XX2i Sunglasses

The Runningswede has been trying new 2014 sunglasses products together with Team Wicked Bonkproof founder/coach Caleb Masland. The sunglasses in this review has been tested during all kinds of weather conditions and work outs in New Jersey and North Carolina. We started to test the sunglasses back in February so the products has been trough a lot of different weather conditions. Brands featured in upcoming reviews are:
Julbo, Ryder, Sundog, Tifosi, Nike and XX2i.


First out...

XX2i
XX2i is a new brand to us we have tested the models: "France2" and "USA1". XX2i starts at retail prices $54. What really sticks is that the brand really stands behind their products! Lifetime Warranty! No questions asked, you break or scratch them, send them back to be replaced for a nominal shipping and handling fee! The products we tested came with 3 lenses and a case.

USA

Overall Rating: Very Good

Fit: Frames fit close to the face without too much contact (only at the nose bridge and ears). These frames are a bit more stiff than the other options tested, and did feel a bit hard, especially around the nose.

Sun Blockage: Excellent blockage for bright and direct sunlight. The mirrored lenses create a yellowish hue in the field of vision, but the total darkening effect was best with these.

Venting/Antifogging: The lenses feature an air vent at the top that helps prevent fogging. These glasses are not 100% fog-proof, and did tend to get a little cloudy in humid conditions or after sweating for a while.

Interchangeable Lenses: Yes (mirror, brown, clear)

Best For: Runners seeking a smaller lens size and good sun blockage.

Drawbacks: Lens and nose piece shape had a tendency to create a sweat reservoir that would then dry as a blurry spot in the field of vision. Heavy sweaters will need to clean these lenses often.

France2

Overall Rating:  Excellent

Fit: France2 has a slim fast design. They fit close to you face and you barley notice them on your run. Frame is light weight and the nose pads and temple tips is adjustable for a better fit.

Sun Blockage: The blue colored lens offer a comfortable protection in direct sun and bright white sun. I have not experienced any discomfort when running in any weather conditions.

Venting/Antifogging: We have tested them during really cold winter runs and warmer runs and the lenses did fog up during really cold weather runs. 

Interchangeable Lenses: France2 comes with 3 interchangeable lenses. Very easy to change and you will find a lens for all kinds of weather.

Best for: With all features and the warranty of XX2i France2 you can not go wrong. You get a great package and great protection in most kind of weather conditions fast feeling for under $60. 

Drawbacks: Not the best option in cold weather running as lens fogs up.

Tifosi Podium Review

During my years of cycling and running I have been trying a lot of different sunglasses. For some reason I wear the glasses in almost every weather conditions. It kind of just feel right to me. For me good sunglasses should protect you from all weather elements and everything mother earth has to offer, including big bugs. Today I'm preparing for Boston marathon 2013 and log apx 65 miles per week, so for me a good pair of sunglasses is important. In the past I have been using brands like NIKE, Julbo, Briko, some smaller brands I cant not even remeber and lately Oakley and their Jawbones. The jawbones never felt right, although Oakleys optics are outstanding. To me the jawbones felt heavy and clumsy, I never got the feeling for them and they never felt fast. Oakley has more lighter sunglasses to offer but I felt I was done with them, mostly because of the price tag.

So when I started to train for Marine Corp Marathon 2012, I started to look for something lighter. I have always kept my eyes on Tifosi Optics but its not until now that I decided to buy a pair. I was looking for "frame less" sunglasses that also cover the face a bit more. In this category  you find brands like Smith Optics (PivLock) and Oakley (Radar, still have the frame above the lenses). When looking at this glasses I decided to try Tifosi Podium out. Basically because they had the best price tag and also had the best look.


The Podiums I have been using when running is the metallic red framed ones. The red frame  includes a fototec lenses. Tifosi offer four other colors of the Podium, all these comes with three different lenses. The four other colors of the frames are, matte black, metallic silver, neon orange and sky blue. Tifosi also offer a smaller version called: Podium S

Lenses: The frame attach to the side of the lenses and the lenses offer a great view, nothing that interfere with your sight. The fotoec technology could have been more affective. To be honest with you, I can not even tell the difference from day to day and I kind of feel like they should be darker during really sunny days and lighter during less shiny. To me the lenses stay the same a pretty much every weather conditions. If I would have ordered the glasses today, most likely I would have choose one of the one with the three lenses for more options. The glasses and the lenses has not fogged up once to date and that is one of my top priorities when looking at sunglasses. I can not stand a pair of sunglasses that fogs up during your run. One concern is the quality of the lenses, after a month of usage, I found small cracks around the noose tip. I contacted Tifosi and they offered to  take a look at them for a $15 fee. I choose not do this as good custom service for a damage product should be free.

Fit: The Podiums really shines here! You can pretty much bend all the parts until the fit you like a glove. During the run, they stay put and you don't even notice that you carry sunglasses. Myself did not need much adjustments, just a few bends and I was ready to go.

Conclusion: Tifosi has a really good product here, with an awesome fit. Bend them right and they will stay put.  They do not fog up but the fototec lenses could offer more. Today I would have bought the three lenses option. The quality could be a problem. My glasses got cracks around the noose part already after a couple of weeks. The cracks has not expand after this and I do not notice them while running. They are just annoying to me when looking at my Podiums. And as said above I really feel like Tifosi should offer a free service for a product that is damaged after a couple of weeks old .
With Tifosi I have found glasses that I really like with an awesome fit and do not have to look back after my expensive Oakley Jawbones. Price-wise the Tifosi's are simply unbeatable!