I ran 50 miles wearing armless sunglasses and I might not go back to regular ones

If there’s one common feature across all of the best running sunglasses, it’s a secure fit. It doesn’t matter how great the sunnies are otherwise if they don’t stay put on the run, and I often find that glasses slip down my nose when I get sweaty.

One solution I hadn’t considered was doing away with the arms on the sunglasses entirely and using a cord instead, which is how Washington-based brand Ombraz makes all its sunnies.

I was skeptical of corded sunglasses, mainly because sunglasses are generally meant to be a pretty cool accessory, right? Tying them on with a cord brings to mind images that are, well, not cool.

However, the fit and comfort of the Ombraz Refugio sunglasses I’ve been testing won me over, and the fact that the cord doesn’t hang down behind your head assuaged my fears on the cool front as well – you don’t even notice the glasses are corded, unless you’re looking for it.

Ombraz Refugio: $195 at ombraz.com

The Refugio are shield-style sunglasses that have worked well for runs and other outdoor activities in my testing. The large frame ensures your eyes are covered from all angles, and the cord holds the sunglasses in place reliably and comfortably on long runs.

View Deal

No bouncing, no problem

The Ombraz Refugio sunglasses are held in place using a cord that you tighten using two toggles, so the cord sits flat against the back of your head.

This creates an extremely secure fit — I did a 20-mile run on a hot, sweaty day in the sunnies and they didn’t bounce or move at all — and I’ve also done trail runs with fast downhills and the specs stay firmly in place.

It’s also a comfortable fit, with no pressure points on the side of the head, which I sometimes notice with sports sunglasses that aim for a secure fit using tight arms.

I prefer the fit of the Ombraz sunnies over my other sports specs — and I have a lot of them — with the main reason I’d go back to other sunnies being that I have prescription sets of them, which I tend to use on the run over contact lenses.

Convenient and hard to break

The other benefits of the armless design are that the glasses sit flat in their soft case, so they’re easier to pack into a pocket or bag, and removing the arms also removes the part of the sunglasses I break most regularly.

The last time I did a marathon abroad, I broke the arm off my sunnies without realising, and had to spend an afternoon retracing my steps across Seville to find it (which I did, luckily!). No arms removes the potential to break those arms.

You do pay a premium for Ombraz sunglasses right now —the price of the specs being similar to top models from the likes of Oakley and Roka. Their prescription armless options are also particularly dear, and getting a cord to attach to the arms on your existing glasses will be a cheaper solution if you are having fit issues.

Now I’ve tried going fully armless, it’s hard to go back.

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore the Smith Motive sunglasses for a half-marathon — here’s how they performed
• The best Garmin watches to have on your wrist
• The best running sunglasses 2025 according to our testing