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Whether you spend your summer hiking up Pikes Peak or sipping IPAs on Tap Fourteen’s rooftop beer garden, you’ll need to shield your retinas from the Centennial State’s brilliant sunshine. These new Colorado-born designs do the job, no matter which warm-weather pursuit you choose.
1. Surf Snow Promo Aviator
Made out of light but durable zebrawood, these funky frames will attract plenty of attention from the other loungers at City Park Jazz. $90
2. Optic Nerve Eyewear Vettron
The latches on the Vettron make it easy to swap your daytime lenses for Optic Nerve’s nighttime versions (which soften glare)—taking you from paddleboarding on Sloan’s Lake to relaxing on Joyride Brewing Company’s patio in seconds. $65
3. Optic Nerve Eyewear Roundhouse
These highly reflective, vintage-inspired shades would make the Pink Ladies proud—and will wow your fellow diners at Avanti Food & Beverage. $25
4. Colorado Glasses Specters
Combine lightweight zebrawood with springs at the temples (creating a wider fit if need be), and you’ve got a pair perfect for chilling in Eldorado Springs’ mineral-water-fed pool. $75
5. Native Eyewear Catamount
With lenses that block up to four times more infrared light than standard polarized shades, this pair will protect your eyes during the Leadville Trail 100 MTB’s grueling climbs on August 11. (We can’t say the same for your sunburned nose.) $139
6. Zeal Optics Fleetwood
If you tend to misplace your sunglasses like we do, you’re in luck: This pair’s frame is biodegradable. So if you leave them behind at, say, Cheesman Park, you’ll be out of your investment but not good karma. $169