Rudy Project Sunglasses Recommended for Outdoor Sports
Dave Aiello wrote, "About the time I competed in the Cape May Biathlon, I bought a pair of Rudy Project Kerosene sunglasses for myself. I bought them primarily because I was frustrated with the reliability problems I had experienced with Oakley M-Frames, but also because I was looking for a single pair of sunglasses that I could wear in races and in everyday use."
"I first saw Rudy Project sunglasses when I started watching the 'Spring Classics' cycling races on The Outdoor Life Network. It took a little while to find product information about them on the Web, and much longer to get see a pair in a store here in the United States. But, they looked like the most durable sports sunglasses I had ever seen. Once I got a pair, I found that they performed better than I expected."
Dave Aiello continues:
Rudy Project sunglasses combine the durability that I came to expect from fashion eyewear brands like Serengeti, Ray-Ban, and Maui Jim, with the aerodynamic properties of brands like Oakley and Bolle. Wearing a pair of Kerosenes on the street may get you a second look from people who notice unique sunglasses, but you will not be subjected to the endless stream of Terminator / Arnold Schwartzenegger jokes that seem to follow every Oakley M-Frame wearer.
Rudy Project advertises its frames as more durable and its lenses as more scratch-resistant than other technical eyewear, and I would tend to agree with that. Amateur athletes who have worn sunglasses in sporting events in the past may not realize how gently they have treated their sunglasses up to now. But, with Rudy Project, I found that I could wash them off with water, wipe them off with a hand towel, and generally, treat them a lot less gently than the Oakleys that I had been used to wearing.
It frustrates me to have to constantly compare Rudy Project to Oakley, but these comparisons are inevitable given Oakley's massive adverstising budget. I have a great deal more respect for Oakley since I read Lance Armstrong's book, It's Not About the Bike, but still I find their plastic and composite-framed sunglasses a poor value, due to their tendency to break. The metal-framed Oakley sunglasses, on the other hand, are simply too expensive for most amateur athletes.
Rudy Project sunglasses are much more durable and a better value for the money. The Kerosene model that I wear contains a high percentage of metal parts, and this has resulted in far greater durability, in my opinion. They are also less expensive than comparable sunglasses from other manufacturers.
My experience with Rudy Project in comparison to Oakley is not unlike my experience with New Balance in comparison to Nike. Both Nike and Oakley have some durable products in the product lines, but many of their products are not durable. For the money they charge, all of their products should be quite resilient.
So, in summary, I highly recommend Rudy Project sunglasses. I hope that in the new outdoor sports season, they are easier to find in retail stores in the United States. But, they are available from many specialty optical stores, and worth the investment.