You don't want to mess with your eyes.  Action sports demand the right gear to be safe and sane and cycling places us in a position where our eyeballs are right in the thick of it.  Fast downhills, flying debris, sunshine to shadow and back again; all that combined on any typical ride requires some serious technical eyewear.

Recently I have been riding with some Gargoyles on my face.  To be specific, the new Cardinal model, part of the Instinct Collection.

Selections from the Gargoyles website:

Gargoyles Eyewear Technology

In 1979, Dennis Burns, founder of Gargoyles, revolutionized an entire industry with the invention of the Toric lens. Dennis noticed that flat sunglass lenses left the eyes more exposed to the elements and contemporary curved lenses were causing visual distortion and stress on the eyes.  This innovation became the basis of a brand and an industry.

His solution was the Toric Curve Lens.  A shape that allowed light to transmit directly to the eye.  No refraction, no distortion. By the early 80’s, the Toric lens became the technology foundation for the Gargoyles Performance Eyewear collection. Precision-molded and hand-finished, the design provided 210° of wraparound protection

The Toric Curve Lens offered the ultimate solution. With precise geometry, the Toric Lens allows light to transmit directly to the eye. No refraction, no distortion. Light rays converge precisely on each retina, giving each eye its own center of focus and providing the viewer with clearer, sharper sight.

Gargoyles Ballistic Defense lenses offer extreme impact resistance that is 5 to 6 times greater than that of regular polycarbonate lenses. Developed from a superior blend of polymers by Carl Zeiss Vision®, our Ballistic Defense Lenses are designed for military, safety and sport applications and exceed all ISO and ANSI test standards. Our Ballistic Defense lenses also exceed the MIL-STD 622 ballistic test, which consists of stopping a .22 caliber bullet at 20 feet.

The Gargoyles trademark Green Lens provides the wearer with a unique balance of target and background brightness. Designed for the Field of Play, the Gargoyles Green Lens helps you locate and track objects in motion against a variety of outdoor backgrounds including Earth, sky and water.

Our green field of play lens has a transmission which is tailored to accommodate playing field sports and outdoor activities where tracking objects in motion is critical. The Green Lens controls low-level blue light while the middle range of light is selectively manipulated to provide optimum visual stimulation and distinctive object illumination.

 

I have been wearing the green lenses and I have found the clarity and ability to see in rapidly changing light conditions, like diving into a partially shaded singletrack to be quite good.  So what do you want from technical eyewear? 

• Looks/Style - Well, that is very individual.  Out of the box, I did not think the Cardinals were all that great looking because of the quite large lenses. If I were to choose based on styling alone, I would go more for Rico Suave' and less towards the Terminator.  BUT....read on.
• Clarity - I find that the Cardinals are exceptional to look through.  I do not know a Toric from a Taurus but I know I see better out of these then the last eyewear I used.  In fact, that big wrap-around lens is a blessing here as I cannot see the edge of the lens when I roll my eyes all the way to the side.  There is nothing in my field of vision to break the view.  That is nice.
• Protection - Other than UV protection, which the Cardinals have, you want the eyewear to fend off flying debris and just plain old wind.  Here that big lens comes into play again.  I get very little feel of wind coming around the lens and one time on trail I took a shot to the face from a branch that would have been a hospital trip with unprotected eyes. 
• Toughness - The Gargoyles look very well made. They are pretty stout feeling and so far have not shown a tendency to scratch easily.  I also have had little issue with fogging.  The case they come in is significant and if tossed into a gear bag, would keep the Cardinals intact.
• Interchangable lenses - Nope, not on this model.

I also asked Jeff J aka The Circus Bear to try a pair for a while and give me some feedback.  He typically does not wear anything when riding as he hates how the perspiration runs off of his brow onto the lenses.  As a clydesdale, he tends to sweat a lot on climbs.  Here are his thoughts.

I recently got a chance to try out a pair of Gargoyle sunglasses. The model I sampled was the Cardinal (with the black frame and smoke lens), which is a recent addition to the Instinct Collection.

The first thing I noticed was that the shape of the frame agreed with the shape of my head. In this way, sunglasses are like saddles and what works for some, may not work for all and you may have to look around to find what fits the best.

One feature I haven’t noticed on other sunglasses I have owned in the past are the adjustable nose pads. They are rubber coated, but malleable so you can shape them to best fit your facial features or address other issues. In my case, this is dealing with perspiration running down my forehead. In most cases, this leads to frustration as the droplets run down my forehead and in no time, my shades are streaked and rendered all but useless for piloting my mountain bike in challenging terrain. Between the shape of these frames and the adjustable nose pad, I was able to greatly reduce the incidence of the annoying streaks compared to most sunglasses I have owned in the past.

The smoke lenses on this model were toward the darker end of the spectrum and, IMO, best suited for bright midday conditions. I noticed no visible distortion when scanning peripherally and they fit comfortably enough for me to wear them for as long as I wanted. I also didn’t notice any odd airflow at speed.

If I were to wish for anything to be different, I would like to see a lighter tinted lens available for late afternoon or other low light riding conditions. With all of the plusses I found on this pair of Gargoyles, this is a brand I’ll be keeping an eye on in the future.

 

Gargoyles is not a newcomer to the world of technical eyewear and the pedigree they bring to the table makes for a product well worth a looksee the next time you are shopping for that next set of peeper keepers.

Gargoyles website.