. I’ve always had a bunch of sets, always at the ready for any lighting conditions. My sunglasses matter.

In short: If you spot me around town nowadays, chances are, I’ll be wearing the Wiley X Apex ($236), which manages both function and fashion. Not only do they make me look cool, which is no easy feat, but they also have a safety rating for shooting sports and provide passable performance on the water. They’re near perfect for many situations.

Fit and Feel of the Wiley X Apex

Based on what I see around town, it’s trendy to wear sunglasses with a flat lens curve. In that regard, the Wiley X Apex fits right in.

For the sunglass nerds, that means the Wiley X Apex has a 6-base lens curve. If you’re not a sunglass nerd, it means the Apexes are “bro” sunglasses, or something “Chad” would wear. I think that’s what the kids are saying.

I honestly don’t look remotely good in most flat sunglasses. But I can somehow pull these off. The lenses aren’t obnoxiously large, which I think helps.

The frames are made of nylon, which makes them very lightweight. On each side, a section of stainless steel extends across your temple, which transitions into a rubber arm and provides a sleek look.

Overall, the sunglasses are very light. I don’t experience any sore spots around my ears after prolonged wear, and I find them to be quite comfortable. Despite the unique design around the nosepiece, they sit on my face exactly like all of my other sunglasses.

Sunglasses With a Safety Rating

In my opinion, the coolest part of these sunglasses is the safety rating. The Wiley X Apex meets ANSI Z87.1+ Safety Standards when you snap the included side shields on it.

If you work a job that requires protective eyewear, or are like me and could be shooting guns on any given day, that’s a big deal. You don’t need to pack extra eye protection. It’s already on your face.

For that reason, these are the only sunglasses I wear hunting and on the range. I may not adhere to the side shields to obtain the official rating approval, but my mind is at ease knowing the lenses meet a high-impact and high-velocity rating.

Optical Performance of the Wiley X Apex

For years as a fishing guide, I relied on Smith Optics sunglasses solely for the brand’s Chromapop technology. It enhances colors, provides better separation, and makes things, well, pop.

Unfortunately for Smith, other brands are hopping on that bandwagon. I’ve heard through the grapevine that the patent expired, but a quick internet search proved that to be wrong. I don’t know, though. I’m not a patent attorney.

The point is, these sunglasses have CAPTIVATE technology, which does the same thing. When I first put the Apex sunglasses on, I noticed it. Reds in particular stand out exceptionally well, but the color contrast across the spectrum is greatly enhanced.

The lenses are made of polycarbonate, which is not as optically clear as a glass lens. However, I own sunglasses with both, and can say that to the untrained eye, you won’t notice much of a difference. The lenses on these sunglasses must be polycarbonate to achieve the impressive safety rating.

There is no distortion on the edges of the lens. They clean up well and don’t seem to be any more smudge-prone than other glasses.

The Bad

I have two complaints with the Wiley X Apex, one of which can be changed, while the other cannot. Let’s start with the fixable one.

Colors

There aren’t many lens colors available. If you’re an angler, lens color absolutely matters. In fact, it’s one of the most important aspects of a set of shades. These sunglasses are available in Blue Mirror, Tungsten Mirror, and Black Mirror lenses. That in itself isn’t many.

It gets even worse when you realize that the Tungsten Mirror is actually a gray base lens, with a mirrored coating on the front. That puts it dangerously close in performance to the Black Mirror lenses.

Without getting too far into the weeds, the color affects a lens’s VLT (Visible Light Transmission), or how much light it lets in. From a fishing standpoint, it makes certain colors and lenses better in one situation, and worse in another. For freshwater fishing, you may want one; for saltwater, you may want another.

I have the blue mirrored lens, which blocks a ton of light. I’ve used them in Florida, as well as on hot, sunny days on a bass boat in Tennessee. They worked great in those situations, but I wish there were more lens colors for my other fishing pursuits. That should be doable, Wiley X.

Light Penetration

Now, for the unfixable. Due to the flat lens curvature, the Wiley X Apex lets in quite a bit of light from the side of the frame. For most, it’s not going to be an issue. However, if you’re like me and need to use sunglasses to sight fish, it can become a problem. I could also see it being an issue for those with sensitive eyes.

However, that negative is a bit of a positive. While in the humid Florida heat, crawling through ditches in pursuit of redfish and sea trout, the open design prevented fogging. When I wore my more curved lenses, doing the same thing, fogging was a big issue.

Final Thoughts

I own a bunch of really expensive sunglasses. The Wiley X Apex is expensive, too.

Yet they’re the only set I own that someone has asked me what sunglasses they are, and who makes them. It’s happened three times. They just look good, and people want them.

No one has ever asked me about my Costas, Smiths, or Bajíos, despite all of them having an even higher price tag. That fact earned the Wiley X Apex the “Fishing Sunglasses That Actually Look Good” award in my latest rendition of the best fishing sunglasses buyer’s guide.

Yeah, they look good. They perform on the water nearly as well as my dorky sunglasses, and they keep my eyes safe on the range. That’s why I use them more than any other pair I own.