The Rudy Project Ability Sunglasses, which are Rudy Project’s sports glasses made specifically for women, are a little like the relationship I had with one of my exes: When it was good, I was madly in love and thought he was the perfect fit; but when it was bad, I wanted to punch him in the face and throw him in front of a large moving vehicle. Except with the Abilities, when they’re bad I actually want to throw them on the ground and stomp on them until they’re nothing but tiny little pieces of plastic. Of course, they’re pretty durable, so I’d probably do more damage to my shoe than the glasses. But I’d still *want* to be grinding them into dust.
So for this review, I have to separate the good (which is fantastic) from the bad (which turns me violent).
THE GOOD
The best thing about these glasses is the fit. Finally, someone made glasses for women by looking at women’s actual faces, and not just taking a guy’s face and trying to make it smaller. Meaning they not only look great on small faces, but they also fit snugly without gripping your head too much, and the lenses give complete coverage without looking like a ski mask. They’re mad comfortable no matter how many hours you spend in the saddle and they don’t slip and slide even in torrential downpours or 100-degree heat with 90-percent humidity. Half the time, I forget they’re on my face – which is not surprising given that they’re a super-light 25 grams.
The second best thing about these glasses are the lenses, which are all kinds of awesome. I have the 3-lens set that comes with the Gloss Lava version of the Ability glasses, and, after a year of using them, I’ve never felt like I wanted anything else. The multilaser red is dark enough for any midsummer ride or run. I’ve used them on midday runs in Miami in August (which I don’t recommend unless you want to pass out) and never had a problem with the brightness or with the glasses slipping. The transparent is great for early-morning winter rides that end before the sun ever makes an appearance. And the bichromatic pink works whenever it’s overcast or the light is going to change a lot as you ride. They don’t scratch, it’s a snap to take one set of lenses out and put another in, they’re easy to clean and the case is lightweight and durable. If the three lenses I have aren’t right for you, they have 5 other options for you to choose from.
So, they’re comfortable, look good, have every lens choice that you could ever want and work really well in most conditions. What could be wrong with them? Read on.
THE BAD
The achilles heel of the Abilities is that they’re horrible for bike rides in the cold – especially training rides where I’m doing a lot of hill repeats. Nine times out of ten, if it’s below 60 degrees out, they fog up as soon as I start riding up a hill, and before I get to the top I’ve taken them off and stuffed them in a pocket. This may be endemic to most if not all cycling glasses, because they reduce fog by allowing the wind to blow behind the glasses (keeping the temperature even on both sides), but there’s not a lot of wind when you’re climbing uphill. Or maybe it’s just a problem for slower climbers like me because we generate less wind as we go uphill. But whatever the reason, it’s incredibly annoying, especially once you start descending and would really like to have glasses on to block the wind and debris. In theory you could just put them back on, but it’s virtually impossible to do so with one hand, so once you take them off, they’re off until you stop (if you’re me) or get to a place where you can ride with no hands (if you’re someone who can ride with no hands). I know, this seems like a small thing, but it drives me bonkers that I can’t rely on them for half the year, especially when everything about them is so great.
So, like my ex, I’ll keep them around… until I find something that I like better (or I throw them over a cliff).
Grade: B
Pros: Comfortable, durable, light, look great and have fantastic lens options (and easy-to-change lenses).
Cons: They fog up like crazy when it’s cold out.
-Lauren
