People who run with sunglasses tend to fall in one of two camps: you either want to be able to wear your sunnies all the time (outside of just logging miles) or you want something that performs at the elite level and basically, you don’t really care how you look. We get it; you’re serious about your sport. We’ve pulled together all of our favorite top-performing running sunglasses — that means lightweight, scratch-resistant, nose grips, UVA and UVB-protection and most importantly, they don’t fall off when you run or sweat. Regardless of your face shape, there’s guaranteed to be a pair that works for you.
Aviators
Oakley Elmont
Offered in a satin chrome frame, the Elmonts come with Oakley’s sun-blocking standard (100% of UVA, UVB and UVC rays), in a lightweight alloy frame. The shape of the aviators naturally offers breathability for runners, and you can upgrade to a polarized lens in a variety of lens colors — there are ten total options to choose from.
Roka Phantom TI
The aviator style is a classic for a good reason — who doesn’t want to look like they’re an extra in Top Gun? These titanium aviators come in two sizes (regular and large) and seven lens colors, plus the GEKO nose and temple pads keep them in place. You barely notice you’re wearing them thanks to the lightweight construction. And they’re anti-everything: scratch, fog, reflective.
Round
Ryders Trestle
At $90, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better pair of running sunglasses. Ryders is a trusted brand in the space, and for good reason. The photochromic lens on the Trestle stands next to some of the highest-end lenses on the market and comes in at around half the price. If you’re into the shape, there’s really no reason to look elsewhere.
Sunski Treelines
These sunglasses are the latest release from Sunski, the brand that set out to make affordable, yet high-performing sunglasses that can take you from the beach to the slopes and work in either locale. These slightly rounded aviator-style sunnies are inspired by the glacier goggles, with removable side panels to complete the look — they cut glare on especially sunny days, and are easily removable. The lenses are quite dark, so you might want to leave these at home on darker days.
Adidas Pacyr
A new style for Adidas running that veers back toward lifestyle, the Pacyr is still packed with features. The frame is shatterproof and comes with adjustable nose pads to properly fit your face. The frames are slightly curved toward you, to improve the field of view, and best of all they look great.
District Vision Nagata Black Rose Lens
Inspired by the time the founders spent out on the trails and realized that the light changes frequently, the Black Rose lens is made to perform in a variety of conditions. The sunglasses themselves are featherweight, and they’re cool enough that you can slide into any bar in running gear.
Wrap
Oakley Radarlock Path
Oakley’s top-tier lens technology is Prizm, which it developed alongside its star-studded athlete team. In testing, Prizm lens technology simply pulls out contours and highlights that other lenses don’t. The Radarlock is a classic shape, and when paired with the Prizm Road lens, they are hard to beat.
Nike Vaporwing Speed Tint
Worn by the likes of Shalane Flanagan (who won the NYC marathon this year), the Speed Tint is built for performance. Offered in four lens and frame combos, these are aerodynamic at their core. They are extremely lightweight and breathable, and will never get fogged up.
Smith Attack Max
The brand that delivers top-notch performance on snow has a pretty good idea of what works on the road as well. The newest addition to Smith’s line, the Attack Max, features the brand’s ChromaPop lens, and the option to swap it out. The nose piece wraps around the lens, so you get 260-degrees of coverage, and the lenses are slightly larger than glasses past, which provides more visibility. These are also great for cyclists.
Native Eyewear Catamount
These N3 lenses block up to four times as much infrared light as standard polarized lenses, so if you’re outdoors a lot, this level of protection is recommended. The lenses are interchangeable, so if on race day (or training day) the skies look a little grey, it’s a quick swap to brighten everything up.
Bollé Aeromax
The oversized, semi-rimless lens offers a huge field of vision, and the customizable temples and nosepiece mean you’re guaranteed to get a tight, just-for-you fit. Upgrade to the photochromic lenses that brighten or darken depending on that day’s conditions. The anti-fog treatment comes standard, as does the waterproof and oil-proof coating, so anything the weather or road or trail spits up at you slides right off.
Julbo Aerospeed
The Aerospeed, the newest style from Julbo, is slightly larger than the previous Aerolite, thanks to feedback from ultrarunners and mountain bikers. The field of vision is immense, and it’s the go-to pick for athletes like Mike Foote, who summited over 61,000 feet in 24 hours.
Rectangle
Revo Crawler
A classic shape for Revo, these rectangular performance sunglasses bring lifestyle-worthy aesthetics to performance optics. The graphite lenses cut out 100% of UVA, UVB and UVC light, and feature 100% polarization to eliminate glare.
Zeal Optic Incline
Super lightweight frames are necessary when you’re logging miles. The Inclines are built for long-distance training, and as a part of the Z-Lite collection, you get a resin-based plastic frame with a bio-plastic polarized lens to make all the blues and greens really pop. It’s good for the environment, too. These are ready right off the shelf, or are easily customizable with your prescription.
Wayfarer
Smith Optics Lowdown 2
The iconic style gets an upgrade with a more performance-focused frame and lens. During trail run testing, these stayed put, and also looked great next to the campfire after a long day outdoors. They still come with the ChromaPop lenses, so your field of vision is crisp.
Native Eyewear Braiden
Built with N3 polarized lens technology, when you put these on you get a high-contrast and super crisp and clean field of vision. These tend to fit medium to large faces better than small ones, but the temple and nose grip secure them to any face.
Nike Bandit
Popular among the NYC running crew world, this pair of crossover sunglasses offers performance features that we’ve come to expect from Nike. Offered in eight frame and lens colors, the Bandit is feather-light with floating nose pads to increase ventilation, lowering the chance of fog. Even the arms are ventilated to help prevent fogging.
