The Karboneye by Rudy Project was selected last summer by Outside’s buying guide as one of the best sunglasses of the season. These ultra mod shield readers don’t just look cool, they actually sport a number of features you can’t beat in a pair of sports sunglasses. It starts with a carbon temple that has been mold injected with ergonomic megol. This super durable and lightweight piece is then connected to the featherweight polycarbonate shield. The two pieces combine to offer a obstruction free view. Add to this an adjustable nose piece for a perfect fit and these sunglasses can’t be beat.
Available in 5 frame /lens combos at this writing. You can shoose a shield for golf and tennis, a grey polarized version, photochromic red perfect for racing, standard laser black lenses or clear photo options.
Maui Jim has just announced they will be removing glass lenses as an option from their authentic RX Sunglass program effective April 1, 2010. The reasons are many but the main one is modern consumers are looking for lightweight, impact resistant alternatives in prescription sunwear.
In my mind this is great. Glass lenses always present the potential of shattering and eye injury and one can never know when to expect something could fly up at them. This announcement makes very little difference in the area of eyewear for extreme sports, or sports in general. Any athlete knows that they should only wear lenses crafted of polycarbonate or other impact resistant materials to protect themselves from dust, debris or flying object, or even from lenses breaking or shattering themselves.
There are however a number of old school fans of glass lenses who might still like this option for driving or fashion when they aren’t engaging in sporting activities. So, if that’s you, I thought you should know about the change.
Oakley, manufacturer of various sports sunglasses, recently brough Zac Efron to Bondi Beach in Australia to help participate in promoting the eyewear for the surf community. In addition to Efron, his girlfriend vanessa Hudgens was also a celebrity draw on the sandy shores and can be seen in the attached pic toting an Oakley bag and sporting what appears to be a pair of Frogskin glasses.
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This post is only partially about sunglasses but is definitely related to vision and extreme sports. Steven Holcomb, the team driver for Team USA in men’s bobsledding just years ago was legally blind as a resuly of keratoconous, a degenrative eye disease. Keratoconous is difficult to correct with eyeglasses and in many cases even contact lenses are not able to fully correct vision. In extreme cases the stability of the cornea deteriorates to the point that surgery is required.
Holcomb was diagnosed with the diease in early 2000’s and battled it for years until reaching a point in the 2007/2008 season that he felt it was too dangerous to continue captianing his team. Seeing the potential in this athlete the US Olypic committee wouldn’t accept quitting the sport as the only option and arranged for experimental surgery to replace his lens in March 2008. The surgery, C3-R, basically treats the cornea with vitamins and ultraviolet light, the combination of which strengthens it. Then an artificial lens is implanted. Holcomb was fortunate and achieved nearly 20/20 vision
Post surgery Holcomb has been successful in leading his team to numerous victories and starting February 17 will lead the US team in Vancouver Olympics.
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