Review: Ombraz Armless Sunglasses (Backpacking and Bikepacking)

Anyone with outdoor adventure experience knows sunglasses are a weak point in the gear lineup. They’re mission-critical but small and fragile, and all too easy to lose, break, or scratch. Since we wear them all day, they need to be exceptionally comfortable. And they need to actually do their job, offering protection without compromising clarity.

If you hang out in ourdoorsy communities you’ve likely come across Ombraz armless sunglasses before. The company engages in some savvy marketing, getting their product onto the heads of adventurous reviewers. No shade (pun intended) meant here, because I get it: the concept of armless sunglasses sparks just enough doubt that you really have to try it to believe in it.

So when Ombraz reached out to me, my curiosity was piqued and I accepted a sample of these premium shades, despite having become a “cheap sunglasses person” years ago (more on this below). They were cool with my usual policy: no strings attached (no pun intended…) and my reviews are always genuine.

After some time testing them on three summer trips (two backpacking and one bikepacking), I’m ready to share my thoughts. Spoiler alert: they exceeded my expectations and were a much easier adjustment than I expected.

How I Tested My Ombraz

This summer I took a series of short adventures during a roadtrip to/from Wyoming. During the first backpacking trip (Nevada’s Ruby Mountains) I used both my current cheap sunglasses and the Ombraz, alternating each day.

By the end of the first trip I felt confident in the Ombraz and preferred them over my other sunglasses, so I took the leap and left my other sunglasses in the car. I took only the Ombraz on the next two trips: an incredible backpacking trip in the Wind River Range, and a bikepacking long weekend in California’s Lost Sierra.

Armless Design: Genius or Gimmick?

I’ll admit I was hesitant to try the armless design. Frequent sunglass wearers have all these ingrained habits: where we put them when we take them off (top of head, shirt collar), which pocket they go in, and whether they go on before or after a helmet or hat.

The thought of relearning these subconscious routines felt daunting. I worried the armless design was a gimmick, offering a few perks but not truly improving on a well-optimize style when all aspects are considered.

I’m happy to report that my transition to armless went smoother than I expected and quickly won me over. Ombraz has totally nailed the details and their flawless execution makes all the difference.

The cord system is fantastic. The adjustment is smooth and easy, yet holds its position. The nylon, made from recycled fishing nets, is smooth and comfy against my hair, yet also doesn’t slip. The glasses fit snugly against my face without needing to be cinched too tightly.

The cord placement is surprisingly flexible. I can wear it over or under a ponytail or low bun, or under my long hair when it’s down. The glasses stay put and feel comfy regardless of whether the cord is short and high on my head, or longer and low with my ears taking up the slack. This really mitigates one of the downsides of the cord system: needing to adjust it each time you put them on. At least the adjustment process is quick and forgiving.

In short, the design is less fussy than I imagined and doesn’t fall prey to the issues I expected, like a slipping cord, narrow range of fit, or snagging in long hair. Definitely not a gimmick!

The Armless Experience: Pros and Cons

Ombraz touts some appealing benefits of their armless design, and in my experience they are all true, especially in the context of active outdoor sports.

When packed away the glasses are small and thin, slipping easily into a backpack chest pocket or bikepacking top tube bag. This makes them less vulnerable to accidental crunching, and there’s less to break if it does happen.

The neoprene case is slim yet protective, solving the dilemma of whether to pack a bulky hard-shell case or take the risk of a cloth pouch. The built-in cleaning cloth is super smart — impossible to lose and always there for wiping away smudges.

The secure fit is a big advantage for active sports. They won’t fall off if you lean forward, and they’re likely to stay in place through all sorts of acrobatics if you’re skiing, surfing, climbing, wakeboarding (all activities I have not yet tried with my Ombraz but intend to in the future). I would think they’d be good for active outdoor jobs too, like 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 get sore after a long day. The Ombraz’s light-as-a-feather cord caused no such problems, and the frames sat so lightly on my face that I almost forgot I was wearing them.

Lastly, I really liked the ability to hang them around my neck when not wearing them. No risk of leaving them behind after a trail-side snack break, or scratching the lenses while trying to stuff them into my stem bag one-handed while mountain biking.

The main drawback to the cord design, at least for me, is that they are more work to put on and take off. The cord needs to be adjusted each time. If my long hair is down I first need to loop the cord beneath it, then pull the glasses up over my face. It takes two hands (though 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 wear, like throwing on a pair of sunglasses for a quick walk or an afternoon BBQ. In those cases I still reach for my regular sunglasses. But in the context of outdoor sports and all-day wear, the small inconvenience is completely worth all the benefits.

Fit and Comfort

Unisex sports sunglasses often don’t fit my small face. The lenses are either too wide, the arms too long, or both. So I was really pleased with the fit of the Ombraz Teton style in the regular size. There’s also an XL size for those with bigger faces.

The lens coverage is good, the nose pads are snug, and the frames somehow balance perfectly on my face without putting too much pressure anywhere.

As mentioned above, the cord system has some major comfort benefits. It didn’t make the tops of my ears sore or put any pressure on the sides of my head, as sometimes happens with regular sunglasses during a long day.

Optics and Sun Protection

No matter how innovative the design, all sunglasses have one job: protect our eyes from the sun while maintaining visual clarity. Two of my test trips involved backpacking above treeline for days, and the third involved a lot of biking in dappled forest lighting, so I really put the Ombraz optics to the test.

I chose the polarized brown lenses, Ombraz’s middle of three options that filters out 86.5% of light and is “ideal for everyday conditions.” They also offer a darker grey for water and snow sports and a lighter yellow for variable conditions, as well as non-polarized options.

Anecdotally I felt like the lenses did a good job protecting my eyes from the harsh mountain sun. For those wanting even more coverage, they sell side shields for a glacier glasses type setup.

The optics and visual clarity were excellent. It’s a pet peeve of mine to be out in a gorgeous natural place and find that my sunglasses make it uglier, darker, or unnaturally colored. The brown lenses maintained the natural colors of the environment, the clarity was super-sharp, and the lenses worked well through a wide range of light conditions.

Ombraz on the Bike

Having spent an unnatural amount of time on a bike during long bikepacking trips and races, I was excited to see how armless sunglasses play with a bike helmet.

I know too well the headache and tender ears that come from 18+ hours of nonstop glasses wear, especially paired with a bike helmet (as a small-headed individual, some sunglass arms stick out too far and clash with my helmet).

The Ombraz design gets a thumbs up from me when it comes to biking. The cord is definitely more comfortable on long days, and doesn’t clash at all with my helmet. The glasses stay in place even when bumping over technical trail, needing far fewer one-handed nose bridge pushes to get them back into ideal position.

The cord is a bit fiddly in conjunction with a helmet strap, but I like Ombraz’s suggestion of wearing them over the top of the strap. This means you can slip them down around your neck without unbuckling the helmet.

I sometimes take my sunglasses off while riding, if the lighting suddenly gets darker, and this works a bit differently with Ombraz. Normal sunglasses are easy to take off one-handed but harder to stash securely. I usually stuff them awkwardly into a stem bag and risk scratching the lenses, or clip them to my shirt and risk them bouncing off.

The Ombraz take a bit more work to slip off and put back on one-handed while riding (first one ear, then the other) but it’s doable, and I love that they stay safe and secure around my neck until I’m ready to put them on again.

One thing I would love to see from Ombraz is a photochromic lens that adjusts from clear to medium-dark. When bikepack racing I like to wear clear glasses at night for eye protection, and it would be amazing (super comfy and space saving) if Ombraz could serve both purposes. And photochromic lenses are also great as eye protection for daytime mountain biking in lower light conditions.

Price and Value

Here’s the one thing about Ombraz that won’t appeal to everyone: they are firmly in the category of premium sunglasses. And why shouldn’t they be? They’re innovatively designed, excellently executed, and carbon net-negative. In the realm of quality brand name sunglasses, they’re a great buy.

For me personally, this brings up a dilemma. Years ago I was an Expensive Sunglasses Person. I wore fancy glasses with prescription lenses (a light prescription I’ve since stopped bothering with) and photochromic lenses, putting them through the wringer on extensive multi-week and multi-month adventures.

But after breaking one pair and losing another, each a several hundred dollar loss, I became a Cheap Sunglasses Person. Since then I’ve worn nothing but $27 KastKing sports sunglasses from Amazon, and I’ve been happy with them. I go through a few pairs each year, usually retiring them due to scratched lenses, but for the price I don’t mind.

Switching back to an Expensive Sunglasses Person would be a hard sell for me at this point, but having tried the Ombraz I have to admit I see the appeal. They are more comfortable than my slightly oversized unisex glasses, with all the armless benefits I raved about above. The optics are way better too.

The key to whether the Ombraz price would be worth it to me in the long run: durability. If a pair of Ombraz lasts me a couple active years, during which I would normally go through at least three pairs of cheap glasses, the price difference is already closing fast and the benefits would be totally worth it.

For me durability usually comes down to lens scratches, since I possess a magical ability to smudge my glasses without even touching them and am constantly cleaning my lenses. A lot hinges on the cord too. Ombraz says it’s abrasion-resistant and anti-microbial, but only time will tell how well it holds up.

I’ll have to report back on durability in a year or two. Until then I’ll be quite happy to keep wearing and testing my Ombraz while hiking, biking, and whatever I get up to next.

More Outdoor Resources

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Or visit the backpacking and bikepacking sections for lots more.