Gear Review: Tifosi Podium XC

A little while ago, I reviewed the Tifosi Slip. Tifosi fills a niche as a budget-performance sunglass company, with most of their offerings falling between $50 and $80. I've always considered them a great value, bang-for-your-buck company, since they're less than half the price of similar products from companies like Oakley and Smith, yet they're still high quality products (though perhaps not quite as solid feeling as their far more expensive brethren). My parents both wear Tifosi, and I tend to wear the Slip whenever I'm doing something where I want sunglasses but am afraid of breaking my expensive Oakley Flak Jackets (mountain biking comes to mind), or whenever I want something other than the really dark Flak Jacket lenses (replacement Oakley lenses are ridiculously expensive). Today I'll be reviewing the Tifosi Podium XC.

Gear Review: Tifosi Slip

I recently reviewed the Oakley Flak Jacket: sexy, performs great, and expensive. Consider it the Lamborghini Gallardo of sunglasses. Now, we all love Lambos, but not all of us want to spend the money for one, especially if you're someone who tends to lose or break sunglasses. In that case, you can go with a Honda Civic, aka your typical pair of cheap, but still UV-protective, sunglasses from a department store, or you can decide you still want great performance without the huge price tag and get yourself a Subaru WRX. The Subarus of the sunglasses world come from a company known as Tifosi, and their WRX is the Tifosi Slip.

Tifosi Slip in Carbon with High Speed Red Fototec lens