Ombraz’s Armless Sunglasses Are a Combined Bag

Sun shades have not adjusted much due to the fact they caught on in the late 1920s, when an entrepreneur started providing them in New Jersey. Models have evolved, body materials and lenses have gotten improved, but the nuts and bolts of their construction today are essentially the very same as those to start with ones sold on the Jersey Shore. That’s what can make the shades from Ombraz all the additional intriguing. As an alternative of standard sidearms, the company uses a skinny nylon strap to maintain them on your experience, like a long lasting version of sun shades straps that you can tighten.

Ombraz has a number of designs, all of which aspect the same know-how and are billed as just about indestructible and primary for adventures like paddling, biking, and climbing. We have been enthusiastic about the layout when the manufacturer launched two many years back, and for the earlier several months I’ve been testing a new design, the Leggero ($140). I have run and biked a couple of hundred miles wearing them, climbed with them, and pleased-houred with them, and I generally lived with them glued to my face for a week for the duration of a bikepacking journey by way of the desert when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. After frequent testing in the discipline and around city, I like the Leggero. I also hate it. Enable me reveal. 

What I Like

I dig the significant, squarish frames they make me glimpse like a morally bankrupt movie producer from the seventies, which I like. And there is a good deal to love about these sunglasses beyond aesthetics. Ditching the sidearms is extra than just a shtick—it’s very damn sensible. Most sun shades rely on restricted sidearms to continue to keep them snug against your experience, but they can induce aggravating tension points guiding your ears, which can transform into head aches if you wear them for far too very long. The nylon strap with two sliding toggles on these retains them secure without any apparent points of call, so the Leggero remains surprisingly comfortable, even immediately after a prolonged day of use. And I like hanging them from my neck, locked and loaded for when the sun breaks by.

The deficiency of sidearms also cuts weight (the Leggero is 20 grams, on par with superior-end jogging eyeglasses), while eradicating those small screws that are a hassle to get again in when they inevitably fall out. And, yes, eschewing sidearms for a strap can make them tough to crush. I threw them on the ground and stepped on them whilst putting on climbing boots, and they always emerged unscathed. I put them in my back again pocket and sat on them repeatedly, and they arrived out very good as new (which claims a thing, as I weigh 190 lbs .). Granted, the lenses—polarized glass from Germany—will gather scratches, but the frames themselves are pretty pliable. 

Seems like a like affair, correct? Not so rapid.

What I Dislike

Placing these glasses on and having them off is a pain in the ass.

The procedure is not technically difficult—it’s just loosening or tightening the nylon strap, but these actions require two palms, and a lot of the issues I do in sunglasses also require two palms. That means I have to get both of those arms off the handlebars or off the rope when I’m belaying (really do not do this). If I’m carrying a helmet, there is an extra layer of complexity, because the Leggero’s strap gets caught in the helmet’s strap. And if I’m ingesting a beer and it will get sunny all of a unexpected, I have to put down my brew. Unacceptable.

I have a few minor gripes, far too. I’d prefer grippier nose pads—the Leggero requires more tension to prevent slippage when I’m operating up a sweat. And there’s a slight learning curve to the tightening procedure: it took me a few days to eventually find the sweet place with the strap rigidity. 

The Upshot

So, yeah, I loathe these sun shades a minimal little bit, but does that outweigh my love for them? Hell no. The greatest compliment I can give to a pair of shades is that they vanish on my facial area. And that takes place all the time with the Leggero. I set them on, I do the factors I’m accomplishing, and I fully ignore I’m sporting them. Bravo. So even while I’m hyperaware of the Leggero for the duration of any transitions (when they come to be cumbersome and call for two opposable thumbs), I’m nevertheless preparing on carrying them on bluebird times when I’m snowboarding this winter. I’m also seeking ahead to strapping them on at the seashore this spring and summer. I will certainly paddleboard, and probably even surf, with these eyeglasses. And I’m positive I won’t drop them, simply because they are glued to my head. 

Obtain Now