Tuesday, March 15, 2011

2011 Ryders Eyewear Hex Photochromic Sunglasses Review

The 2011 Ryders Eyewear Hex Photochromic Sunglasses are one sweet pair of shades. I received these glasses to test from our partner, Ryders Eyewear, back in February and have loved them since the first time I put them on.

Ryders Eyewear Hex Photochromic Sunglasses (2011)

Let's talk about the specs:

Photochromic, these glasses are auto-darkening in UV light situations (outside). They lighten when you return indoors, but these shades are not reading glasses so I'm not sure why you would be wearing them indoors in the first place. The photochromism is nice, however, because it also lightens and darkens inversely as the change in UV intensity. On a rainy day, these glasses are a lighter lens, on a bright sunny day they're darker. Pretty sweet feature, if you ask me.

Slacklining in the Gorge
Polarized, The Ryders Eyewear Hex 2011 glasses are polarized. Most of you know what a polarized lens is, however few people understand why they're better. Polarization is the process by which light waves align themselves. Light waves either travel in Sin waves horizontally, or vertically. Polarized glasses only allow one of these orientations to pass through. This process doesn't exactly make things darker, what it does is reduce glare. When sunlight reflects off a surface (car hood for example), the light rays come off mostly in one orientation. Polarized sunglasses block this orientation of light, thus reducing glare off of surfaces. Polarized glasses are particularly useful for water surfaces and any other surface that reflects sunlight.

Hex
My experience:

These glasses make driving a pleasure. As I mentioned earlier, they reduce glare from cars and windows. This makes it easier to focus while driving and present a sharper image. During my driving to Red River Gorge, KY, I spent about eight hours driving through the rain. Even with overcast skies the glasses didn't make things too dark. They reduced glare and made it easier to focus with rain covered roads and tire-mist in the air. I have no objective way to confirm this, however, I think the Ryders Eyewear Hex glasses even increased my vision distance during the rainy days.

On the trails these shades protect from twigs and dirt by wrapping fully around your eyes and following the contour of your face. They even saved me a couple times from getting a branch in my eye. These shades stick to the side of your head with a soft rubber inner lining the temples. Even when running for extended periods these shades never moved at all nor do they squeeze my head uncomfortably. They feel secure and through hiking the Red River Gorge, cycling, and running I never once had the sense that they might fall off.

I would recommend the Ryders Eyewear Hex Sunglasses (2011) to anyone looking for a good pair of outdoor adventure sunglasses that can be used daily. They're ultra comfortable, solidly made, and they come with a nice case to prevent any accidental damage when they're not on your face. Very well done, Ryders!

8 comments:

  1. They look good on you, i want a pair!

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  2. Thank you Dana. I would definitely recommend Ryders to anyone. They definitely have a cool-factor. :P

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  3. Thanks for the review - I'm currently looking for a pair of sunglasses for road cycling and am considering Ryders... Do you have any input as to whether side/top vision is obstructed at all while cycling, particularly when riding on the drops? The glasses seem a bit on the small side, and I'm wondering whether the frame itself may interfere with line of sight...
    Thoughts?
    Thanks a bunch.
    Rob in Montreal

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  4. Rob,
    The glasses are not small, in my opinion, they cover your full field of view. The only time your vision might be affected by the frame is if you're pushing your eyes all the way up to see but I believe that's true of any pair of sunglasses. The frame on these, around the lenses, is actually rather minimal and sits up above (or at least equal to) your brow line. I've never once had these shades on and said to myself "Damn, I can't see something". I've taken them cycling on the road and on the trails and never had any kind of problems. I really do like these shades and I don't think you'll find any issues.

    Hope this helps!

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  5. Rob,
    I read your post.
    I think Casey address most of what I would mention about frames and vision. However, if you are looking for a larger lens you may want to consider the CALIBER or the SEEKER.
    Happy riding!
    Chris

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  6. AnonymousMay 01, 2011

    Ryders are great but I prefer Smiths. The Smith Backdrop is a great option any outdoor activity.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180658852809&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

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  7. Thank you very much, I hope to buy one of these.

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  8. Great sports sunglasses! It looks like my new Oakley Flack Jacket sunglasses.

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