Japanese startup Zygospec is launching AirFly – billed as the world’s first floating sunglasses. The new eyewear for athletes also offers up a nose pad-free system for wearer comfort.
Since 2015, Zygospec has reworked its design and has gone from an initial crowdfunding launch to a brand that ‘helps thousands of athletes in Japan to boost their performance.’ The new sunglasses are has arrived on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, with a fundraising campaign to supports its universal fitting model.
After more than 1000 pairs tested by amateur and professional athletes, Zygospec proposes an updated model that has been designed to fit a variety of facial structures. AirFly, is a nose pad-free performance sunglasses offering that claims to solve issues many athletes face when wearing sunglasses – slipping, fogging, and strain.
AirFly’s nose pad-free system evenly distributes the weight of the sunglasses on the wearers’ cheekbones and temples instead of on the nose or the ears. The adjustable temple arms and side pads not only allow perfect fit on any face shape but also hold the glasses in place during ‘the most extreme movements’.
‘This innovative structure also allows for more airflow, just enough to prevent lenses from becoming foggy and slippery.’
Masaki Yoshimura, founder of Zygospec, said he has “always experienced discomfort from sunglasses – having tried glasses with many types of nose pads, but they failed to fit well after hours of training.”
After two years of R&D, Zygospec created the first model of AirFly in 2015. Launching soon on Kickstarter, the company will present its 4th generation product, with an expected launch in May 2021.
The official international launch of AirFly is planned for later this year – with the product priced at US$128. The glasses will be available for early adopters on Kickstarter at a special price of US$89.
Two different models 6C (for wider heads) and 7C (for narrower heads) will be made available along with options to make the lenses polarized or photochromic. The frames will be available in 4 colours for each model.
