Do These Make Me Look Fast?

Wouldn’t it be great if you could take home a pair of expensive sunglasses to test on a few runs before plucking down your hard-earned pennies? I got just that opportunity when someone sent me adidas Supernova L eyewear to review. I immediately looked up the average suggested retail price -- $135 to $145 – and decided to treat these with kid gloves (hence, I never even took off the stickers).

The Supernova was invented with collaboration from some Tour de France cyclists (one a stage winner) and the craftsmanship shows, particularly the "decentered" opticals that create distortion-free vision. I loved loved loved the reflective lenses that wrap around the entire eye area and protect again all kinds of harmful sunrays. They can be adjusted for various heights and outfitted for prescription lenses too, though my eye sight didn’t require that.

Despite the wide coverage, these glasses somehow also provided good ventilation, which proved important when I really put the lenses’ anti-fogging feature to the test. Every pair of sunglasses I've ever owned have fogged up once my face heats to a certain point, whether I’m running or riding my bike. But on the bike it's particularly dangerous for me since it impairs my vision while I’m going at a good clip or struggling to get up a huge hill. In a road or trail race, it’s just super annoying.

These lenses stayed clear, no matter how much heat and sweat my face generated. Hooray! And speaking of sweat, my second favorite feature is the double-snap nose bridge. It’s plastic and pliable and yet stays just where you plant it, sweat and all. It’s also quite comfortable – something I can’t say about my Oakleys at the moment. Oh, and did I mention it’s “helmet compatible”? Very nice.

My pair let you look at the world a bit rose-tinged and it took me some time to get used to that view. I found myself squinting until I acclimated. The very lightweight (24 grams) glasses come with both a soft and hard carrying case, and when I wasn’t wearing them, that’s where they remained. As such, I can’t say anything about whether they are truly scratch-resistant since I resisted trying to do just that.

Then again, maybe that’s how I should treat sunglasses anyway, instead of stuffing them in my car cup holders or the bottom of my handbag when they are not in use. Now all I need to do is convince myself to buy my own pair of Supernovas, because I really do like what I see.