Rudy Project: Race kit review.

Rudy Project is an international company that designs and manufactures hi-tech sunglasses, goggles, helmets and a myriad of other sports accessories. Their tag-line claims they create and sell “Technically Cool” gear that it is designed to appeal to the extreme sports generation taking part in high impact activities, all while providing comfort and protection. With that said, I had the great pleasure of receiving and testing a number of products from Rudy Project over the last month. Namely, I recently tested Rudy Project’s Ability Sports Sunglasses, Cycling Short-sleeved Jersey and Cycling Shorts.

Whenever I am testing a new product, the first thing I do before getting started is make a mental list of everything I look for in the product.  No matter what the label is or how familiar I am with the manufacturer, I am generally critiquing four main components: practicality, durability, longevity and functionality. So how did the products I received from Rudy Project’s measure up? Read on to find out!

Ability Sports Sunglasses

The Ability Sports Sunglasses are a pair of sports sunglasses designed for women. Rudy Project’s website states that the fit is “specific to typical dimensions of the female head and face.” My first impression of the Ability’s were that they were extremely light and when I put them on for the first time, within seconds I could barely feel that I had them on. Besides the lack of weight, and the sleekly designed wraparound shield, one of the coolest features of this model (and vast majority of RP’s sunglasses) is the interchanging lens component. This particular model has multiple “color” options to meet the needs of your visual needs (i.e., Overcast, sunny, etc.) including green, pink, blue, brown, red and black and these can be changed without twisting or having to do much fidgeting – they simply snap in and out. Additionally, all RP’s lenses provide 100% UVA/UVB protection which is very important for anyone is active and out in the sun fairly often.

Some of the problems I have had had with sports sunglasses in the past include but are not limited to: constant fogging, constant smearing, the glasses start sliding down my nose as I start to sweat and never seem to stop, and irritations are sometimes left on my nose nose/back of ears. About two years I wore a pair of sunglasses during a race and a few miles in, chucked them off course after running into many of the above mentioned issues. For this reason, I had long ago stopped wearing sunglasses during races. Historically, most of my training runs start before the sun even rises so in the past I have seldom had to deal with the sun at all. However, about a year ago I had lasik eye surgery and have since found myself more sensitive to bright sunlight. Recently this caused some problems in a race where I found myself squinting in pain during certain unshaded legs of the race. Additionally, most races start after sun rise which often means dealing with something I am not used to: sun glare.

In a gutsy move, I decided to wear the Ability’s for the first time during a half marathon I ran this in late March and although it is a huge race ‘no-no’ to wear anything you’ve never worn during a training run during a race, I felt confident enough that these glasses would not be an issue. True to theory, they weren’t. I was amazed at the fact that even though the lens were very thin, they still extremely effective at keeping the sun glare to a bare minimum and preventing me from squinting at all. They never slid, never fogged and didn’t leave a single mark. In fact I don’t remember “feeling” them during the race at all and after I finished I actually didn’t remember I had them on until I submerged into a subway system and said, “Wow it’s kind of dim down here” and my boyfriend suggested I take off my sunglasses.

In addition to running in the Ability’s, I have also worn the Ability’s several times cycling and even in 40mph winds they held up effortlessly – they never moved, fogged or slid while cycling and helped protect my eye 100% from the wind and the usual debris that tag along with wind gusts.

Conclusively, the Ability’s measure up to everything they are advertised to be and more and they have become a staple part of the gear for all my current and future training.

Practicality: 10 out of 10
Durability: 9 out of 10
Longevity: 10 out of 10
Functionality:10 out of 10

Rudy Project Racing Shorts:

When shopping for cycling shorts, I am generally looking for compression or spandex shorts with some added stretch to support a decent amount of movement, for the length of the shorts to be adequate to my height, and for the padded crotch liner to work well at reducing friction and wicking away moisture. For me, as a tall(er) lady, a longer cut leg and leg grippers seem to do the best at preventing prevent saddle chafing and also to keep my shorts from “riding” up.

Rudy Project’s sent me a size large of their black and white cycling shorts because this is what I asked for – naturally, I assumed this is what I would need based on my experience buying padded cycling shorts over the years. While I don’t have a “large waist” I find that in order to get a proper length for my height and not wind up with shorts that are more like daisy dukes, a size large is usually a safe bet for me. After trying RP’s shorts on it was apparent that these about a size above what I needed – In reality I am probably better fitted in a medium in their brand. However, I they still fit me fairly well so there was no need to request an exchange because even though they were a size larger then what I actually I need, the elastic waistband works and expands/contracts according to the size of my waist. The leg grippers are also a suitable width and seem very carefully stitched. My first impression of them as I pulled them out of the box was that were seemed very well made, had a nice clean design and while clearly feminine they were not overly feminine (aka painted wall to wall in 10 different shades of pink.)

In terms of “road” testing, I wore these shorts on my trainer, to a few spin classes and several times on outdoor rides and they held up very well. I did not experience any chaffing or discomfort and even after a 100 minute intense interval training spin class and a 60 mile bike ride, they were clearly keeping me not only comfortable but as dry as possible. I also was delighted that despite being white, they did not magically become ‘see through’ after getting sweaty. It sounds silly, but this has happened to me before and it’s never a comfortable feeling to stand up and realize you’re essentially advertising the goods!

Practicality: 8 out of 10
Durability: 10 out of 10
Longevity: 9 out of 10
Functionality:10 out of 10

Rudy Project Racing Jersey:

Ideally, just as is true with cycling shorts, a good bike jersey is made of some sort of spandex (such as Lycra) or some variation of form–fitting material that helps reduce any potential drag. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should squeeze yourself into a skin–tight top; a little “wiggle” room is always a good thing. I find the best cycling Jerseys feel and look like regular T–shirts and have strategically placed pockets for things like GU’s, chomps and phone storage. Even though they look like t-shirts they should be made of some sort of technical fabric that enhances performance by wicking away sweat and keeping you as dry as possible.

The white and black cycling jersey I received from Rudy Projects is made of a meshed polyester. The mesh makes the jersey extremely breathable. The jersey is also equipped with UV protection so to protect you from sun burning through the jersey which is something as a fair skinned person I have had happen to me more then once. I wore the jersey on a myriad of rides in different temperatures ranging low to high, during bouts of heavy gusting winds and in the rain and it held up extremely well in each and every one of these conditions: it kept me warm in the cold and windy weather, cool in the warm weather and as dry as possible in the rainy weather. The mesh material made the jersey extremely lightly and airy and with 3 huge bag pockets I had more then enough room to pack all my gear and fuel. All-in-all this jersey has carried me through many bike rides thus far this season and I have no doubt that it will continue to do so as the season progresses.

Practicality: 10 out of 10
Durability: 9 out of 10
Longevity: 10 out of 10
Functionality:10 out of 10

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Rudy Project Combo Deal: Extended through June 30th 2011 you can buy a pair of Rudy Project sunglasses and get an additional featured item…..FREE! Rudy Projects is also offering free shipping on all North American orders over $145! You can see more details about the deal by following this link Rudy Project Combo Deal.