PERFORMANCE EYEWEAR

Which of these six pairs do the best job of protecting your eyes from the sun, bugs and debris?

You need to protect your eyes in triathlon. You do it anyway in the swim with goggles, but you spend a lot longer running and riding than you do swimming. So if you want to avoid straining your eyes or developing a headache due to prolonged squinting, you need to protect them against harmful UV rays with some shades. But it’s not just the light you need to worry about.

Your eyes and eyesight are also at risk from all the dust and dirt floating about in the air, not to mention any of the debris that’s flung up by your front wheel. And not having streaming eyes on fast descents is a big plus.

When running, glasses can be a real benefit too. You still need protection from the sun and, although speeds are less, a low branch or a bug in the eye can still be painful and slow you down on race day. So it’s hard to argue against eyewear. What’s harder is choosing a pair that suits you – suits your face, your needs, your sense of style and your budget. Fit is everything with glasses and, like saddles, what works for your club mates might not work for you. Make sure they fit snugly to your eye socket, sit comfortably on your nose and ears, and lightly grip the side of your head.

There should be no bouncing or slipping when you jump up and down and, when you lean forward in an aero tuck on your bike, no obscuring of your vision. Finally, interchangeable lenses are necessary for changing weather conditions and riding at night.

There’s no substitute for going to a shop and trying a few pairs on, but here we point you in the right direction in terms of comfort, the amount of steaming, vision, grip, the interchangeability of the lenses, weight and, last but far from least, their effectiveness in dealing with sunlight in various weather conditions.