Rudy
Project is the maker of high-end Italian
crafted sunglasses, helmets, and goggles.
They have been making prescription eyewear since 1985 and have received
the award for the #1 most-worn aero helmet at the IRONMAN® World Championships. They have developed quite the following,
especially in the triathlon world.
One awesome thing about Rudy Project's sunglasses is that they are backed by an unbeatable 3 Year
Frame Warranty and industry-leading Replacement Lens Guarantee, meaning that
consumers can opt to replace scratched lenses at a nominal processing fee, no
questions asked. I reviewed the Rudy Project Fotonyk
Sunglasses as a BibRave Pro in December of 2016. I
recently got to test out the Airgrip, which is new for
2017.
Paul Craig, the President and
Co-Founder of Rudy Project North America described the Airgrip as follows: “The
dynamic and fluid design is perfect for just hanging out and chilling
outdoors. It’s the ideal all-in-one gear
piece that looks killer on men and women alike.
I believe our engineers really nailed it with this one!”
The reason that Paul thinks this is
that the Airgrip is customizable
on-the-fly. You can change out the
temple guards from a soft closed-cell peripheral shield to an open-cell comfort
pad. You get a set of the comfort and
peripheral pads with your Airgrip and they are
available in different colors to match your personality. You also get a hard case and cleaning cloth
with your purchase.
The inspiration of the interchangeable
pads came from a photographer for Rudy Project, Jordan Rosen, who submitted a
photo of someone wearing casual sunglasses with duct tape flaps around the
temple arms. This is an old
mountaineering trick that is designed to block out blinding side-light and keep
more of the dangerous UV rays from reaching your eyes (1).
The Airgrip weighs in at 1
ounce, which is super-light. It has
ventilation holes in the temples as well as at the bottom of the lenses. There are different lens options, from
polarized to grey to green and even photocromatic lenses that change from clear
to darker lenses depending on the amount of sunlight. These are the shades I tested and really love
the transition option. It’s perfect for
running on trails and bike riding from dusk to dawn. One major issue I have with sunglasses while
trail running is taking them off when you are protected from the sun by trees,
by then have open fields where the sun is beating down on you. Many people just didn’t wear sunglasses, but
photocromatic lenses are a great solution to that problem.
I found that these are extremely
comfortable sunglasses and the fact that you can change out the temple guards
depending on how much light you want to block out is a great feature. The Airgrip retail for $149.99
to $199.99 depending on the type of lenses you get. You can also purchase different colored
temple guards as well.
Pros:
Looks awesome with interchangeable
temple guards
Light weight at 1 ounce
Well-designed vent holes in the temples
arms and lenses
Comes with a case, and cleaning cloth
Great warrantee
Decent price for premium shades
Rudy Project’s Social Media Links:
In the world of running and cycling,
there are tons of products to choose from.
While there are an overabundance of sunglasses out there and I have to
say that the Rudy Project Airgrip can do it all. You can pick up yours at the Rudy Project website. Give them a
try and let me know what you think.
Note: I received this product
in exchange for a review. The review is my personal opinion of the
product and I was not required to give a particular opinion of it. I am not a doctor, so please use all of the
products that I review at your own risk.
References
(1) https://www.rudyprojectusa.com/press/?p=8999
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