The market for sunglasses has become a bit unreasonable, wouldn’t you say? When it’s possible to spend more money on a pair of lenses than the rest of your outfit combined, that’s an indication the market has gone a bit haywire. Fortunately there’s Ryders, a company who makes great high-performance sunglasses at a price even weekend warriors can afford.
Features
- 100% UVA, UVB, and UVC protection
- Shatterproof polycarbonate lenses
- Duraflex frames available in three colors
- Adjustable anti-slip nose pads and temple pads
- Three interchangeable lens colors: dark gray, orange, and clear
- Visible light transmission: 15% (gray), 47% (orange), 99% (clear)
- Lined hardshell zipper case
- MSRP $60
Ryders Eyewear VTX Sunglasses Review
British Columbia-based Ryders got its start in motorsport and winter sports eyewear, but they’ve made great strides in catering to runners as well, and the VTX is packed with attractive features that appeal to cyclists, trail and road runners alike.
Low-profile, high-strength Duraflex frames have a great lightweight feel, and the anti-slip coatings at the temple and nose become slightly sticky as you sweat to help hold them in place. I had very little bouncing or slipping with the VTX, either during long trail runs or 400-meter repeats at the track. Fit is further dialed in with embedded memory wires in the nose and temple tips, giving you some customization if necessary, but I found them very comfortable right out of the box.
The VTX comes with three lens types, all of which are shatterproof, optically correct, scratch-resistant, and provide 100% UV protection. Switching lenses is a snap, and all three of them fit in to the zipper case, so it’s easy to make a last-second decision on lens type once you get to the trailhead. While the gray lenses are ideal for track workouts with full sun exposure, the orange color, with improved contrast in lower-light conditions such as canyon trails or heavy tree cover, would probably be the better recommendation for trail runners.
Ryders doesn’t sacrifice fashion for performance’s sake either, as the black or white VTX frames would be stylish with your post-workout activewear. The bright red color, maybe not so much.
Good VTX
- Great lightweight feel
- Minimal bouncing or slipping
- Easy to switch lenses rapidly
- Clear lenses for crossover to cycling/MTB
- Very affordable
Bad VTX
- On one multi-hour run, the coating on the temple started to grip my hair a bit, and caused slight discomfort over one ear. It was an isolated problem that didn’t happen again.
Bottom Line: Ryders Eyewear VTX Sunglasses
Ryders VTX offer an impressive combination of quality construction, performance features, and comfort, at a price point that makes it hard to justify paying top dollar for anything else.
Buy Now: RydersEyewear.com
2 Comments
Since you wrote this review have you changed your mind at all? I am concerned about changing lenses. Do they become less secure over time? Does the handling end up damaging the lenses or frames?
Ron: Nope, I haven’t noticed any loosening of the lenses. My biggest concern would be dropping them from clumsiness, but I just have to remember to be careful.