The armless experiment: pros and cons
Ombraz touts some appealing benefits of their armless design, and in my experience, they’re all true, especially in the context of active outdoor sports.
When stored, the goggles are small and thin, fitting easily into a backpack’s chest pocket or bikepacking top tube bag. This makes them less vulnerable to accidental cracking and there is less chance of them breaking if that happens.
The neoprene case is thin but protective, solving the dilemma between packing a bulky hard case or taking the risk of a fabric pouch. The built-in cleaning cloth is super smart: impossible to lose and always there to wipe away stains.
The secure fit is a big advantage for active sports. They won’t fall off if you lean forward, and they’ll likely stay in place during all kinds of stunts if you’re skiing, surfing, rock climbing, wakeboarding (all activities I haven’t yet tried with my Ombraz but which I intend to do). in the future). I think they would also be suitable for active outdoor work, such as trail building or field work.
Comfort is huge for those of us who wear sunglasses from dawn to dusk day after day. With regular sunglasses, I often feel pressure on my head after several hours, and sometimes the tops of my ears hurt after a long day. The Ombraz’s feather-light cord posed no such issues and the frames felt so light on my face that I almost forgot I was wearing them.
Finally, I really liked being able to hang them around my neck when I’m not wearing them. No risk of abandoning them after a snack break at the side of the trail, nor of scratching the lenses while trying to store them with one hand in my MTB stem bag.
The main downside to the cord design, at least for me, is that it takes more work to put on and take off. The cord must be adjusted each time. If my long hair is down, I have to first pass the cord underneath and then pull the glasses up over my face. It takes two hands (although it can be done one-handed, slowly, in a pinch) and a few seconds longer than a quick one-handed on or off with traditional sunglasses.
For me, this drawback is most noticeable with casual clothing, like throwing on a pair of sunglasses for a quick walk or an afternoon barbecue. In these cases, I always wear my usual sunglasses. But in the context of outdoor sports and all-day wear, the small inconvenience is more than worth all the benefits.