RUDY PROJECT SPINAIR 57 REVIEW

Review by Drew Rohde | Photos by Dusten Ryen

I have to admit, when I think of Rudy Project, I usually think of weird Euro helmets and angry-dad baseball glasses. Recently we were given the opportunity to look through Rudy’s lineup and were surprised to see the casually inspired Spinair 57 in the lineup. With a more traditional, Wayfarer-ish styling to them, the Rudy Project Spinair 57 is a prime example of the brands active lifestyle offering. Despite the casual style, I was going to be putting these glasses to the test on trail rides all summer long as this is my preferred style of sunglasses.

THE LAB
Built around RP D centered optics, the Rudy Spinair 57 glasses are designed to offer eye protection and top visual performance. Rudy claims their technology neutralixes ultraviolet radiation up to 400 nm, offering UP 400 protection while also offering color integrity. Rudy offers a wide variety of glasses and different colored lenes with different treatments from antifog, hydrophobic and photochromic technology to meat the demands of riders in different environments.

Rudy Project Spinair 57 glasses come in eight different flavors from mild to pretty wild. Naturally, I selected a toned-down all black set, and after this test period, I may reach out to try and get a pair of the tortoise-shell looking brown ones too. If you love mirrored lenses or bright colors, rejoice as they’ve got lime green, red, orange and blues as well.

The Spinair 57’s are very comfortable and feature soft rubber nose pads that grip nicely, and even while sweating. Another nice contact point are the adjustable temple tips, which help keep the glasses in place securely without creating any pressure points or discomfort. Safety hinges also ensure the glasses stay on when you want them and closed when you don’t.

THE DIRT
As I said before, the whole sporty glasses, aerodynamic neon thing isn’t really for me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want or need to see the trail as crisply as those enduro-bro’s and their obnoxious Pit ViperBlades. It’s a tall order to have a larger glass, with casual styling that doesn’t just collect sweat, steam up or require constant fidgeting. I’ve grown to really like the Spinair 57 glasses and think Rudy did a great job balancing performance with style.

The lenses are dark, but not crazy dark and while I would love to have a photochromic option, I understand that they probably wouldn’t be selling tons of such a performance-oriented lens tech in a casual glass. Nevertheless, that’d be my ideal pic as they can get a little dark in evening hours or super thick woods. On brighter days when the sun was out, whether it was in the woods or the desert, I felt plenty protected and could pick out obstacles and lines at speed.

Speaking of protection, I took a pretty solid slam directly into a large, flat lava rock and was surprised that my glasses stayed securely put on my face. Even though my face is what broke my fall. A slight knick on the corner of the frames is all the damage they took and I was really impressed with how well they stay put, whether I was riding my bike or falling off it.

The Wolf’s Last Word

If you are a rider who likes to have a high-performance sunglass without the high performance looks, the Rudy Project Spinair 57 sunglasses are highly recommended by this vain, fashion-conscious mountain biker. Rudy has done a very good job making a casual-style sunglass that stay put no matter how active you get or hard you’re charging. The slight cut out over the bridge offers a touch more ventilation than some standard designs, while the rubber nose pads and arms keep them comfortably in place. Good optics are not cheap, and these certainly aren’t cheap, but as we say, if you look good you ride good, and with a set of stylish shades actually helping you keep on track and picking out smooth lines, it’s a win / win in our book.

Price: Starting $144.99
Website: Rudyprojectna.com