We make sunglasses
Polarised sport frames built for South African UV, and a premium acetate range for the days you're not chasing anything. Every frame carries a 12-month guarantee, a hardcase and a microfibre pouch.
Shop the premium collection →About Us
Cape Town · since 2023
Married, stubborn, and tired of the price tag.
Why does a decent pair of polarised sunglasses cost more than a month of groceries? The two of us couldn't find a good answer. So we built Wombat Gear at our own risk — and then started saving everyone else's frames too.
Sport & premium framesNyoo lens labBuilt in Cape Town
4.92★average verified customer rating
2023the year we got tired of the price tag
3,000+frame models we cut lenses for, across 50 brands
12mthguarantee on every Wombat frame
Our story
It started because we wanted a pair for ourselves.
Wombat Gear came out of a personal need: quality sport sunglasses at a price that didn't sting. Months of research, samples and dead ends later, the two of us stopped waiting for someone else to make them and did it ourselves.
The result was better than we expected — good enough that keeping it to ourselves felt selfish. But it raised harder questions. Could we design and build proper sunglasses at scale? Keep them genuinely affordable without going toe-to-toe with Big Enterprise? Build something bespoke, approachable and just lekker — and still back the underdog while we did it?
Turns out: yes. And Wombat was born.
What we actually do
Two halves of the same idea.
Keep good eyewear affordable — whether that means buying a new pair or rescuing the one you already love.
We rescue lenses
Scratched Oakleys, hazy Ray-Bans, corroded Maui Jims. Our Nyoo lab cuts custom polarised lenses for almost any frame — we courier them from your door and back, usually inside a week.
Custom cut replacement lenses →
Why a wombat
The ultimate underdog.
Ask an Australian what they think of wombats and you'll get a shrug. Short, chubby, stubby legs, a head built for squishing. Not the obvious choice for a brand.
But wombats dig warrens — tunnel systems over 200 metres long. During bushfires those tunnels stay cool, and rock wallabies, bettongs, skinks and little penguins shelter in them. The unglamorous animal ends up being the one that saves everyone else.
That's the whole brand in one marsupial. Back the small guy. Build the thing other people can shelter in. Don't be precious about it.
What we stand on
Six things we don't negotiate.
Just be lekkerEasy to deal with, on the phone and in the packaging. No corporate voice, no runaround.
Back the small guyLocal suppliers, local couriers, local clubs. The underdog gets the benefit of the doubt.
InnovateThe lens lab exists because nobody in SA was doing it. We'd rather build it than wait.
Take careOf each other and of your frames. Your old lenses come back in the box with the new pair.
Demand diversityDifferent faces, different sports, different budgets. Inclusion is a design brief, not a poster.
Always exploreTrails, coastlines, product ideas. Standing still has never suited us.
Inside the lab
How we bring a dead pair back.
Step 01You order, we fetchPick your lens colour online. A courier collects your frames from your door, anywhere in South Africa.
Step 02We measure and cutYour frames are traced and the lenses cut to spec in Cape Town, then fitted and quality-checked by hand.
Step 03Back on your faceReturned with a new case, a cloth and your old lenses in the box. Usually inside a week.
Not our words
The part we can't write ourselves.
★★★★★"Of the 1000 things that could have gone wrong, zero did. Keep up the service."
Dirk D. · Custom Cut Replacement Lenses
★★★★★"Cannot believe I nearly threw away my Prada. The lenses were completely worn out."
Craig C. · Custom Cut Replacement Lenses
★★★★★"Finally a South African option for replacing sunglass lenses. My Prada frames are saved!"
Busisiwe C. · Custom Cut Replacement Lenses
12-month guarantee on every Wombat frame
If your Wombat frame breaks within twelve months, we repair or replace it. Free of charge. Every pair ships with a rugged hardcase, a 100% microfibre pouch and a softcloth, so protection and cleaning are sorted before you leave the house.
Straight answers
The things people actually ask.
Where is Wombat Gear based?
Cape Town. Frames are designed here and every replacement lens is cut and fitted in our own lab before it ships. We deliver anywhere in South Africa in 2–5 working days, free over R1,250.
Can you fit lenses to frames you didn't make?
Yes — that's most of what we do. Oakley, Ray-Ban, Maui Jim, Costa, Prada, Gucci, Tom Ford and plenty of frames with no name on them at all. If the frame is structurally sound, we can almost always cut for it.
Who is behind the brand?
A married couple in Cape Town who set out to buy a decent pair of sunglasses and ended up making them. We back local suppliers and couriers, and we'd rather answer a WhatsApp than route you through a call centre.
Your move
