The Rudy Project Project

I have a thing for sunglasses and have for several years. When I applied for and received sponsorship from Rudy Project last year, I knew things could get expensive. Until recently, though, I've actually been able to keep a pretty good handle on things. Here's my side of the story.

There was, of course, the helmet N--- got me in 07 for Christmas, which started the snowball rolling. From there, I received a complimentary pair of Sportmask Performance glasses in the same color scheme as what Macca wore in Kona 07. This past summer, RP released the Exowind, a dual-lens system with rocking lines that rivaled the Tayo. I tried the Exowind and liked them but wound up returning to the Sportmask Performance, due to its virtually non-existent weight and superior field of vision. Last week, though, I pulled the trigger on a pair of black Exowinds, with the intent of going Frankenstein on my other pairs of Exowinds in order to create a unique pair of glasses: Black frames with red accents. It worked, too, and they were, indeed, a sweet-looking pair of shades:


However, there was the issue of cost. I'd a good chunk of change invested in the Exowinds, even with my discount, and I remained unconvinced that the extra 10g of weight over the Sportmask was insignificant. That, plus the pinching I experienced at Longhorn (and after only 4-1/2 hours) made me leery about sporting them for the duration of CdA come June. Last night's run with the Sportmask solidified the feeling that it was the ideal pair of sunglasses for triathlon, for me. So, the black Exowinds are on their way back to RP for return. I may contact RP support to inquire about returning the other two pair of Exowinds I own for some sort of store credit (RP has finally released a multilaser red lens for the Sportmask -- wahoo!), but I'll check into that another time. For now, it's time to head out for the pasta party before heading out to the pool to swim. Thanks for bearing with me and my sunglass fetish, and thanks for reading.