Goodr and Tifosi

Several weeks ago, I lost my casual sunglasses. Normally I would have made a quick replacement purchase but then something occurred to me. There was a solution that might cost a little more but would solve another running dilemma that I had been pondering.

I ran for roughly ten years before investing in a pair of running sunglasses. I eventually bought a pair as I was moving to Colorado and was told that with the abundant sunshine, especially when it has recently snowed, they’re essential. This is true. Eventually, my first pair wore out and I purchased a replacement pair. The brand is Tifosi.

For everyday sunglasses a sport style (where the frames don’t wrap all the way around the lenses) doesn’t cut it for me. For running I prefer it as it allows for much better peripheral vision. My current Tifosis are the sport style, they have a neon green frame (which may help a little with being visible), and the lenses darken and lighten depending on the intensity of the light. Strictly for running purposes, these are outstanding. For everyday wear, they’re a little intense.

When I travel, I have always debated whether to pack my running sunglasses. Bringing them in their case, which would protect them, would take up a fair amount of room in my backpack and I try to travel light. Also, I don’t want to risk them getting damaged by putting them loose in my backpack.

This is where, when I lost my casual pair, an everyday and travel solution in the name of Goodr came in. The brand is relatively new to the running market and their “thing” is that they make inexpensive ($25-35) running sunglasses with polarized lenses.

When purchasing my Tifosi glasses I had not considered Goodrs because the frames wrap all the way around the lenses. Unlike the sport style, the Goodrs work well for everyday wear in that the look, while a little out there, isn’t nearly as intense. The casual polarized sunglasses I bought in the past ran $16-20 so the Goodrs were only a little more. Even better, I had a solution for having running sunglasses when I travel as I could just wear/carry the Goodrs like I would my normal sunglasses.

For running, the Goodrs are excellent. They don’t give me quite the peripheral vision that I prefer but I can see well enough and the benefits of having them when I travel outweigh having the frames all the way around. Though they don’t darken and lighten like the Tifosis, they sit very well on top of my head so that when I’m going through an underpass or darker patch, I just push them back, then drop them in front of my eyes again when I need them. Other casual sunglasses I wore sometimes needed some break-in time if they squeezed my head but the Goodrs fit like a glove on day one.

I had thought about comparing Tifosi and Goodr for a post but the reality is that the pairs I own are two completely different products and each serve their purpose well.

Different sunglasses work well for different people, and we have our own sense of styles. But, there are plenty of options out there and you may be able to combine uses with them. (Generally I am vehement about keeping running products for running only; for sunglasses I make an exception.)

Running food review of the week: (note–gels, bars, chews, and other items affect everyone differently. Try them on a short run before using them for a key training run or race): Clif Shot Double Espresso: Wow. This stuff has 100mg of caffeine and tastes like rich coffee ice cream. However, be prepared for the caffeine and make sure you need it. It hit me in what seemed like seconds. I took it before I was going to run and while putting on my running clothes, I could feel it. Besides that, it did its job well and I could feel the caffeine effects through my run.