Article by Jeremy Marie
SunGod FORTY2s™ - Running Sunglasses ($140/135€/110GBP)
Introduction
Sungod is a relatively young brand, founded in 2013 in the UK, and is equally split between London and Verbier, in Switzerland.
They immediately focused on sustainability, and should I say “all-around” sustainability: heavy usage of recycled materials, lifetime guarantee - and free lifetime repairs !, recycled and recyclable minimal packaging, recycled micro-fiber pouch, carbon-neutral operation by minimizing emissions during production and logistics, and offsetting the excess through sustainability projects (solar panel construction, Wind turbine, plastic waste collection in the oceans…all controlled by an external, non-profit organization. They’re also part of 1% for the Planet
I encourage you to have a look at this page. You can see that the whole sustainability topic is really deeply built in the brand.
Nowadays, those aspects should, and must, be one of the key points when choosing a product for sports, considering that this is a very consumerist domain. So big kudos to Sungod in pushing those aspects of sustainability.
Now, as important as being sustainable is, one must also offer top notch products. Here are some of the endorsed athletes and teams: Ineos Grenadier, SD Worx Pro Time, Tom Evans & Ruth Croft (2025 UTMB winners), Courtney Dauwalter (needs details ?) Hayden Wilde (top triathlete, silver medalist in Paris Olympics)...I think you get it. You can’t endorse such high level athletes and teams if you don’t have great products. So the promise is here, as are the expectations on the new, running-focused Forty2s shades.
Pros
Rock solid stability
Looks
Weight
Lens
Sustainability, verified claims
Lifetime guarantee and repairability
Cons
No hard case provided ?
Features
Jeremy: I received the Forty2s in Matte Black frame with Silver Blue lens.
Sungod provides a very clear, useful view for their different models, showing best-suited activities for the sunglasses and the selected lens tint:
Details for the Silver Blue Forty2s
By the numbers, the Silver Blue lens offers a 11% VLT, so they are clearly best suited for bright sunny conditions as shown by the “Conditions” icons in the table above.
Lenses are interchangeable, priced between 65$ for standard lenses and 115$ for the Iris Photochromic ones.
View through the lens
This Silver Blue tint is part of their “standard” 8KO lenses: a 2mm nylon-based lens, more resistant than polycarbonate lenses, and providing a better shatterproof protection in case of hard falls. Moreover, the nylon-based lens used by Sungod seems to be at the top levels of the clarity game - think comparable to Oakley Prizm lenses, Rudy Project, Julbo and so on.
The Forty2s offers nice coverage, effectively protecting from the wind while on the bike.
Two vents at the top ensure a nice airflow minimizing steaming when you stop running or when things are getting hot.
The claimed 28g weight is a bit “pessimistic”, as mine come at 27g on my scale - let’s call it identical.
The hinges uses a screwless design, named Pop-Lock: the idea here is to enhance durability, fit and repairability.
The Forty2’s come with three nosepieces, in order to adapt to as many morphologies as possible. Adequately marked from 1 to 3, they’re both super easy to change and fit securely.
The rear of the arms is covered with a grippy TPU material, here again to ensure minimal bounce no matter the pace.
Fit
The fit of the Forty2s is quite tight - which is to be expected given their focus on running disciplines. I have a relatively large head, and despite that, I’ve never been bothered by pressure around the ears, even when wearing headphones (typically Suunto Aqua bone conduction, or Beats PowerBeats Pro in-ear).
I’ll stick with the #2 nosepieces that came mounted on the glasses, as it offers the best fit for me after trying the other ones.
The lens comes quite close to my eyelashes but never to the point of being in contact: it’s a close, adjusted fit.
The curvature of the Forty2s works nicely with my face. They provide nice coverage and do not look too big either.
Performance
Let’s begin with the key point of the Forty2s: the “Zero-bounce” fit.
Simply put, I’ve never had a pair of running sunglasses that stayed put as the Sungod do. .
As I’ve described previously, yes the fit is tight, but never uncomfortable. I’ve even worn the shades for a 3h ride, so atop the helmet straps (Velominati rule #37) and did not feel them at all.
Changeable lenses
For running, I’ve tried some fast paced sessions which are usually a non issue with most running sunglasses, and it was the case here.
Where I usually find that shades struggle to stay put is during trail running, especially downhills: non-regular, more hard-hitting steps are a real crash test (for the glasses, not the wearer…generally !), and the Forty2s exceeded my expectations on trails.
The large coverage protects both from insects and wind, so tears/watering eyes are avoided, something I usually suffer from (trying to bomb downhill with tears is not really nice, believe me).
Despite my tendency to run hot, I’ve also been pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of the two upper vents. No miracle here, if you suddenly stop at the end of a hard interval, you’ll get some fog, but I found the phenomenon to be more limited than in my other sunglasses, and also disappears faster here.
The Silver Blue Lens, promoted as a bright day tint, provides very nice contrast and clarity, and are clearly at the level of Oakley Prizm, 100% Hiper or other top quality lenses from Julbo or Rudy Project, for the ones I own.
The days are still very sunny, and I find the 11% VLT to be totally adequate, even when some clouds come in. I would choose a slightly brighter tint for autumn runs, but for the whole sunny season, those lenses with their brownish tint, great contrast perfectly work be it on road or under lightly covered forest trails.
Conclusion
I won’t repeat what I’ve written in the review: The Forty2 are the best running sunglasses I’ve used, amongst Julbo, Oakley (Flak 2) 100% and Rudy Project. No bounce at all, great lens, and a deeply-rooted sustainability approach puts them on top of list for met.
Comparisons
Julbo Aero Reactiv: On the fit front, there’s no comparison: the Sungods are way superior. Rock solid, no pressure. I generally have some issues with the Julbo when running intervals, and even more so on the trail where they tend to bounce a little on my nose. The Forty2s are like glued to my face in comparison.
Julbo is renowned for their great lenses, and the Reactiv one is amongst the best out there. I won’t compare the quality of the lenses, as comparing a photochromic one (Julbo Reactiv) and a fixed tint can be tricky. I feel like the 8KO lens gives more contrast under the same lighting conditions. This might be due to the different tint (more pink in the Julbo, which works wonders in lower light conditions).
Wind protection is also better on the Sungods.
100% Legere: Not marketed as running sunglasses, I’ve used them often. The squarish lifestyle look can be an acquired taste, but I really like them. The carbon frame weighs next to nothing, and that is noticeable. You can barely feel these shades. This ultra light weight and grippy arms makes them really stable - and that’s a reason I’ve often leaned towards them versus the Julbo. The Hiper mirror blue lens is really close to the Silver Blue one in the Sungod, and I’ll call it a draw on the lens quality front: great contrast, nice tint, no deformation.
What differentiates them is of course the coverage offered by the Forty2s, and the total absence of bounce, which can still occur with the 100%
Rudy Project Turbolence (RTR Review): One of the latest and more versatile models from the italian brand lineup, the Turbolence are one of the best sunglasses I’ve used, given that you like the looks (I’m pretty neutral on this…). Clever features, such as the removable sweatband, elastic cord, and adjustable nose piece makes them adequate for almost any sport you can think of. They also offer wide coverage , and tend to fog up a bit more than the Forty2s.
The photochromic ImpactX lens is pretty impressive, and stays contrasty no matter the luminosity. I’d rate it a bit below Julbo Reactiv, both on the clarity and transition time aspects.
They’re also really stable, but less so than the rock solid Sungod Forty2s.
Shop SunGod
Tester Profile
Jeremy MARIE, French, 44y/o. Running since 2013 and quickly transitioned to trails, focused on ultras since 2015 : TDS, Maxi-Race, “100 miles du Sud”, 90 kms du Mt Blanc, GRP 120 kms, Some shorter more mellow races (Saintelyon 45 kms, Ecotrail Paris 45 kms…) with always in the mix road and flat running, but not many road races. Also active cyclist and 70.3 Ironman. Recovery/easy runs ~4’45/km - 4’30/km. He has an un-official marathon PR of 2h54 (solo) and 10K PR of 36’25. He does few timed road races.
Europe only: use RTR code RTR5ALL for 5% off all products, even sale products
No comments:
Post a Comment