As I have said before, I am a sunglasses freak.
First of all, I dislike squinting because my face gets tired if I do it too long, and nobody likes having a tired face.
Secondly, I have a fear of getting poked in the eye, probably because I jabbed myself in the eye with a piece of paper when I was in 5th grade. My teacher thought I was faking, but the doctor said I had a scratched eyeball. See? I wasn’t faking, Ms. Bergman. I could have lost an eye, you horrible old sea hag.
Okay, maybe I’m overreacting a bit. Ms. Bergman wasn’t really a sea hag, but I’m absolutely serious about how much I love sunglasses, which is why I lurk around the Singletracks.com offices hoping to snap up any pair that comes through for review.
Tifosi Slope
This time I’ve gotten my grubby mitts on the Tifosi Slope. I’m already a fan of Tifosi eyewear because they make some pretty cool glasses at very competitive prices. The Slope’s MSRP is $59.99. That’s certainly more expensive than your typical drug store cheapo shades, but you get some great features for that price.
The first thing I noticed about the Slope glasses is the frames. My review pair are a pearlescent white, which is nice because white is by far the fastest color.
They’re made of a material called Grilamid TR 90. I looked it up, and Grilamid TR 90 is listed as “Food Contact Acceptable” by the Underwriters Laboratories, so if you get tired of using your glasses on your face you can use them as a big, weird spoon.
Grilamid TR 90 also has high resistance to UV, so the sun will have a harder time melting them or making the frames brittle over time. Out of the box, they feel strong, but slightly bendy. Speaking as someone who has smashed quite a number of glasses in his day, I suspect these will hold up nicely. That said, they’re still light on my face. Like I said before, no one likes having a tired face, so lightness of eyewear is key.
Tifosi claims the weight on these to be 34 grams, but mine weighed in at a skimpy 33 grams with lenses. For contrast, a pair of my very expensive glasses are only a few grams lighter at 29. I think that’s pretty close, considering how much lower the Slope’s MSRP is.
The Slopes are of the no-bottom-frame design, and come with three interchangeable sets of lenses: smoke, AC Red, and clear. For a long time I ignored the red/orange colored lenses in these interchangeable lens groups, but I’m warming up to them, especially when in the Eastern US, where we have lots of trees close to the trail. I don’t need the darkest lenses because I’m usually in the shade, but the clear ones are, well, clear. The middle choice is just right.
Bottom Line
Overal, I’d say if you’re looking for a new pair of interchangeable-lens glasses that you can wear on your bike, but you don’t want to spend every dollar you have, the Tifosi Slope is a good choice. Get ‘em on your face!
Many thanks to Tifosi for providing the Slope sunglasses for review.
