I admit to being somewhat of a sunglasses "snob" preferring large frame photochromic shades from the likes of Julbo and Smith. Why large and photochromic? I often run in changing light conditions at day's end and.. I wear my shades over prescription eyeglasses.
The Sanctum XL sure fits the bill with its very large frame and fits perfectly over my eyeglasses with no slip or bounce but how would shades costing 6x less than my usual perform and hold up? The answer is very well!
LIGHT FRAME Light only 31 grams, THRIVE frame which is a lightweight and durable plant-based material. Features integrated hinge which never pulls hair, hydrophilic nose pads for increased gripping – no slip and anti-bounce. Tifosi Glide technology allows the frame to slide on comfortably and provide a no-slip fit
I was particularly struck by the positive solid hinges and the light weight of such huge shades at 31g. That said my usual goto Julbo Destiny ($250 with photochromic lenses) weigh a mere 13g but.. require a keeper cord to keep from losing them when up on the head.. happened to a pair in the woods and didn't notice..
Fit and Look
As previously mentioned I wear sunglasses over my prescription sunglasses and the XL fit well. The look is "almost" normal as shown above.
Their wide temples and hydrophobic nose pads stayed put on the run with the lenses completely covering my regular glasses.
Performance and Conclusions
The lens is big and provides a very wide field of vision with minimal distortions even over my regular eyeglasses. While not a totally tight seal over eyeglasses there is minimal light leakage and none when I wear my usual run cap.
The lens color of Smoke Tint with Silver Mirror is not my favorite as I have myopia and shades with more color contrast are better for me, a known issue for my eye condition. I found in less than bright sun they are a bit darker than I prefer but in bright sun (with the mirroring becoming an advantage) they were superb.
The lenses are thicker than my Julbo and I wish they were thinner for more light transmission and a bit less distortion but for $39.95 I am for sure not complaining. Other tints such as the Smoke Tint with Yellow Mirror are available.
They stayed put at all times without a keeper cord and are large, wide and deep enough that the nose pads were almost normal in fit over my eyeglasses, rare as most of the time glasses "float" off the nose in that area. On top of that, the top rim of the frame also sat nicely and securely on top of my eyeglass frames.on the run.
To date they have proven durable with no scratches and with the hinges remaining in great shape.
At $39.95 the Sanctum XL is a great value for a large large field of view performance sunglass with very good optics. They are also available in a smaller lens version, the Sanctum.
Please also see our Tifosi Vogel XC and Shumo sunglasses reviews
Sam is the Editor and Founder of Road Trail Run. He is in his 60’s with 2025 Sam’s 53th year of running roads and trails. He has a decades old 2:28 marathon PR. These days he runs halves in the just sub 1:40 range if he gets very, very lucky. Sam trains 30-40 miles per week mostly at moderate paces on the roads and trails of New Hampshire and Utah be it on the run, hiking or on nordic skis. He is 5’9” tall and weighs about 160 lbs, if he is not enjoying too many fine New England IPA’s.
Samples were provided at no charge for review purposes. RoadTrail Run has affiliate partnerships and may earn commission on products purchased via shopping links in this article. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content. The opinions herein are entirely the authors'.
Shopping at our partners below is much appreciated and helps support RoadTrailRun
No comments:
Post a Comment