Rudy Project Rydon Review (plus prescription insert review)
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
212.61497
Summary
In this episode, Jon talks about a new product he bought from Rudy Project, the Rydons. These are a great pair of eyeglasses for cycling and mountain biking. They have laser-red photochromic lenses, plus a prescription insert for people like me who have weaker eyes as we're getting older.
Transcript
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Hi there, it's John and I just wanted to talk a little bit about a new product I
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bought for my cycling, both road and mountain biking, and it comes courtesy of
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Rudy Project. I'm going to tell you a little bit about the Rudy Project Ride-On
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Glasses with laser-red photochromic lenses, plus a little added thing, the RX
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insert, the prescription insert for people like me who have weaker eyes as
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we're getting older. So I'll tell you a little bit about that. Maybe you can make
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a good judgment when it comes to buying sunglasses when you're out running or
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riding or doing anything outdoors. So let's take a look at the Rudy Project
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Ride-Ons. A little bit of background information for you before we get on to
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these actual glasses here. I've been a Rudy Project fan and user for for many
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years now. I've had a pair of Rudy Project sunglasses for about six or seven years
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and these ones I bought, oh again, about six or seven years ago. These are the
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Rudy Project kerosene, which have been just terrific glasses for me. As you can
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see, they're mirrored, kind of a smoky gray lens in them. Do a great job for
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for cycling. They keep the wind out, they're easily adjustable, and I've
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really enjoyed wearing these glasses. I actually have an extra set of lenses for
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these ones. I bought the yellow ones because when you have a dark, a darker day
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or it's a little bit gloomy out there, you've got some overcast sky. These really
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help to brighten things up when you're out cycling. Now recently, I started talking
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to my wife a little bit about these lenses. I've taken good care of these
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glasses, but as you know, you drop them, things happen over the years, you get a
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little bit of scratches on them. So I said to my wife, you know, I'm getting
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scratches on these lenses, it'd be nice to get something new. So I contacted Rudy,
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asked him about getting replacement lenses for these glasses, but I did know that
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these ones had been discontinued a little while ago. They do not make
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replacement lenses for these anymore, unfortunately. But Rudy stood up and said,
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listen, if you'd like to get another pair of glasses, we'll give you any glasses
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that we've got and you can get them for 50% off. So after looking at other glasses,
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I ended up turning in or actually wanting to buy these ones. These are the Rhyons,
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a very popular model, if not the most popular model that Rudy makes. These have
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laser red photochromic lenses in them. Plus I've got the RX insert. I'll tell you
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about that in just a moment. I really, really like these glasses. First of all,
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a little bit about the lenses. These ones change as the light changes. So in darker
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days, they're clear. And as you can see, they just came out of the case. Basically,
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they're almost clear right now. You could wear these glasses inside, no problem. And
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they would be almost clear. But as you get into brighter light, they get darker. I think
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they cut off between 75 and 80% of the UV rays when you're in bright sunlight. And they
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change absolutely flawlessly when you're out riding. I've ridden these both on the road and
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mountain biking. And I think the key to this type of lens is that you don't know that they're changing.
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You just go from different light levels and they're changing seamlessly. You don't really
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notice it happening, which is exactly what you want. They cut down on glare beautifully. You're not
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going to see any of the sharp flares when you're looking at things. And I've ridden them on the mountain
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bike trails it as well. And as you can imagine, you're going from open sky into woods and back
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and forth. Never even really noticed them changing at all. So they work just perfectly for you.
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They're also nice because they're easily adjustable. They've got the adjustable nose
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piece, which you can bend in and out, move forward and back the way you like them. You can get them off
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your face more. They also have these arms, or I guess the temple mounts that can be bent,
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which you can bend them to shape your face so that they'll stay on nice and tight. I found these were a
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little bit stiff at the beginning. And I found that as you, if you put them on for a little
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bit, they warm up. I think they bend a little bit easier that way, but really no problem bending them.
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And once they're bent, they stay that way and they stay on your face. As far as the weight of these
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glasses, I think they're about an ounce or maybe a little less than an ounce. You really aren't going
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to notice them on there. I found myself every once in a while pushing up on them because I was wondering
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if I still had them on, which is a good thing. That's not a bad thing at all. They were staying put.
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They didn't move at all. And you really don't notice them on your face. Also for being a cyclist,
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if you're ripping down a mountain, I live in Alberta, Canada, you want to be able to look out
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over your bars when you're down in the drops and you're trying to get aerodynamic, maybe going 80
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to 90 kilometers an hour down a mountain. You want to make sure you're keeping that wind out. Now,
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I haven't had a chance to go 90 K an hour down a mountain with these, but up to 70, 75 K,
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I don't really notice a lot of wind getting in, but there is enough air getting behind them that
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they don't fog up, which can be a problem if you're cycling. They wrap around nicely. And again,
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the clarity is terrific with these glasses. You're going to really like them if you do end up buying
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them. Now, as you can see, I have got the RX insert. This is my prescription lens, which I sent away
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for from Rudy. They came back within seven to 10 days quite quickly and they snap right into the
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frame and they stay in there. I'll tell you, I was kind of concerned about putting them in,
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thinking they might pop out. If you know, if I was out, I hit some bumps out on the road.
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They do not come out. They came with these little, little bumpers, as you can see down in the corner
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here, these little rubber bumpers, just to provide a little bit of a cushion in between the actual RX
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lens and the sunglass lens. So they're not rubbing against each other. And I actually had to take them
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off so I could reposition them to get them exactly where I wanted them. And they're actually hard to
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get out. That's a good thing. They're not going to come out right now. And I don't think I'm going to
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really take them out of these glasses ever again, although I can put them into these ones. They will
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fit, which is kind of nice. If I ever want to switch them out, I can wear these glasses as well.
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So the clarity of the lenses is terrific. Again, I live in Alberta, so I get to see the mountains a
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little bit better right now. They don't add a lot of weight to the glasses. You can certainly feel it.
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I have a very, very weak prescription. I only need it for distance. Beyond about 10 meters,
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I get a little bit blurry and it doesn't get all that much blurry as you go out into infinity for me,
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but they do add a little bit of weight. It might be a little heavier. If you have a stronger
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prescription, they might have to make the plastic lenses a little bit thicker. So that might be a
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consideration for you, but I really didn't notice wearing them at all with the lenses in there.
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But I'll tell you, it's so nice to be able to see clearly now after so many years of riding with
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these without prescription lenses at all. Never really noticed it. Now I wish I had the RX insert
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for these all those years because they really add so much more to my riding. What can I say about them?
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I think they're terrific. I think I paid about $135 for the glasses altogether. Just the glasses.
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Again, that was about 50% off. And my prescription inserts were a little dear at about $217. Luckily,
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covered under my prescription plan at work. So I didn't have to pay anything for those. It was
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completely covered. Well worth it. I am a Rudy fan. I have been for a long time. For seven years,
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six, seven years, I've been riding with Rudy Project glasses. They stood up for me to get me these ones for
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a very good price. I can't recommend these any more than this. They're just terrific glasses.
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You're going to love them. I think I'll be a Rudy fan for a long time. Plus, they come with this really
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great hard case to protect them. And they come with this little bag as well to help you clean your
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glasses when you need to do that. Great product. The Rudy Project ride-ons with the laser red photochromic
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lenses and the RX insert. Great product. Can't recommend them enough.