I was cleaning road grime and sweat from the five-year-old cheap-ass sunglasses I wear while cycling after a ride a few weeks ago. They’d been looking pretty rough for a while, but I was still surprised when the plastic under the nose bridge broke and one of the lenses fell out. Rather than trying to fix it, I decided to shop around and replace them with some sunglasses that were designed for the conditions of my sport.
I looked at several options, including replacable lenses with prescription inserts, custom-milled lenses for sports sunglasses, and whatever happened to be available at my local optical shops. The competition came down to 3 glasses which were comfortable, seemed to provide good coverage to keep out wind, water, and road grime, and were, dare I say it, at least somewhat stylish.
The contenders were, in ascending order of total cost, a pair of Adidas sports glasses with prescription inserts from my local Pearl Vision, the Rudy Project Kerosenes with prescription inserts, and Oakley Half Jackets with custom lenses and no inserts. All three glasses had removable lenses, a feature I wanted for flexibility of riding in different light conditions. I intend to ride year round, so I will have everything from full-on high summer noon-day blaring sun to barely-lit grey weather in the winter.
The Adidas would have cost about $200 complete with prescription inserts, the Kerosene’s came out to $280, and the Half Jackets would have been more like $380. The Adidas felt kind of cheap to me, and I had heard and read only positive reviews of the Kerosenes, so I decided to take a risk and try those mail order; there were no local vendors. The other feature that convinced me to try the Kerosenes over the Half Jackets was the prescription inserts. They seemed very low-impact; even on the website it was difficult to see them in the product photos. A far cry from the BCD-like prescription inserts I tried from Bolle in the early 1990’s! The prescription inserts give me the advantage of being able to use those interchangable lenses without paying for my prescription to be filled each time.
I ordered the Kerosenes and the prescription insert blank from e-rudy, and received them on the third day after my order. I took the insert to my optometrist, who was able to fill it for me in about two hours. I payed a little bit more for high-impact plastic, but I’m glad I did, because it is pretty tight under these wraparound style sunglasses, and I think with thicker plastic, I might be annoyed by my eyelashes brushing on the inserts.
All I can say is that I am completely satisfied in every way with these glasses. They are my favorite cycling accessory purchase, ever. They are very comfortable, with pliable/adjustable ear pieces and nose piece, and they fit snugly but are not too tight. The build quality is very high, and I am sure the durability will be correspondingly high. As for performance on the bike, they keep the wind, water, and grime out of my eyes, so my eyes don’t get tired even on 6 hour rides. There are two lens positions, one of which allows for some venting and a little bit of air flow. I’ve tried both lens positions, and neither one is prone to fogging, even in the extreme humidity I encounter in the early-morning on these Georgia country roads.
The accessories are also top notch. The microfiber bag is something I have come to expect when I buy glasses, and it’s nice as it doubles as a cleaning cloth for the plastic lenses, but the hard case is an unexpected bonus. It is also high-quailty with a durable snap, and I don’t hesitate to toss the glasses in my kit bag when they’re safely nessled inside this fortress of a case.
So far, the lenses seem very durable. They ought to be, since Rudy Project offers a lens replacement program if you mess them up in any way. It looks like replacement lenses would cost about $20-$40, depending on which lens. That is a substantial discount from retail, and is valid even if the lenses need to be replaced due to abuse, intentional or accidental.
If you are in the market for some awesome cycling or running sunglasses, with or without prescription inserts, I highly recommend the Rudy Project Kerosenes.