Shred Optics and Slytech Protection showed off some cool new gear at Interbike. The brand is based out of Park City, Utah and was Co-Founded by Ted Ligety – Olympic gold medalist skier.
We honed in on Shred’s goggles, performance glasses, and helmet. Under the same umbrella is their protective brand – Slytech. Their knee and elbow pads caught our eyes. Kelly McGarry and Ryan Nyquist are the big guns who represent both brands from the two wheeled side of things.
2nd skin is a foam that was developed for Shred/Slytech that works in a similar fashion to D3O, but with some dramatic improvements in terms of energy absorption and shock reduction. You will see below that it’s used both in their body armor as well as their helmets.
Shred’s new helmet retails for $159 and features co-molded 2nd skin technology. We don’t have all of the info on it’s weight, sizing or colorways available, but Shred says it should be coming soon. Their helmets that are available now can be seen here
Shred goggles also bring something new to the table. On the lower right frame below, there is a detail shot of their “NoDistortion” valve. When Shred approached some of their athletes about innovations for the goggles, many of them noted that there was some distortion when they reached elevation. With two pane goggle systems, this makes sense as the lenses can get warped from the pressure or vacuum within the two panes. “NoDistortion” is a waterproof valve they developed that alleviates pressure between each lens, in a sense the goggles adapt to elevation change while providing consistent optics.
“Soaza” goggle – $109.90. 4 colorways, clear and tinted lens options as well as tear offs.
Slytech knee pads and elbow pads also feature their own version of 2nd Skin. Both forms of protection are available in a “lite” and a “kevlar” version.
Elbowpro XT Lite – $109
Kneepro XT Lite – $119
Elbowpro XT Kevlar – $139
Kneepro XT Kevlar – $159
Shred makes a pretty sweet line of casual sunglasses, but we honed in on the performance glass. They feature co-molded rubber at the contact points by the ears and nose, and are super flexible, have interchangeable lenses and are made in Italy – just like their goggles. This also is a new glass – retail price and weight are undetermined as of now. Stay tuned to Shred’s website for more details.
