First look: New Shimano S-Phyre SL and Pulsar sunglasses

On Thursday, Shimano launched three new pairs of sunglasses—Shimano S-Phyre SL, Shimano Equinox and Shimano Pulsar—for 2025. I got my hands on two of them. I’ll run down the range before diving into my thoughts about the new specs.

Shimano S-Phyre SL

The S-Phyre moniker within Shimano’s glasses and shoe lineups means the top of the line. SL, in the case of the new S-Phyre glasses, is for “super light.” The company says they weigh in at 23.7 g. The glasses forgo a frame with the temples secured directly to the large, single-piece lens. At the top of the lens is a small slit for ventilation. Shimano’s vision technology is Ridescape, which comes in three versions, each optimized for a specific riding environment. My sample S-Phyre’s have a road-tuned (RD) lens designed to boost contrast on asphalt. Other models of S-Phyre SL sport the gravel (GR) and trail (OR) iterations of Ridescape. All are made with a polymer partially derived from castor oil, lessening the environmental footprint of the glasses. The S-Phyre glasses don’t come with multiple lenses because you can’t swap them out. ($200)

Shimano Equinox

Next in the lineup are the Shimano Equinox. They feature a half frame and are 2.2 g heavier than the S-Phyre. Like the top-end sunnies, the Equinox have bio-based lenses in all three Ridescape formulations, but also ship with clear lenses. If you want a photochromic grey, it’s available for the Equinox. The second-tier glasses have a novel cutout in each of the temples that Shimano says allows the specs to integrate well with a wide range of helmets. ($175, $200 for photochromic)

Shimano Pulsar

The final member of the new team of glasses is the Shimano Pulsar, sporting a full frame with a detachable lower section, so you can run a half-frame look. Since these glasses are made for rough routes and off-road, they only come with gravel- or trail-oriented Ridescape bio-based lenses. There is a photochromic grey option, too. The Pulsar weigh about 29.8 g. ($140, $165 for photochromic)

First impressions of the Shimano S-Phyre SL and Pulsar sunglasses

The Shimano S-Phyre SL remind me a lot of my soon-to-be-nine-years-old Oakley EVZero glasses. Both pairs are within 10ths of gram of one another and provide generous coverage with their large lenses. The S-Phyre sit more securely on my face, which…