Kuboraum P8 vs P9: Two Geometric Masks, Compared
In short: the Kuboraum MASK P8 is a 53-17-145 aviator with a straight acetate brow bar, sold optical at $706 and sun from $706, in sixteen colorways. The MASK P9 is a 49-23-145 squared hexagon with no brow bar, sold optical from $572 and sun at $604, in five. They are close in overall width; the P8 carries it in the lens, the P9 in the bridge.
Kuboraum names every frame a MASK, and two of them get confused with each other more than the rest. The P8 and the P9 share the house's signature move — a lens with the corners cut off instead of rounded — and both are chunky Italian acetate. Side by side on the tray they look like two takes on the same idea.
They are not. One is an aviator and one is not, and that single difference changes almost everything about how they sit.
The two at a glance
| MASK P8 | MASK P9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 53-17-145 | 49-23-145 |
| Front width (approx.) | ~123 mm | ~121 mm |
| Shape | Cut-corner aviator with a brow bar | Cut-corner squared hexagon, no brow bar |
| Material | Italian acetate | Italian acetate |
| Optical | Yes — $706 | Yes — from $572 |
| Sun | Yes — from $706 | Yes — $604 |
| Colorways | 6 optical, 10 sun | 4 optical, 1 sun |
The brow bar is the whole argument
The P8 runs a straight acetate bar across the top of the frame, with the bridge sitting separately underneath it. That is aviator construction, and it does two things: it draws a hard horizontal line across your brow, and it lets the lens be wide and shallow without looking unfinished at the top.
The P9 has no bar. The lens goes all the way up, the corners are cut top and bottom, and the bridge is a deep, wide span rather than a thin one tucked under a bar. The outline is closer to a squared-off hexagon than to anything aviator.
Size: the same width, distributed differently
On paper these are nearly the same frame: about 123 mm across the front for the P8, about 121 mm for the P9, and an identical 145 mm temple. Nobody is going to feel two millimetres.
What they will feel is the bridge. The P8's is 17 mm, the P9's is 23 mm — a six-millimetre gap, which is a lot at the nose. A 17 mm bridge sits closer and higher; a 23 mm bridge spans wider and drops the frame slightly. If frames have historically pinched across the top of your nose, the P9 is the one to try first. If they slide down, the P8 is.
The lens tells the same story in reverse. The P8's 53 mm lens is wide and shallow — the brow bar takes the height that would otherwise go to glass. The P9's 49 mm lens is narrower but noticeably deeper, which is what makes it the easier of the two to put a progressive lens into.
Colour: the P8 is the bigger catalogue
The P8 is carried in sixteen colorways across the two versions. Optical: Dark Blue & Military Green, Blue Black Shine & Havana Grey, Black Matte & Black Shine, Teal Grey, Caramel and Dark Tortoise. Sun: Cyan, Black Shine & Ivory, Dark Red & Ivory, Black Matte & Havana, Biscay Bay, Champagne, White, Black Matte Khaki, Black Shine and Tortoise, and Brown Sugar & Black Shine Tortoise.
The P9 is far narrower: Mint, Fuchsia, Black Shine Cream Dark Grey and Black Shine in optical, and a single Orange in sun. Kuboraum builds in limited seasonal runs and retires references, so with only five P9 colorways in circulation there is much less room to wait for the one you want to come back.
Price
The P9 is the less expensive frame. Optical it is $572 — $588 in Mint — against $706 for any P8 optical colorway, a gap of roughly $130. In sun the P9 is $604 and the P8 is $706, rising to $743 for Dark Red & Ivory, Biscay Bay and Champagne.
So which one?
Choose the P8 if you want the frame to be the first thing anyone notices. The brow bar is a hard horizontal that reads across a room, and the wide shallow lens keeps it from looking heavy. It is also the choice if you want options: sixteen colorways against five, and the only one of the two with a real sun catalogue.
Choose the P9 if you want Kuboraum's geometry without the aviator vocabulary, if narrow bridges have pinched you before, or if you are putting a progressive lens in — the deeper lens gives the corridor more room. It is also about $130 less.
Both are cut-corner acetate MASKs from the same house, hand-finished in Italy, and neither is a safe frame. The honest answer is that the brow bar decides it, and the brow bar is something you have to see on your own face.
Try both at the boutique — 76 Norcross Street, Suite B, Roswell — or call or text (470) 729-2020 to check what is physically on the shelf before you drive over.
Shop the two
- Kuboraum MASK P8 — optical and MASK P8 — sun
- Kuboraum MASK P9 — optical and MASK P9 — sun
- The full Kuboraum collection and the Kuboraum brand story
More on Kuboraum
- Kuboraum's Machinery Series and Materials: How a Mask Is Built
- Kuboraum optical Masks
- Kuboraum sun Masks
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Kuboraum P8 and P9?
The brow bar and the proportions. The P8 is a 53-17-145 aviator: a wide, shallow cut-corner lens under a straight acetate brow bar that runs across the top of the frame, with a separate bridge beneath it. The P9 is a 49-23-145 squared hexagon with no brow bar, a deeper lens and a much wider 23 mm bridge. Both are cut-corner geometry in Italian acetate, so they read as siblings from a distance and as different frames on the face.
Is the Kuboraum P8 bigger than the P9?
Across the front they are close — roughly 123 mm for the P8 against roughly 121 mm for the P9 — and both run a 145 mm temple. The difference is where the width sits. The P8 puts it in the lens (53 mm) over a narrow 17 mm bridge; the P9 puts it in the bridge (23 mm) over a smaller 49 mm lens. If a frame has ever sat too tight across your nose, that 6 mm of bridge is the number to look at, not the overall width.
Can you get the Kuboraum P8 and P9 with prescription lenses?
Yes, both, and in both forms. Gazal Eyecare carries the P8 as an optical MASK and as a sun MASK, and the P9 as an optical MASK and as a sun MASK. Our licensed opticians fit prescription lenses in any of the four, including prescription sun lenses and custom tints from our in-house lens bar.
How much do the Kuboraum P8 and P9 cost?
At Gazal Eyecare the P8 optical is $706 in every colorway and the P8 sun is $706, rising to $743 for Dark Red & Ivory, Biscay Bay and Champagne. The P9 optical is $572, or $588 in Mint, and the P9 sun is $604. So the P9 is the less expensive frame by roughly $130 optical to optical.
How many colorways do the Kuboraum P8 and P9 come in?
The P8 is the wider choice: 6 optical colorways and 10 sun colorways, sixteen in total. The P9 has 4 optical colorways — Mint, Fuchsia, Black Shine Cream Dark Grey and Black Shine — and a single sun colorway, Orange. Kuboraum produces in limited seasonal runs, so any given colorway can be in stock, special order, or retired.