There are sunglasses and there is Optic Nerve eyewear.
I’ve been using a pair of Optic Nerve eyewear since February and found it indispensable, especially with the searing heat and the early daybreak of the summer months. I even use it at night during the weekly Friday Night Runs that I organize.
Optic Nerve is a sunglass line geared towards sports, especially running and biking. The company has various eyewear models but all share key technologies: UV protection, active lens venting, carbon scratch coating, tactilite rubber components, durable nylon resin frames, focalpoint lens, among other things.
OPTIC NERVE. Optic Nerve sunglasses share key technologies like UV protection, active lens ventingto prevent lenses from fogging, carbon scratch coating, tactilite rubber components that prevent slippage and durable nylon resin frames. CLICK TO ENLARGE. (PHOTO BY MAX LIMPAG)The owner’s manual that comes with the sunglasses says that its lenses offer 100% ultraviolet (UV) rays protection. Optic Nerve said all its lenses exceed standards set by the United States government on UV protection and impact resistance. The company said its polycarbonate lens resin makes its lenses exceed standards for “general purpose impact resistance.”
Given the many times that I’ve dropped my sunglasses and even individual lenses while clumsily trying to change them, I’d take their word for the impact resistance.
Optic Nerve sunglasses come with four pairs of lenses: smoke/grey tint, orange tint, copper tint and clear.
The smoke/grey tint allows only a 15% light transmission and is recommended for “intense, abundant sun conditions.” The manual said this tint “offers a true, accurate color definition, but offers no definition or contrast properties.” I use this tint in races and runs that start after 5:30 a.m.
The orange tint offers 64% light transmission and is recommended for variable light condition. The manual said this tint “offers a softer, more wearable color than yellow tint, and does a good job eliminating blue light from the spectrum to provide excellent acuity, contrast, and definition.” This is the tint that I use most of the time, even while running at night. This tint is good for races that start very early in the morning because you can still see things even if it’s dark but at the same time you’re shielded from the glare when the sun is already up.
The copper tint offers 27% light transmission and is recommended “for most general light conditions and some variable light conditions depending on light transmission.” The manual said this tint “is easy on the eyes and offers excellent acuity, contrast and definition while maintaining great color definition.”
The clear tint offers full light transmission and is recommended for extreme low-light to night-time condition. I used this pair of lens just once because I found that I could still run at night even with the orange tint since Cebu City streets are relatively well-lighted. If I were to run or bike in the neighboring towns at night, I would be using the clear tint.
Optic Nerve eyewear use the so-called four-point frame fit technology “to ensure each frame is well-balanced and has a secure and comfortable fit.”
DIFFERENT LENSES. Optic Nerve eyewear comes with different lenses for different light conditions. It took me, however, a few days to learn to change lenses with confidence because the process involved twisting the frame. CLICK TO ENLARGE. (PHOTO BY MAX LIMPAG)Changing lenses, however, can be a bit of a challenge. It took me days to figure out how to change the lens because the twisting you need to do to remove the lens made me worry that I’d break the pair. It turned out that the Double TR90 frame is as sturdy as advertised and the lens later just popped out. In its website, Optic Nerve said it uses a durable and resilient nylon frame resin that has a lab-tested memory feature that keeps the frame from stretching out over time. The company said this ensures that the glass lenses will always have a snug fit.
Another key Optic Nerve technology is its active lens venting. All its lenses have vents that allow air to be forced directly into the lens area to help circulate air between the eye and the back of the lens. The company said this helps reduce fogging.
I’ve used the Optic Nerve glasses in almost all of my races and runs and could not recall fogging of the lens. In fact, this is the only pair of sunglass that I keep on even if I pour water on myself to cool off.
Optic Nerve lenses also come with focalpoint technology, which, the company said, eliminates “prismatic distortion.”
Another great thing with the glasses is its tactilite rubber components, which the company said reduces slippage when it’s worn even when the wearer is perspiring heavily. I perspire very heavily but I’ve never had the sunglasses slip or fall off my face.
Optic Nerve is available in the specialty running store Runnr in Ayala Center Cebu. Its sunglasses cost from P4,000 to P5,000, depending on the model.
