The 10 Best Motorcycle Riding Glasses
Special Honors
Kore Essentials Neo-Lock Recon Ballistic With the highest impact rating possible for sunglasses, you can rest easy that nothing is going to get through the lenses of the Kore Essentials Neo-Lock Recon Ballistic. They have been smartly designed with magnets inside each arm, so you can hang them on your shirt or in your pocket without worry of them slipping off and falling when you bend over. koreessentials.com
Editor's Notes
September 23, 2020:
While we recommend that you wear a full-face motorcycle helmet when you ride, we realize that some may prefer the feel of the wind on their face. If you fall into this category, then you should, at the very least, get a good pair of motorcycle glasses to keep your eyes protected. While there isn't necessarily a set standard of what can be classified as motorcycle glasses, we believe that any pair should have ANSI Z87-rated lenses. There are various categories of ANSI Z87 ratings, but even the lowest one can stand up to strong impacts from heavy objects like small rocks or bits of metal without shattering. Every model on this list meets the lowest ANSI Z87 rating, if not a higher one.
With the above standards in mind, we have to remove many of our previous recommendations, so the list was pretty much completely overhauled from the last time we visited it. Of all the sunglasses we eliminated, only the Wiley X Slay carried the ANSI Z87 rating. In its place, we actually chose two other models from the same manufacturer, the Wiley X WX Gravity and the Wiley X Airrage. Both of these feature removable climate-controlling foam that helps seal out wind and dust, which we felt makes them more versatile for different riding conditions than the Slay. The Gravity should offer a good fit for those with medium to large faces, while the Airrage are better for those with small faces.
The Gargoyles Performance Classics were added to provide readers with something different than the standard black wraparound style shades that tend to permeate this category, as were the vibrant Bollé Anaconda, with their tortoise frame. The large lenses of the former provide good eye coverage, though they may let more wind in than others, so if you are sensitive to this, they may not be for you.
While most sunglasses in this category have frames made of resin, nylon, or some kind of plastic, the Outlaw Eyewear Fugitive set themselves apart with their aluminum alloy construction that makes them very durable.
February 08, 2019:
Motorcycle glasses come in many different shapes and styles, and finding a pair that's right for you will depend largely on where and how you ride. That's why we included a variety of options in this ranking, from low-profile sunglasses that fit comfortably under full-face helmets to thicker, more goggle-like models that offer greater protection while wearing half helmets and brain buckets. Ultimately, we thought the Wiley X Slay best for most people, since they achieve an ideal balance of style, comfort, durability and price.