Ombraz Nose Pad Riser and Side Shields Review
Hello hikers! I’m Sasha, a full-time guide with Wildland Trekking, and I’d like to discuss sunglasses today. Specifically, we’re revisiting Ombraz sunglasses with a closer look at the accessories they offer for their unique armless sunglasses. My co-guides, Carmelina and Tolman, provided an in-depth Ombraz sunglasses review that I highly recommend checking out if you want the full details on these fabulous adventure shades. But here, I’m going to dive into Ombraz’s new Nose Pad Riser and Side Shields.
These attachments are designed to push an already adventure-focused pair of sunglasses to the next level by providing extreme comfort, support, and sun protection for the most intense outdoor activities. My testing took place while leading guided Yosemite hiking trips, which involved beautiful mountain climbs and provided the ideal environment for the Ombraz sunglasses. So, let’s see if these attachments added to the Ombraz experience!
Remember, I’m not going to review the Ombraz sunglasses specifically here. If you want those performance and test details, take a look at our full Ombraz Sunglasses Review. Instead, I’m going to be focusing almost exclusively on the Ombraz attachments you can choose to add to your sunglasses.
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Ombraz Accessories Quick Look
Let’s review the Ombraz attachments’ basic price and specs to lay the groundwork for this review.
- Price:
- Side Shields: $65
- Nose Pad Riser: $30
- Material: 3D Printed EPU 46
- Compatibility: Specific accessories are available for all Ombraz Glasses styles
Intended Use
Ombraz built their glasses for adventure from the beginning. A durable frame, scratch-resistant lenses, and the armless design all work together to allow these glasses to keep up with you no matter where your adventures lead. The Side Shields and Nose Pad Riser take this active design to the next level by enabling even more exciting activities while mitigating some of the risks or drawbacks associated with those activities. Specifically, working hard builds up your heat, and Ombraz sunglasses can be prone to fogging (as we discovered in our original review). The Nose Pad Riser is designed to promote increased ventilation and reduce fogging, allowing you to continue pushing hard. Additionally, those hardcore adventures may also take you to places with extreme sun glare, perhaps from reflecting snow or open water. For that scenario, Ombraz offers detachable Side Shields to further protect your eyes.
THE TEST – QUICK OVERVIEW
I tested the Ombraz glasses and accessories while leading Wildland Trekking trips in Yosemite National Park.
As you'd expect, we encountered significant changes in elevation and temperature that provided a wide range of testing conditions for these glasses. The intense sun reflecting off the granite rock was ideal for testing the side shields. Additional conditions/tests included bouts of wind and dust combined with toasty heat.
The Review
So, we’ve introduced what this review will focus on – the Ombraz Nose Pad Riser and Side Shields. Now, it’s time to investigate how these attachments performed in the wild. I’ll review the main performance categories for these attachments below (comfort, fit, ease of use, and so on) and give each category a score from 1 to 5. The key for this scoring system is below, and I’ll color each score with firsthand details from my testing that led me to assign that particular score. So let’s see how they did!
Test Score Key
1/5 – Poor
2/5 – Tolerable
3/5 – Fair
4/5 – Good
5/5 – Excellent
Installing the Attachments – 3/5
The nose pad riser was very easy to attach! Just plop it into place and it’s good to go.
The side shields, on the other hand, were a bit of an ordeal, unfortunately. As I’ll explain in more detail in the durability section, the material is super pliable and soft, which made attaching the side shields very finicky. In essence, there’s a loop in the adjustable cord where it meets the sunglasses frame, and the side shields have a little notch and hook that this loop should fit into. The process of getting everything lined up so that the cord loop actually snags the side shields and pulls them into the glasses was somewhat challenging. After messing with them for a good several minutes and trying to put them on several times without success during a river float, I finally got them on with the side guards and, quite frankly, didn’t want to touch them after that.
Therefore, I’d like to see something that snaps a bit more decisively and exactly onto the side of the glasses, and doesn’t require fiddling with the string so much. Included a photo of the glasses, where you can see the side guards not quite aligned with the frame of the glasses.
– Storage: Because it’s so fiddly to get them on, I didn’t feel much like taking them on and off every time I wanted to store the glasses. However, there is no good way to store the glasses with the side sun guards attached. I tried strapping the glasses inside the case with the side guards protruding from the sides, tried leaving the glasses sitting on my van dashboard etc. The result of leaving them attached while not in use was that they bent even more out of shape, bending outwards (however this outward bend is secured when you put them on as the string on the outside presses them inward). The pouch with the accessory pocket did store them perfectly well inside the inner pocket, but they had to be removed from the glasses to put them in the pocket.
Attachment Effectiveness – 5/5
Nose Pad Riser
For a leisurely stroll or a river float-type activity that requires minimal physical exertion, the glasses with no nose pad riser worked just fine and were decently comfortable.
However, when you start working and building up heat, the glasses fog up pretty quickly. This is when the nose pad riser shines by keeping the glasses from fitting too close to my face and providing some extra room for ventilation – and I truly saw the difference! Therefore, I’d leave them off for around-town or river float activities and consider them a must-add for any type of sweaty activity.
Side Shields
Attachment issues aside, and looking solely at protection from the sun, they were spectacular! The added protection was noticeable and quite welcome when hiking across exposed granite rock with lots of sun reflection. They also kept the sun from catching the large lenses at odd angles and reflecting directly into my eyes (which occasionally occurs when the sun is at an angle behind me).
Fit – 5/5
The adjustable string is really awesome! It’s super easy to adjust to a perfect fit and stays where you set it. Never had to mess with it, even wearing the lenses for hours at a time on a long hike.
The flip side of this is that they take a little more maneuvering to take off than standard sunglasses. Nothing crazy, just requires taking a hat off and juggling whatever you have on hand at that time.
The two accessories, once properly installed, also complemented the fit very well. The nose pad riser was very comfortable and kept the glasses positioned exactly as I wanted. The side shields also followed the adjustable band, contouring perfectly to the shape of my head.
Style – 4/5
I’m going to take a moment to diverge from strict performance and take a look at the overall style/aesthetic these accessories bring to the table.
Nose Pad Riser
I much preferred the look of the glasses WITHOUT the nose lift accessory. From a style perspective, when I add the nose lifting piece, it made me feel like I was wearing something my dad would wear when I was a small kid in the early 90s. I understand that this style is coming back for some, but it’s not my thing. I’d love if there were an option for a nose lifting piece that didn’t change the look of the glasses so much, since I liked the style better without it.
Side Shields
Style-wise, I liked the side shields; they give the glasses a rugged look and don’t change the shape of the frame when added. They make the sunglasses look ready for the gnarliest mountain summit or raddest day on the water, and I liked that feel.
Sunglasses and Cinch Cord
I made a point to test these sunglasses with different hair styles, following up on my female colleague’s previous review.
- With a hat: works great, doesn’t interfere with the hat.
- Ponytail: works great, goes under a high ponytail
- Side braid or side pony (my go-to backpacking hair styles): Meh? It looks a bit out of place, but when you’re backpacking, who really cares?
- Loose curly hair: Can work, depends on what you’re going for. When I had my curls out in all their glory on my river float, the back string felt similar to a half-barette/half pony, which I can work with. It actually secured my curls a bit, which I appreciate with big hair. I think this is the beginning of lots of experimenting, and the cinch cord can actually be pretty fun to work with if you consider it a kind of accessory in itself for styling purposes.
Overall Comfort – 5/5
Once properly adjusted, the glasses are super comfortable to wear! Especially since I never had to worry about them falling off. Seriously, the most worry-free experience I’ve ever had with glasses of any kind (and I wear glasses on a day-to-day basis). I wish there were a way to get my regular prescription glasses with a frame and attachment system like this to wear on the daily when I’m bopping around with lots of activities.
The nose lifting attachment provides additional cushion since the nose piece is soft and sits very comfortably on the bridge of my nose.
Durability – 4/5
For the nose pad riser (along with the glasses themselves and the carrying case), overall durability was outstanding. No arms on the sunglasses eliminate a huge durability risk, and the nose pad riser felt very secure and protected when attached. Additionally, I loved the pouches for the carrying case that allow me to stash the accessories very easily.
I deducted a point from this category due to the side shields. This accessory didn’t perform quite as well since the material seems extremely soft, bendy, and floppy. This means that they don’t keep their shape very well. Once attached, the string keeps them in place; however, because they’re so soft, it’s hard to get them to stay in place. They didn’t break during my test, but the pliable material definitely made it hard to work with them!
Overall Quality – 4/5
The overall quality of the glasses is great: Stylish, fun, and easy to use. You can feel and see the general quality in the frames, lenses, and the meticulous design work needed to create such precise attachments for the frames. Even though I’m not a fan of how the side shields attach and hope Ombraz improves this method in the future, I can appreciate the effort it takes to design these add-on attachments. To me, this effort demonstrates Ombraz’s continued commitment to their products and a desire to improve and respond to feedback from their customers.
Price – 4/5
Let’s start by addressing the painfully clear truth: these are some expensive sunglasses! Many may recoil at the thought of spending so much on a pair of sunglasses, let alone more for the accessories I’m reviewing. However, for the intended audience, I believe these sunglasses provide exceptional value well worth the steep up-front investment.
They’re well-made and clearly purpose-built for active adventures. The drawcord cinch keeps them snug and comfortable, no matter how crazy your adventures get, and the durable frame can stand up to the rigors of outdoor life. Of course, the lenses need protecting (just like any other pair of sunglasses), but the overall comfort and dependability of these glasses is truly unmatched, in my opinion.
Now, let’s pivot and consider the accessories. The nose pad, like the sunglasses, I believe the price is steep but worth the investment for the comfort and secure fit it provides. For the side shields, however, I have to give an individual rating of 3/5 because this is the accessory that I found the most finicky, yet has a shockingly high price tag. I admit they do a great job blocking those sun rays and keeping your eyes protected. But geez, $65 for a couple of fussy pieces of plastic to add to your already super-expensive sunglasses is hard for me to reconcile.
Bringing it Together
We covered a lot of aspects of the Ombraz sunglasses attachments! Therefore, I’ve made it easy by compiling all the major pros and cons below for quick reference.
Pros:
- Effective sun protection from the side shields
- Added comfort from the nose pad riser
- Both attachments stay reasonably secure when fitted to the sunglasses
- Improved ventilation
Cons:
- Side shields are very fussy to attach
- Expensive accessories for an already expensive pair of sunglasses
Final Thoughts
All in all, I believe the attachments add excellent value to Ombraz sunglasses. The Nose Pad riser noticeably improves ventilation and helps counter the known issue of fogging with Ombraz glasses (especially when working hard). At the same time, the Side Shields definitely help with sun protection and significantly reduce glare and reflected sun. At the same time, I found the side shields unduly finicky to attach, but I eventually got there!
But overall, my opinion is that the combined benefits and good performance of these two attachments are a worthwhile investment for folks who know they’ll be pushing their adventures and need these added benefits. However, for the more casual outdoor enthusiast, it may be hard to justify the added, and somewhat steep, price of these accessories.
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