Smith Parallel Sunglasses Review
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The Smith Parallel Sunglasses are ideal for race day and your quicker tempo run days. They have a slim fit on the face which helps reduce weight and keep you comfortable on the longer distance runs. I’ve been testing out the Smith Parallel’s for a few months now and I have zero complaints while using them for their intended use.
Fit
The Fit of the Smith Parallel Sunglasses is a true medium. I have a medium sized head and the arms on the sunglasses squeeze my head just enough to stay on, but not to the point to where I have a headache. Since they are best for endurance sports like running or cycling for some, you aren’t typically thrashing your head around a lot. To help the Parallel’s stay on your head, there are rubber grips that get stickier when you sweat located on the ends of the arms and on the nose grips. The nose grips are not adjustable, but they are replaceable if you lose one or they start to break down over the years.
Lens
The lens that is used in the Smith Parallel is the Carbonic TLT Lens which are super durable. That means if you get a rock propelled into your sunglasses, the rock will go running the other way, or in laymen terms bounce off. One of the more annoying things I find sometimes is sunglasses that fog up while I am running. In the Smith Parallel’s, I wasn’t able to come across one instance of them fogging up, which is attributed to the shape of the lens and frame. As the Parallel sunglasses are smaller than your standard sunglasses, there is less material to keep hot and cold air in which causes them to fog.
One thing that I don’t like as much about smaller framed lens is that they provide a little less coverage from the sun. Living in Colorado where the sun is extremely intense, I usually like to have as much coverage as possible to keep the suns rays off my face. The Smith Parallels come in a number of different frame and lens colors, so I would suggest taking a look at their website if you don’t see what you like at a retailer. I tested out the Black Matte Lens with Gold frames and like the color scheme a lot.
Overall
The Smith Parallel Sunglasses are great performers in your category, but if you are looking for function AND fashion, I might check out some of the other products in the Smith Line. For running or cycling, they are one of the better performers on the market.
For more info on the Parallel and other Smith Optics eyewear, visit www.smithoptics.com or www.amazon.com/smith.
