Recently Tio Gomez asked if the bigger two of my minions would be interested in trying out Tifosi’s youth sunglasses, the Shutout. Since I’ve been relying on the sunglasses my kids get from their checkups at the dentist, this was perfect timing to see if it was time to spend a little cash on some upgrades.
First the technical details. Tifosi makes the Shutout in four color options priced at $25. You have the choice of black w/smoke lens, gloss black w/smoke blue lens, midnight navy w/smoke yellow lens, or a matte white with either a smoke red or smoke blue lens. The matte white frames are accented w/ the color of your preferred lens.
Second, the technical details of the testers. Declan, the oldest, is 10 and five feet tall. Teague is 8 and 4’3″ tall. Both enjoy all the normal kid things: bikes, playgrounds, parent torturing, etc., and have what I would consider age-appropriate head sizes for this test.
Opening the package I discovered we were sent the matte white/smoke red combo and the gloss black/smoke blue lens. Miraculously, Declan and Teague did not want the same pair so first problem solved. Both boys seemed happy with the initial fit so now it was time to take them out riding.
Since our local trails were still muddy, we decided the first test would be a paved trail ride to a playground. The ride to the playground was uneventful and both boys were still happy with the fit of the Shutouts. Once at the playground the first real test of fit would begin. On the equipment, the Shutouts were a hit. Whether climbing, swinging or sliding, the Tifosis stayed in place.
On the ride home from the playground, we did a little work on standing on the pedals. Partially because they need the practice and also to see if the bumps in the field would have any effect on how well the Shutouts stayed put. A few runs down the grassy stretch to the paved trail gave the glasses their first taste of ‘mountain biking’ and they passed with flying colors. Not once was a finger needed to push the glasses back up the nose to its rightful place.
Once we got some dry trails it was time to head out to and see how the boys liked them for playing bikes on dirt. The fit remained consistent through bumps and berms. And nobody felt the need to stop and take off their shades when riding into the shaded areas, a problem we’ve had with other sunglasses that were just too dark for the shadows but not dark enough for bright sunlight. Tifosi seems to have found a good balance here evidenced by neither kid wanted to take them off in the shaded parts of the trail, but nobody ran into a tree either.
As a parent, no matter what I think of the value/fit/performance of the product it doesn’t really matter if the kids don’t like them so I’ll let the boy have the final say. Declan: I think they do everything really good and there’s nothing else to say. Five out of five dancing leprechauns. Teague: They feel very comfortable so I’d give it five dancing leprechauns too!
And there you have it. Five out of five leprechauns from both the utes!
Both of those guys look like seasoned pros! Good looking eye protection is definitely a must when taking the kids out to the trails. Less bugs and sticks in the face to worry about. ????