2 min readPrice: $255
Weight: 32 grams
The right sunglasses for: Wearing casually as often as you do for running
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Tracksmith has been on a roll lately, expanding its apparel lineup and collaborating with fun brands like Mystic Brewery to craft a beer it serves at its store in Boston. The latest collab is with Flint, Michigan-based Article One on a pair of seriously stylish shades. Of course, they deliver a classic look, as you’d expect from the upstart apparel maker, but because Tracksmith is rooted in competitive running, the sunglasses built to perform equally as well.
Italian Made Frames
Named after the river that weaves its way through Boston, the Charles has a crystal-like plastic frame and spring hinges for a lightweight feeling and accommodating fit when perched on nearly any size head. The rounded shape is better suited for medium faces, but provided enough coverage on my large noggin. The glasses are available in three colors—gold, wine, or navy—and each comes packed inside a handsome square case.
If you question whether such a model can hack it on your daily routine, I took it on a steamy tempo run in New York City’s Central Park. Thanks to an adjustable silicone nosepiece and pads behind the ears, the Charles didn’t budge as I pushed the pace. Those sticky touch points combine with a rather flat base curve to position the shades out away from your face, so that when I was pouring sweat on the 85-degree day it wasn’t streaming down the lenses.
Clear Vision
I really like the polarized lenses on these shades. The blue tint on our test pair darkened the sky, but kept everything pleasantly clear and easy to see. The company is also using an anti-reflective coating on the inside of the lenses, to cut down on any glare. Even at noon on my test run, with the sun beating down from above and the glasses positioned away from my face, I didn’t get any of the shine from my cheeks I’d often experience in other models.
Uncompromising Quality
The construction of these sunglasses is really well done. They feel substantial in your hands—on our scale, they weighed in at 32 grams, which is heavier than most performance shades, but the balanced weight and comfortable fit makes them feel much lighter on your head. Plus, little stylish details like the Tracksmith Rabbit and Article One “A” logo on each ear tip complete the package.
Of course, the $255 price tag will make many runners bristle. I get that, after all that’s 10 pairs of Goodrs. But the price isn’t much more than the Julbo Aerolite UTMB and Oakley Radar EV Path sunglasses that we love so much. These are far more fashionable than any of those, yet still deliver when you’re pounding pavement.
Jeff is Runner-in-Chief for Runner’s World and the director of product testing. He has tested and reviewed running shoes, GPS watches, headphones, apparel, and more for nearly two decades. He regularly tests more than 100 pairs of shoes each year, and once had a 257-day streak running in different models. Jeff can usually be found on the roads, racing anything from the mile to a marathon, but he also enjoys racing up mountains and on snowshoes. When he’s not running, you’ll probably find him hanging from a ladder making repairs and renovations to his house (he’s also director of product testing for Popular Mechanics).
