Tifosi Optics offers affordable sunglasses at Outdoor Retailer

At the Outdoor Retailer '09 Summer Market, there are hundreds of high-end companies vying for the attention of retailers. The competition is fierce and the stakes are high as shelf space is limited and store owners are looking for products that will sell fast. One problem, however, is that most outdoors products are of such high quality that they are expensive, therefore beyond the modest budget of the average Joe.

Sunglasses are especially guilty of being overpriced to the point that ski bums, dirt-bag mountain bikers, and weekend warriors can never hope to afford them. But one sunglass company at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market has stepped up to make quality eye wear at prices everyone can afford.

Tifosi Optics is a small operation based in Watkinsville, Georgia. Their mission is appropriate for their small-town roots: to make sunglasses for the rest of us. They offer polarized, photochromic interchangeable lenses in various styles that would make any Oakley snob link twice before dropping hundreds of dollars. Tifosi's sunglasses are priced from $30 to $90 and all their products come with a lifetime warranty.

Some of Tifosi's more compelling features were how easy the lenses were to switch out, and how they are vented with small holes at the top. After trying some of the sunglasses on, they were very comfortable due to the adjustable nose and ear pieces that are totally customizable. The frames were also impressive as they are made from a flexible nylon which seemed impossible to break.

For the financially challenged outdoorsmen and women who just grab cheap sunglasses off the spinning rack at the gas station, Tifosi Optics may be our salvation, providing us with quality eye wear for a price we all can swallow.