Ryders Sprint Review

You have to wonder who Ryders sold its soul to in order to produce this three-lens sport shade for 50 bucks. No matter. What you get is an ideal lineup of polycarbonate lens tints bundled neatly in a soft-sided zippered case, so you’ve got a lens at the ready for virtually any situation. The gray lens is for bright light; its visible light transmission is 15%. The orange (an affectionate persimmon, I’d say) has 47% VLT, and the clear is, well, clear. All three are 100% protective against UVA and UVB light and wrap nicely for sidelight protection. You can’t expect brilliant optics at this price point, and you don’t get them. But these are decent and functional lenses: Sprint is an ideal beater set. The flexy temples grip well. Rubber nose pads are awfully rigid, but at least they’re adjustable; you can nail an optician fit. The system is everything I like and don’t like about interchangeables. Like? The aforementioned range of lenses. Perfect. Dislike? You really have to manhandle them to get them into the frame. Be sure to carry a lens cloth, because you’ll have your grubby fingerprints all over them before they click in. I found myself wearing the orange lens most of the time and forgoing the swap hassle, because a hassle it is. Wear them for virtually any land-based sport; they’re even ventilated to prevent fogging on a mountain bike climb. But nonpolarized Sprint isn’t a good choice on or around water. Not RXable. $50. Info: ryders.com.