John Bolton - Rudy Project Rydon Review (plus prescription insert review)

00:00:00.400 Hi there, it's John and I just wanted to talk a little bit about a new product I

00:00:05.320 bought for my cycling, both road and mountain biking, and it comes courtesy of

00:00:10.440 Rudy Project. I'm going to tell you a little bit about the Rudy Project Ride-On

00:00:14.440 Glasses with laser-red photochromic lenses, plus a little added thing, the RX

00:00:20.920 insert, the prescription insert for people like me who have weaker eyes as

00:00:25.040 we're getting older. So I'll tell you a little bit about that. Maybe you can make

00:00:28.120 a good judgment when it comes to buying sunglasses when you're out running or

00:00:32.440 riding or doing anything outdoors. So let's take a look at the Rudy Project

00:00:37.000 Ride-Ons. A little bit of background information for you before we get on to

00:00:41.320 these actual glasses here. I've been a Rudy Project fan and user for for many

00:00:47.080 years now. I've had a pair of Rudy Project sunglasses for about six or seven years

00:00:51.160 and these ones I bought, oh again, about six or seven years ago. These are the

00:00:56.540 Rudy Project kerosene, which have been just terrific glasses for me. As you can

00:01:01.020 see, they're mirrored, kind of a smoky gray lens in them. Do a great job for

00:01:07.340 for cycling. They keep the wind out, they're easily adjustable, and I've

00:01:10.700 really enjoyed wearing these glasses. I actually have an extra set of lenses for

00:01:14.780 these ones. I bought the yellow ones because when you have a dark, a darker day

00:01:19.280 or it's a little bit gloomy out there, you've got some overcast sky. These really

00:01:22.460 help to brighten things up when you're out cycling. Now recently, I started talking

00:01:27.500 to my wife a little bit about these lenses. I've taken good care of these

00:01:30.860 glasses, but as you know, you drop them, things happen over the years, you get a

00:01:34.940 little bit of scratches on them. So I said to my wife, you know, I'm getting

00:01:37.760 scratches on these lenses, it'd be nice to get something new. So I contacted Rudy,

00:01:41.540 asked him about getting replacement lenses for these glasses, but I did know that

00:01:46.100 these ones had been discontinued a little while ago. They do not make

00:01:50.360 replacement lenses for these anymore, unfortunately. But Rudy stood up and said,

00:01:54.760 listen, if you'd like to get another pair of glasses, we'll give you any glasses

00:01:59.000 that we've got and you can get them for 50% off. So after looking at other glasses,

00:02:04.120 I ended up turning in or actually wanting to buy these ones. These are the Rhyons, 0.98

00:02:08.360 a very popular model, if not the most popular model that Rudy makes. These have

00:02:12.840 laser red photochromic lenses in them. Plus I've got the RX insert. I'll tell you

00:02:18.200 about that in just a moment. I really, really like these glasses. First of all,

00:02:23.160 a little bit about the lenses. These ones change as the light changes. So in darker

00:02:28.280 days, they're clear. And as you can see, they just came out of the case. Basically,

00:02:31.560 they're almost clear right now. You could wear these glasses inside, no problem. And

00:02:36.280 they would be almost clear. But as you get into brighter light, they get darker. I think

00:02:39.960 they cut off between 75 and 80% of the UV rays when you're in bright sunlight. And they

00:02:45.640 change absolutely flawlessly when you're out riding. I've ridden these both on the road and

00:02:51.560 mountain biking. And I think the key to this type of lens is that you don't know that they're changing.

00:02:57.720 You just go from different light levels and they're changing seamlessly. You don't really

00:03:03.800 notice it happening, which is exactly what you want. They cut down on glare beautifully. You're not

00:03:08.040 going to see any of the sharp flares when you're looking at things. And I've ridden them on the mountain

00:03:13.720 bike trails it as well. And as you can imagine, you're going from open sky into woods and back

00:03:19.240 and forth. Never even really noticed them changing at all. So they work just perfectly for you.

00:03:24.120 They're also nice because they're easily adjustable. They've got the adjustable nose

00:03:27.960 piece, which you can bend in and out, move forward and back the way you like them. You can get them off

00:03:31.640 your face more. They also have these arms, or I guess the temple mounts that can be bent,

00:03:37.320 which you can bend them to shape your face so that they'll stay on nice and tight. I found these were a

00:03:41.560 little bit stiff at the beginning. And I found that as you, if you put them on for a little

00:03:45.640 bit, they warm up. I think they bend a little bit easier that way, but really no problem bending them.

00:03:49.560 And once they're bent, they stay that way and they stay on your face. As far as the weight of these

00:03:55.320 glasses, I think they're about an ounce or maybe a little less than an ounce. You really aren't going

00:03:59.160 to notice them on there. I found myself every once in a while pushing up on them because I was wondering

00:04:03.960 if I still had them on, which is a good thing. That's not a bad thing at all. They were staying put.

00:04:08.200 They didn't move at all. And you really don't notice them on your face. Also for being a cyclist,

00:04:14.280 if you're ripping down a mountain, I live in Alberta, Canada, you want to be able to look out

00:04:20.040 over your bars when you're down in the drops and you're trying to get aerodynamic, maybe going 80

00:04:24.280 to 90 kilometers an hour down a mountain. You want to make sure you're keeping that wind out. Now,

00:04:28.440 I haven't had a chance to go 90 K an hour down a mountain with these, but up to 70, 75 K,

00:04:33.240 I don't really notice a lot of wind getting in, but there is enough air getting behind them that

00:04:38.200 they don't fog up, which can be a problem if you're cycling. They wrap around nicely. And again,

00:04:43.960 the clarity is terrific with these glasses. You're going to really like them if you do end up buying

00:04:48.600 them. Now, as you can see, I have got the RX insert. This is my prescription lens, which I sent away

00:04:55.880 for from Rudy. They came back within seven to 10 days quite quickly and they snap right into the

00:05:01.720 frame and they stay in there. I'll tell you, I was kind of concerned about putting them in,

00:05:06.760 thinking they might pop out. If you know, if I was out, I hit some bumps out on the road.

00:05:10.120 They do not come out. They came with these little, little bumpers, as you can see down in the corner

00:05:15.240 here, these little rubber bumpers, just to provide a little bit of a cushion in between the actual RX

00:05:20.760 lens and the sunglass lens. So they're not rubbing against each other. And I actually had to take them

00:05:27.800 off so I could reposition them to get them exactly where I wanted them. And they're actually hard to

00:05:32.440 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

00:05:38.280 really take them out of these glasses ever again, although I can put them into these ones. They will

00:05:43.560 fit, which is kind of nice. If I ever want to switch them out, I can wear these glasses as well.

00:05:47.560 So the clarity of the lenses is terrific. Again, I live in Alberta, so I get to see the mountains a

00:05:52.840 little bit better right now. They don't add a lot of weight to the glasses. You can certainly feel it.

00:05:57.960 I have a very, very weak prescription. I only need it for distance. Beyond about 10 meters,

00:06:04.040 I get a little bit blurry and it doesn't get all that much blurry as you go out into infinity for me,

00:06:09.000 but they do add a little bit of weight. It might be a little heavier. If you have a stronger

00:06:12.600 prescription, they might have to make the plastic lenses a little bit thicker. So that might be a

00:06:16.440 consideration for you, but I really didn't notice wearing them at all with the lenses in there.

00:06:21.640 But I'll tell you, it's so nice to be able to see clearly now after so many years of riding with

00:06:26.920 these without prescription lenses at all. Never really noticed it. Now I wish I had the RX insert

00:06:33.800 for these all those years because they really add so much more to my riding. What can I say about them?

00:06:39.080 I think they're terrific. I think I paid about $135 for the glasses altogether. Just the glasses.

00:06:46.120 Again, that was about 50% off. And my prescription inserts were a little dear at about $217. Luckily,

00:06:51.400 covered under my prescription plan at work. So I didn't have to pay anything for those. It was

00:06:56.360 completely covered. Well worth it. I am a Rudy fan. I have been for a long time. For seven years,

00:07:03.720 six, seven years, I've been riding with Rudy Project glasses. They stood up for me to get me these ones for

00:07:08.280 a very good price. I can't recommend these any more than this. They're just terrific glasses.

00:07:13.560 You're going to love them. I think I'll be a Rudy fan for a long time. Plus, they come with this really

00:07:18.920 great hard case to protect them. And they come with this little bag as well to help you clean your

00:07:23.800 glasses when you need to do that. Great product. The Rudy Project ride-ons with the laser red photochromic

00:07:31.160 lenses and the RX insert. Great product. Can't recommend them enough.

John Bolton - April 25, 2017

Rudy Project Rydon Review (plus prescription insert review)

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