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!
