Spy makes two sunglasses with almost the same name, and only one of them is a safety glass. The Flynn is the big Grilamid shield people wear to the lake. The Spy Super Flynn keeps that oversized look, adds side lenses for more coverage, and carries an ANSI Z87.1+ impact rating, which means you can wear it on a job site where eye protection is required and still look like you came from the beach. This guide covers what the Super Flynn is, how it differs from the regular Flynn, which lens to pick, and who it fits.
What the Super Flynn actually is
The Super Flynn sits inside Spy's safety line, alongside frames like the Spy Rebar SE. Our listing carries it as ANSI Z87.1+ safety sunglasses, and the plus matters: it means the lens passed the high-velocity impact test, the one designed around flying debris rather than a dropped wrench. If you want the long version of that difference, our post on Z87 vs Z87+ walks through the test.
The build follows the Flynn family. Spy uses Grilamid for the frame, a nylon-based material that flexes instead of snapping when you sit on it in the truck. The lens is a 4-base polycarbonate ARC mono-lens, so you look through one continuous shield with no center seam, and the hinges are pin hinges. What the Super Flynn adds is coverage at the edges: extra side lenses that close the gap between the shield and your temple, which is where grit, sawdust, and tire-machine spray tend to find their way in.
Every pair also blocks 100 percent of UV, so the lens does the sunglasses job as well as the safety job.
Super Flynn vs Flynn: how to tell them apart
This is the mistake buyers make most often, and it is an easy one to make, because the two frames share a silhouette and a name. The Spy Flynn is a lifestyle sunglass. It is a great one, with Happy Lens options and the same tough Grilamid frame, but it is not sold as Z87 eyewear, and neither is the Flynn 5050, which is Spy's slightly modified version of the Flynn shape.
If the glasses are going on a job site, a range, or anywhere a safety manager is going to look at your face, buy the Super Flynn. The rating is printed on the frame and the lens, so a quick look at the temple settles it. If they are only going on the boat, the regular Flynn gives you a polarized lens option the Super Flynn listing does not.
The Flynn and the Super Flynn look like twins from across a parking lot. Only one of them gets you past the safety manager.
Which lens to pick
The Super Flynn runs on Spy's Happy Lens, which is tuned to boost color and contrast while cutting the light that tires your eyes out over a long day. We break down how it works in Spy Optic Happy Lens, explained. On our store the Super Flynn comes in five frame and lens combinations:
- Matte Black / Gray Green. The straight, no-mirror option. Neutral color, works for most outdoor light, and the one that looks most at home on a crew.
- Matte Olive Green / Bronze Pewter Warmth Mirror. A bronze base adds contrast in flat or changing light, which helps with depth on uneven ground.
- Matte Purple / Gray Green Pink Mirror. Same gray green base with a pink mirror on the front. Purely a style call.
- Matte Sand / Gray Green Black Mirror. The low-key mirror. The sand frame reads well against desert-tone workwear.
- Transparent Matte Black / Gray Green Orange Mirror. The loudest of the five, with a see-through frame and a bright mirror.
None of the five is listed as polarized. For most job sites that is fine, and in some cases it is an advantage, since polarized lenses can wash out LCD screens on equipment and phone displays. If you work around water or wet pavement and glare is the real problem, the Spy Rebar SE offers a Gray Green Polarized option with the same Z87.1+ rating.
Fit: who the Super Flynn suits
This is a big frame. Spy lists the Flynn family as a medium-large fit that works best on round and oval faces, and the Super Flynn shares that oversized shield shape. If you have a wide face or a big head and most safety glasses pinch at the temples, it is one of the more comfortable Z87 frames you can buy. If you have a narrow face, it can sit loose and slide, and a loose safety glass is a safety glass with gaps. In that case look at a compact frame in the Spy Optic collection instead.
Fit is not a cosmetic question on the job. OSHA's eye and face protection standard, 29 CFR 1910.133, expects protection that fits the person wearing it, because a frame that rides down your nose leaves the top of your eye exposed.
Who should buy it
The Super Flynn makes the most sense for someone who has to wear Z87 eyewear and refuses to wear something that looks like it came out of a vending machine. Tire and auto techs who move between the bay and the lot, landscapers, ranch hands, and anyone who wants one pair for the shift and the drive home. It belongs to the same group of frames we covered in cool safety glasses that don't look like safety glasses.
It is less suited to someone who needs ballistic-grade protection for shooting, where Wiley X has the edge, as we lay out in Wiley X vs Spy Optic safety glasses. It is also not the right pick if you need a prescription built into the lens. For the full lineup of Spy's rated frames, start with our Spy Optic safety glasses buyer's guide.
If you run a crew and want frames like this on everyone, our corporate safety eyewear program lets the employer choose monthly invoicing or payment at checkout, with pairs shipped to each employee's home or to the shop or job site.
Common questions
Are Spy Super Flynn sunglasses Z87 rated?
Yes. The Super Flynn is sold as ANSI Z87.1+ safety sunglasses, meaning the lens passed the high-velocity impact test. Check the frame and lens markings to confirm on any pair you buy.
What is the difference between the Spy Flynn and the Super Flynn?
The Super Flynn is the safety-rated version. It keeps the Flynn's oversized Grilamid shield and adds side lenses for extra coverage. The regular Flynn and the Flynn 5050 are lifestyle sunglasses without a Z87 rating.
Are Spy Super Flynn lenses polarized?
The five Super Flynn options we carry use Happy Lens gray green or mirrored lenses, and none is listed as polarized. If you need a polarized Z87.1+ Spy frame, the Rebar SE has one.
Do Spy Super Flynn sunglasses fit a big head?
They are among the better options for one. Spy rates the Flynn family as medium-large and best for round and oval faces. Narrow faces usually do better with a smaller frame.
If you want one pair that clears the safety check and still looks like real sunglasses, see the Spy Super Flynn or browse the rest of the Spy Optic collection.
