The future's so bright.... Ryders Eyewear Photochromic Review

Ryders Eyewear Shelled Photochromic

Sorry all for the long delay between blog posts.  I've been working on a number of reviews, but things kind of came to a screeching halt a few weeks ago when the Waldo Canyon Fire started just outside of Colorado Springs.  It's been a crazy week of prepping to evacuate, watching the devastation created by the fire, finally seeing it get under control, and then leaving on a road trip!  The fire started in the middle of one of my favorite trails...  to see what it looked like before this fire... click here.

Ok... on to more fun things.  As you know I love trail running, and have had fun reviewing a variety of minimalist trail running shoes.  But in this case, I get to review some great trail running sunglasses from Ryders Eyewear.  Ok, these could be running glasses, riding glasses, etc... but of course I'll review them from a trail running perspective.

The primary purpose of sunglasses is of course to provide protection to our eyes from that thermo-nuclear bad boy we call the sun.  This protection is very important, and even more so in the high-altitude Rocky mountains where we squint just a few miles closer to that ball of incandescent gas.

Photo courtesy of NASA

From that perspective alone, Ryders has it totally covered. Most sunglasses block out UV rays, but Ryders provide very comprehensive protection.  As noted on their website, "Some eyewear brands block 100% of UV rays, but only to 380nm, which means they’re letting the harmful, high-energy blue light through. All of our lenses however, of every tint and shade, block 100% of UVA, UVB, and UVC rays and harmful blue light to 400nm. These harmful rays are a leading cause of cataracts, skin cancer and wrinkles around the eyes—all great reasons to block them out"

But, beyond protection from the sun, I also look for trail glasses to provide protection from flying debris, branches, Sasquatch etc...  Again, Ryders delivers with shatter-proof polycarbonate lenses, that are also optically correct. In other words, there is literally no distortion from the lenses.  Additionally, the frames are constructed from TR90 thermoplastic, from Switzerland, that is flexible, light-weight, and very durable.

http://ryderseyewear.com/photochromic

Another one of the features I liked most about these sunglasses were the photochromic lenses.  These lenses are tinted light enough that I can put them on in the predawn low-light, and I have great visibility. Then, after the sun comes up, they darken very quickly.  This allows me to run in varied light conditions, without having to constantly put the glasses up on my hat, and then back down. Additionally, the brown tinted lenses actually enhance a lot of what I see.. similar to driving glasses, allow me to see the roots I trip on very clearly before taking a header.

Finally, I really appreciate the wrap around styling and venting provided by Ryders. In particular, I am running in the "Shelled" style, and it has some really great venting.  Some sunglasses get fogged up on me, especially since I run really hot/sweaty, and somewhat slowly... so keeping lenses clear can sometimes be an issue. However, the venting on this particular style works extremely well... further allowing me to wear them all the time.  However, even with good venting, strong winds are deflected from your eyes very well. 

Most Ryders Eyewear models retail between $69.99 to $89.99 a pair.  Considering the quality of features and construction of these glasses, I think they are a terrific value. When researching other glasses, I've found a number of pairs in the $150+ range, but I don't think you need to spend that much.  And if style is important to you... check out their webpage... they have a ton to browse through!  I highly recommend the photo-chromic lenses though.. especially for trail running.

As always... if I've missed something or you have a question/feedback.... let me know!

Oh.. and of course, with a post titled this way, this is MANDATORY!



Stay tuned for great interview with The Pikes Peak Guy... and a give away!!

Happy Trails!

Jeff
http://barefootinclined.blogspot.com/