“An incredibly innovative and forward looking design. No other wetsuit in the world has that.” – Chrissie Wellington

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Limits will fall.

Polarized lenses have a specific film applied to them which contains Dichroic Crystals. Dichroism has two specific meanings in optics. A dichroic material is either one which causes visible light to be split up into distinct beams of different wavelengths (more commonly known as colours; not to be confused with dispersion), or light rays having different polarizations are absorbed in different amounts. The latter is most applicable when talking eyewear and the former being more applicable to photography.

Dichroic basically means two-coloured and refers to any optical device which can split a beam of light into two beams with differing wavelengths. Such devices include mirrors and filters, usually treated with optical coatings and are designed to reflect light over a certain range of wavelengths, and transmit light which is outside that range.  Thus the effect of polarization is dependent upon the orientation of the polarized light.

In summary, some light is let through, while other light is not. In the case of sunglasses, it depends on the angle of the light penetrating the lens.

All polarized sunglasses allow only vertically polarized sunlight though.

The rule is that the polarization is tangential (from the side/angled) to a circle centered on the sun. For example, if the sun is in front, behind, or high above, road surface brightness will tend to be horizontally polarized and the filter of the sunglasses will provide some help.  However, if the sun is to one side, the polarization will rotate vertically, the more so the lower the sun happens to be.

The best way to understand this is to get a pair of polarized sunglasses, hold them out in front of you and look through the lenses while rotating them. You will notice that objects and reflections vary in brightness and tone as you rotate the sunglasses. See below an image taken from http://polarization.com.

Now some people believe that polarized sunglasses are not a good idea for cycling, especially if it’s damp out. The reason for this is because reflection is minimised, puddles and moisture (ie: wet road markings) are not seen. I have tested this and not had any problems. If anything, polarization helps reduce glare and increase visibility.

Every single pair of Glider Eyewear sunglasses is polarized. They look good, they work and they extremely well priced. For more on Glider got to http://www.glidereyewear.com.

Built on the same platform as the Kinvara, the Peregrine boasts a 4mm heel drop. Traditional running shoes or the type of shoe that most people run in or are familiar with have a 12mm heel drop. Trust me, the 8mm difference is epic and I am loving life in my flatter shoes. I only run in 4mm heel drop shoes or complete flats.

The Peregrine won the Runner’s World Editors Choice award April 2011, and that’s up against some big names including Brookes, New Balance, Asics, Adidas to mention a few.

The Peregrine has unbelievable traction. The sole is pretty stiff and these shoes are certainly not for the on/off road kind of race. These are serious trail racers that will give you all the grippy confidence of flat out hiking boots at a fraction of the weight. Having said this hey are still responsive and deliver enough feedback but the soles and the lugs were certainly not developed for the urban warrior.

If you steer clear of the tarmac and head for the rugged, not-for-sissy-boys stuff the Peregrine will be hard to compete with.

The Saucony ProGrid Peregrine received the prestigious Runner’s World Editor’s Choice award in their April, 2011 Trail Shoe Guide. This was ahead of the likes of the Asics Gel-Trail Attack 7, Brooks Cascadia 6, New Balance 915 and 5 others. To read more you can click on the previous link.

These are truly special trail shoes. If you want more info or would like to know where to find a pair contact me via my contact page.

Happy running

Nic

Currently, most laces are not able to provide variable tension as laces are tied by creating a knot at the top end of a shoe. The problem with this way of lacing is that all of the tension sits around the ankle area and that results in a restriction of blood flow and circulation. The problem is compounded by people creating a double knot so as to avoid their laces coming undone.

With Xtenex laces the shoe contours to the unique form of the foot by adjusting the tension between eyelets producing a custom fit every time. Once you have your perfect fit the laces will stay in place and your shoes slip on and off with ease. Xtenex laces eliminate the tightening and restricting pressure at the top of the shoe that leads to foot fatigue, pain, numbness and restriction of natural foot swelling. The Xtenex flexible core expands and every laced shoe becomes a comfortable slip-on.

One of the major problems that I experienced with many other elastic laces was the pressure they placed on the bridge of my foot. Since using Xtenex, I am able to reduce that pressure thanks to the fact that the clever technology allows for adjustable tension at any point along the lace. If you want the most comfortable fit from any shoe, I’d suggest fitting Xtenex to them.

Yes they are great looking shoes and very comfortable, but there’s little doubt that they were designed purely for speed. For more leisurely runs I use my Kinvaras (See my Kinvara review here).

The Saucony Type A4 is truly fast and although I may have mentioned that already it’s really no understatement.

There are also a number of features which give this shoe a certain edge over other racing flats. The sock liner is soft and tight which makes these shoes a pleasure to run barefoot in. As a matter of fact, out of more than 20 shoes I have tried, these are the first that I can run in without getting blisters or drawing blood. That alone is enough to get my excited. However they also have the “hydrator” pad inside the top of the heel which prevents the back of the shoe from slipping. This also means that your laces don’t need to be as tight. Looser laces mean it’s easier to put them on… faster.

The only thing that doesn’t work for me is the elastics which keep the tongue in place. I simply cut mine out because I got blisters thanks to my wide mid-foot.

Other than that, these shoes are absolutely perfect racing flats and possibly even more perfect for triathlon use. I can’t fault them… now that I’ve cut the elastics out.

The Saucony logo design is based on their beautiful location. The swooping silhouette resembles that of the constant flow of the Saucony Creek, while the cut-outs represent three boulders lying in the middle of the creek.

It was four business men who founded Saucony and first made adult walking shoes and children’s sneakers. Running shoes were introduced only a few years later.

In 1910 a Russian immigrant by the name of Abraham Hyde started a shoe company in Cambridge, Massachusetts called A.R. Hyde and Sons. Renting a tiny space in the back of a laundromat, Hyde started making what he called “carpet slippers”, shoes constructed from old and unused scraps of rugs.

Over the years as A.R. Hyde and Sons grew and so did their range. In 1932 A.R. Hyde and Sons introduced ice skates and by 1938 roller skates, bowling shoes and baseball shoes also formed part of the range.

Then came World War 2 in the 1940’s and A.R. Hyde and sons, commissioned by the US army, manufactured army boots.

The success of the army boots attracted interest from NASA and A.R. Hyde and Sons produced the first pair of space boots, as worn by Neil Armstrong during his moment of “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

In 1968 A.R. Hyde and Sons bought Saucony and the operation was moved to Cambridge.

Saucony did however remain somewhat of a secret among locals, mostly due to the fact that marketing was non-existent.

However in 1977 the editor of a nationally distributed US running magazine got hold of a pair of Saucony and awarded them with their “Best Quality” rating. The attention immediately put Saucony on the map and they became the most desirable running brand in the US.

By the late 90s Saucony became A.R. Hyde and Sons’ dominant brand and the company name was officially changed to Saucony.

In June 2005 the Stride Rite Corporation announced their acquisition of Saucony with both companies based in the greater Boston, Massachusetts area; Stride Rite in Lexington and Saucony in Peabody.

To this day Saucony remains one of the great running brands.

“Loyal to the Sport” – Saucony

References:

www.saucony.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.prlog.com

www.hubpages.com

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