Posts Tagged travel eyewear
Cinzia Designs Bullit Aviator-Style Sunglasses
Cinzia Designs Bullit Sunglasses
Stylish and smooth, these cool sunglasses from Cinzia Designs will turn heads on the beach this summer. Their aviator-style lenses have clean, sharp lines and a larger style that is not bulky or heavy on the face. In the heat, their lightweight nature makes them especially comfortable. They come in either black or brown and with a high-quality, hardshell carrying case that keeps them safe in your beach bag or briefcase.
Cinzia Designs is well-known for its fashionable accessories and eyeglasses, and this masculine outdoor pair is no exception. The company makes use of its European heritage and know-how in producing quality eyewear, which is highly evident.
The temple bars are coated in a smart leather fabric lining that gives them an elegant and unique touch. It is unlike any other type of sunglasses that I have ever seen, and the leather trim gives it an edgy, masculine look. There is a double bar over the nose, which gives the larger rims more of a balanced appearance rather than looking like a set of dumbbells on your nose!
The UV400-polarized lenses provide the ultimate in sun protection, and the adjustable nose frames allow you to keep them comfortably on your face even while active in the hot sun. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves about glasses is that they can slip down your nose when you get slightly sweaty, but these are malleable enough to conform to your face.
Their sturdy frames prevent them from getting easily twisted in a briefcase or laptop bag (when you forget to store them in the sturdy case that comes with the glasses), and the large lenses sit perfectly on top of your head for that occasional dash of sunshine you want to experience. When you wear them, the lens is nearly opaque from the opposite side giving you more privacy than other types of lenses, especially handy if you want to snooze without anyone knowing!
They make a great back-to-school gift especially for college students and can be purchased online at www.CinziaDesigns.com.
Posted by Ramsey in Adventure Gear, Business Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on August 22nd, 2011
Ryders Eyewear Sunglasses: Looking Good at Half the Price
Sure, we like to try out fancy travel clothing and expensive sunglasses, but what really gets us excited here at Practical Travel Gear is when we find a great bang for the buck. That’s definitely the case with the sunglasses I’ve been wearing around lately that came from Ryders Eyewear.
I checked out this company’s booth near the end of the Outdoor Retailer show in January, after I’d already made the rounds seeing sunglasses that retail for $150, $250, and up. (I won’t even talk about the $369 ski goggles I saw…) It was refreshing to try these on and then do a double-take when I saw the tags: $69.99 for the polarized Rockslide ones pictured at the top and 45 bucks for the Hijack ones pictured below. “The most expensive glasses we sell are $90″ was my favorite quote of the day.
These are not your basic mall kiosk cheapies though. Those Hijack sunglasses, for instance, come with three interchangeable lenses in different shades. They have adjustable soft nose grips and rubber “temple tips” that hold them in place, but have grooves to let the heat/air escape. They also look darn cool when I’m wearing them.
As for the other pair, when’s the last time you saw a pair of good, comfortable, polarized lens sunglasses for $70 or less? (Street market bootleg ones that just have a sticker saying “polarized” don’t count.) I’ve worn these on a lake, at the beach in Zihuatanejo, and to a swimming pool in the past month and they’ve performed as well as pairs with a sticker price of two or three times that amount.
So what’s the downside? They’re not quite as “precision engineered” feeling like you get with a pair of Serengeti or Costa del Mar sunglasses, and in my tests the lenses tended to smudge a bit easier with fingerprints. But hey, you can buy a lot of lens cleaning cloths for the $70 or $100 you’ll save picking up the Ryders.
These two models, which both come in six colors, are just the start. Ryders makes a whole line of reasonably priced, good-looking sunglasses, including some for biking or other outdoor activities. They also make some ski goggles that will not cost you $40, not the equivalent of a week’s lift ticket. See more at RydersEyewear.com.
Get the Ryders Rockslide Polarized or the Hijack sunglasses at Amazon.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on March 23rd, 2011
Julbo Multi-functional Bivouak Sunglasses
At the Outdoor Retailers show earlier this year, I spent a lot of time checking out sunglasses from different companies. I came away thinking that setting yourself apart with specific sunglasses is almost as hard as doing it with socks. Most of what makes one pair of sunglasses more expensive than another is pretty subtle until you put them on read the specifications. It’s hard to talk about “features” as much as technological innovations in the lenses and frame types.
So I was drawn to these Julbo Bivouak sunglasses because they do actually have some features to set them apart, plus there’s a bit of double-duty gear action with these. Sunglasses that aren’t wraparound generally don’t protect you from the sunlight coming in through the side. That can be bad for your eyes and your skin—especially since this area of the face is where crow’s feet wrinkles start as you age. If you’re climbing a snowy mountain or skiing, it’s even more of an issue because of the reflective rays.
So the Bivouak sunglasses have these little magnetic shields on the side to block off the area. When you need them, they shield the sides of your eyes from the harmful rays. When you don’t, like in the car, you can just pop off the shields and stow them.
There’s no need to attach Chums or some other kind of cord: there’s one built into the design. The included adjustable cord hooks into small holes at the end of the earpieces. As with the shields, this is removable when you don’t want or need it.
The model I’ve been testing came with a Zebra photchromic lens. I’m a big fan of photochromic lenses that get lighter or darker according to the conditions. I found I could keep these on all the time as I moved through sun and shade, car and parking garage, outside to inside. They fully change from a shade-worthy category 2 to darker category 4 in only 28 seconds. The Zebra lenses also have built-in anti-fog properties, which passed with flying colors when I tested them against some cheapo sunglasses. Going from crisp air conditioning to humid outdoors, plus biking on a foggy morning, these lenses stayed clear. There are small vents built into the top corner too, a feature I’ve always appreciated with Tifosi shades, as this seems to keep my eyes from getting teary when I’m biking downhill or skiing fast.
The Julbo Bivouak sunglasses come in seven colors and three different lenses, with the latter determining the price (list of $120-$190). This is at the high end of Julbo’s range—these are geared to serious climbers, skiers, and mountain bikers more than casual travelers. With the ability to adjust the shields and the cord as needed, however, they can be the only pair you need to carry for a wide range of activities.
See more styles at JulboUSA.com and see more of our Julbo reviews here.
Check Julbo Bivouak sunglasses prices at Campmor
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on June 16th, 2010
Bollé Sunglasses for Kids
Finding kids’ sunglasses that fit well, will last a while, are reasonably priced, and aren’t pieces of junk isn’t easy. These Bollé sunglasses fit the bill and have three great attributes on top. 1) The kid likes them. 2) I like them. 3) They haven’t broken yet.
As I mentioned in this review of Chums sunglasses straps earlier, it’s hard to justify spending good money on sunglasses for kids because odds are they’re going to either lose them or break them in no time flat. The problem is, their eyes are even more sensitive than ours, so you feel like a guilty parent outfitting them in dollar store cheapies of questionable sun blocking ability. This is especially important if you are taking kids hiking at high altitude, boating out on the water, or to a mountain for spring skiing.
These Bollé Breezy sunglasses generally run $30 to $40 at retail, about the price of a good pair of kids’ sneakers, but for that you get shatter-resistant polycarbonate lenses that block 100% of UV rays and very strong but flexible nylon frames. There are absorbent rubber grips on both the nose and the ears so they stay on the little one’s head easily.
The key attribute for me is that these are cool enough and comfortable enough that there’s not much whining involved when I give the order to wear them all the time when we’re in the bright sun. My daughter’s version picture here is girly pink, but there are three other colors including the Crystal Lime ones at the bottom.
These are meant for kids 7-10 years old, but Bollé has a whole line of other options. They start with strap ones that are suited for tiny toddlers on up to the very suave Sarah style for ages 9-12. The Bollé site is in Flash, so get on something not using the iPhone operating system to check out the whole product line for kids, men, and women—sunglasses and goggles.
Posted by Tim L. in Kids and Family on April 14th, 2010
Julbo Travel Sunglasses
Eyewear manufacturer Julbo is known for its performance sunglasses, especially for mountaineering and other extreme sports. I know plenty of outdoor enthusiasts who love Julbo’s shades for kayaking, biking and skiing, as well. But the company has a softer side, with an entire line of “Travel” eyewear — many styles of which can move seamlessly from the hiking trail to a cocktail party. I found my dream pair of travel sunglasses in the Angel shades.
Angel sunglasses are a wrap-around style. They do fit snugly (wearers with ultra-long eyelashes, beware), but not too tight at the temples. I’ve worn a pair of black Angels nearly nonstop for the past month, and they feel just as new (no loosening at the temples) as when I received them in the mail. And I wear my sunglasses a lot — not only over my eyeballs for sports, driving and sightseeing, but also on top of my head to keep my hair out of my face when I’m sitting in the shade.
Typically, I pack two pairs of sunglasses when I travel — one for everyday activities and one for sportier adventures. Not so anymore with my Julbo Angels. This versatile style can truly do double duty. I’m not exactly sure I fully understand the ins and outs of their unbreakable “Category 3 Polarizing Lenses with anti-reflect coating,” but I do know the lenses are dark grey (just how I like them) and keep me from squinting in bright sunlight.
My colleague John is also a fan of Julbo eyewear, in particular, the Run shades designed for biking.
The Angel style sells for $100 and comes in shiny black or girly pink.
Posted by Kara in Travel Light on July 21st, 2009
