•Zeiss polycarbonate lenses with Cat 3 high-risk protection and UV400 coverage make these the right call for bright trail days.

•The 23-gram sustainable nylon-6 frame is so light you’ll forget you’re wearing them.

•I stepped on these with my full body weight on a technical trail. They did not break.

The Basics

These sunnies are built in beast mode. The Vallon Watchtowers are built around Zeiss polycarbonate lenses, which give you a ton of optical clarity. That matters when you’re trying to read technical singletrack at speed and about to trip over roots because you were looking at a bird. (The orioles have come back!)

Cat 3 protection puts these firmly in the bright-conditions category with only 13- or 14-percent visible light transmission, 100 percent of UV400 coverage, and a RiPel hydro-oleophobic coating that sheds water and sweat—and the Liquid IV you accidentally spray yourself with—off the lenses.…