Goodr Wrap G sunglasses review: Super value, solid performance, lots of colors
Goodr Wrap G sunglasses review: Super value, solid performance, lots of colors
It’s no wonder Goodr has been growing like crazy.
Founded in 2015 by Stephen Lease and Ben Abell, Goodr focused on runners who wanted sunglasses that were nicer than what you’d find in a gas station or big-box store, but not as expensive as fancy brands like Oakley or Smith Optics. Style was a key appeal from day one, with lots of bold colors, styles, and shapes available. But while the sunglasses were meant to offer some solid technical chops, there’s also always been a huge emphasis on fun.
As if the “Goodr” brand name didn’t suggest that enough already, there’s no missing the whimsical names for each model — “Flamingos on a Booze Cruise”, “Electric Dinotopia Carnival”, “Donkey Goggles”, and so on. The brand is basically Cards Against Humanity in the form of a sunglass company.
Best of all, Goodr has done all of this while maintaining a killer price point of just US$25-35 across the board while still using quality features like polarized and coated polycarbonate lenses, and grippy no-slip plastic frames that are highly flexible yet don’t feel like they’re going to fall apart.
Goodr hasn’t bothered with wraparound-style sunglasses that are better suited to cycling, however — until now. Making its debut at the Sea Otter Classic was a new style (and a new segment for the brand) called the Wrap G.
Offered in six different frame-and-lens combos, the Wrap G is much more dramatically curved than anything Goodr has offered to date, with generous coverage both side to side and top to bottom for more protection when moving at higher speeds. Polarized lenses are used across the board, along with co-molded rubber temple ends and interchangeable non-slip nosepieces to fine-tune the fit (two are included).
In keeping with the Goodr ethos, retail price is just US$45 / AU$65 (pricing for other markets is to be confirmed), and the specific model names are more than a little goofy. For this review, I went with two models: Extreme Dumpster Diving, with a matte clear frame and rose-colored lens for overcast days; and Nuclear Gnar, which combines a matte fluorescent green frame with a silver mirror-coated grey lens.
Ready to party
I’ve tested countless pairs of premium cycling sunglasses over the years — mostly good, some not-so-good — and I wasn’t sure what to expect from ones that cost as little as these. Let’s just say I was very pleasantly surprised.
The overall fit is excellent, with a snug (but not too snug) hold on my narrow head, and the tightly curved frame offering a close fit around my face to block out wind and debris. Those rubberized contact points do a good job of keeping the Wrap G from sliding around if/when you get sweaty, and the full-frame design feels more substantial than most frameless or half-frame designs. These things definitely stay put.
I don’t have a stereotypically flat face, but it’s still nice to see the thicker nosepiece included, which I ended up using to help push the lens a bit further away from my eyelashes. That said, riders with flatter faces will probably want to stick with something with a less extreme curvature (such as the Smith Optics Shift Mag), and those with wider heads might find the Wrap G to be just a smidgeon too narrow for all-day comfort.
Assuming the frame curvature works for you, lens coverage is outstanding. The ample height helps keep the upper edge of the frame out of your direct line of sight, while the sides of the lens wrap so far around that you (or, at least I) can’t see the frame at all. I’m not sure if Goodr intentionally mimicked the Oakley Sutro lens shape in this way, but it’s the same effect regardless. You might not think you need that extended field of view down there, that is, until you look over your shoulder to spot for approaching traffic.
Wind isn’t much of an issue, what with the lens fitting so close to your face and extending around the edges of your face as much as it does. The gap around the nosepiece is pretty small, too. That said, a little bit of venting might be helpful here as the lenses are prone to fogging when you’re moving slowly and generating a lot of heat, despite the anti-fog coating supposedly applied to the inner surface of the lens.
As for the two lens tints I tried, I find them perfectly adequate, though hardly remarkable.
The mirror-coated grey lens is as you’d expect it to be, darkening everything evenly without changing the color tone of your surroundings. It’s a good choice for ultra-sunny days on the road where I don’t need particular colors to be artificially boosted (even though I still find some more preferential contrast to often be helpful).
Although I expected to only use the pink lens on overcast days, it’s impressively versatile despite how much light it lets through. It’s not my first choice at midday on a clear day in the mountains, but on rides that started out cloudy with progressively clearing skies, I was still pretty happy. Regardless, that rose tint adds a bit more pop and contrast, particularly off-road where it’s easier to distinguish between various shades of brown and green.
As Goodr is apt to do, both lenses are polarized, and I have mixed feelings on that aspect. Polarization is good for cutting glare, it can help with contrast and clarity in general, and it’s especially useful when you’re on the water. But what I notice more while riding is how the polarization occasionally makes paved surfaces look a little sparkly and weird, and also how it doesn’t play well with some GPS computer screens. Given the option, I’d rather Goodr put more effort into developing more refined tints instead of relying so heavily on polarization.
It’s worth mentioning, too, that while those lenses are easy to pop in and out of the frame, they’re not technically interchangeable. To further hammer that point home, Goodr doesn’t offer lenses separately. However, it’s also worth mentioning that Goodr charges less for the complete Wrap G than most major companies do for replacement lenses.
Either way, I don’t have any complaints about the optical quality. Despite using a simpler cylindrical format instead of a more complex spherical lens shape, Goodr has done a good job keeping distortion at bay, and the clarity is very good.
If only the lenses weren’t so prone to scratching.
Virtually every sunglass brand out there tells you to only use the included microfiber cloth or bag or whatever they provide to clean the lenses to prevent scratches. And surely you religiously follow that advice, no? Cycling jerseys are hardly ideal for the task, but when your lenses are completely smeared with dried-up sweat, your choices are often to ignore that advice or leave your sunglasses tucked in your helmet vents for the rest of the ride — and we all know how this usually goes.
No sunglass lens is completely impervious to this sort of abuse, of course, but I’d strongly recommend following those guidelines in this case as pretty much anything outside of a clean cotton t-shirt seems to leave small marks on these lenses (and many users of other Goodr sunglasses have told me their lenses scratch easily, too). Despite only having my test sets for a few weeks, the grey lens already has a noticeable cloudiness to it that can’t easily be polished out.
On the plus side, Goodr’s PR folks reassured me that the company’s generous one-year warranty plan coverage includes scratches, but I’d prefer that the lenses not get so easily scratched up in the first place.
Keeping things in perspective
Although I think my criticisms are valid, those still have to be weighed against the ultra-low price. Even the Tifosi Rail sunglasses I reviewed a few weeks ago cost almost double.
Aside from those minor polarization-related optical artifacts and the scratching issue, I don’t have a lot to complain about with Goodr’s new Wrap G, and there’s a long list of positives. It’s a safe bet that Goodr will only further expand into this market with time, too.
They work well, they’re stylish, they’re inexpensive, and they’re super fun. Just remember to bring that little bag with you.
More information can be found at www.goodr.com.
