Roland Sands can now add ‘sunglass designer’ to his long and impressive résumé. I’m not sure how hands-on Roland was in designing these sunnies but I guess if your name is on them you would make sure they didn’t suck. SPY were nice enough to send us a pair of the Murena Woodgrain (pictured) and I was actually surprised by how solid and well made they feel. But more importantly I wanted to know how they handled on the open road. So I went for a ride.

I usually wear vintage styled Carrera Champions which I like, but are a little too big inside a helmet. They also don’t have polarized lenses like the Murena’s and this is the first thing I notice. The polarized lenses completely remove any harsh glare, especially from white cars – perfect for riding on a bright sunny Sydney day like today. Where my Carrera’s are too big, the Murena’s fit snug in my Shoie open face helmet. They almost look like they were custom made for my helmet, not letting any stray objects near my eyes – there’s nothing worse than a bug hitting your retina at 100kph.

Overall I give the SPY RSD Murena’s two thumbs up and I would definitely recommend the polarized lenses, don’t think I will be going back now I’ve seen the difference. If you want to check out the whole limited edition range visit the SPY Optics website.