“It’s not easy. But we believe the outdoor industry can do better. And we’re here to raise the bar. And honestly, we love it.” —Jensen Brehm, co-founder of Ombraz
Ombraz “Armless Sunglasses,” MacGyvered their way into the sunglass market in 2018, introducing innovations in practicality and sustainability that few sunglass manufacturers had previously explored. Co-founder, Jensen Brehm, created the idea out of necessity on a camel ride in India. Someone had sat on his sunglasses, breaking the arms, so Brehm tied a piece of twine through the hinges and wrapped it to the back of his head. The result was armless sunglasses that didn’t slip off and could easily be adjusted. Over the next five years, Brehm explored this idea further and was met with overwhelming positive feedback. He decided to create the brand, Ombraz, with his business partner, Nikolai Paloni, in Seattle, WA to introduce armless sunglasses to the eyewear markets.
While Ombraz has marketed to a variety of communities such as cycling, aviation, alpinism, skiing, hiking and fishing, its most recent model of lens, The Refugio, is particularly suitable for trail runners. Brehm describes this model’s purpose and features, “The Refugio is suited for trail running because of its full-wrap-around shield coverage, providing the wearer with fuller eye protection from wind, dust, and low-angle sun. The thin, low-profile frame is extremely lightweight, while the built-in cord means the frames won’t slip down your nose or bounce/jostle around.
“The Refugio is the first frame to seamlessly integrate our armless design with a truly sport-forward, performance-oriented profile. Additionally, brand new, fully integrated rubber nose pads offer a subtle lift away from the brow to increase ventilation, reduce fogging, and prevent lens smudging from sweat and oil during high-output pursuits.”
Startup Success
Not all start-up ideas receive instant recognition, but with a catchy preview video of their brand (watch the video here), and the quality of the products to back it up, Ombraz received over $200,000 in preorders while crowdfunding for their brand. Brehm spoke of their initial success, “People related to the problem we sought to solve. Sunglasses are frustrating. They slip down your nose, fall off, pinch your head, break way too often, and are easy to set down and forget about. Ombraz solved all those problems, and people resonated with it.”
In 2019, Ombraz also won the Gear Junkie Sunglass of the year and Backpacker Magazines Gear Editor’s Choice Award.
Positively carbon negative
One of the most exciting aspects of Ombraz entering the trail running world is their focus on sustainability (an area overlooked in many industries, but especially eyewear). According to Chilean-based third party Green Ticket (which assists brands across the world to offset their carbon emissions), Ombraz is not only carbon negative, but the most carbon negative company in the entire world.
For every pair of Ombraz sold, the company plants twenty mangrove trees. This offsets the carbon used to make each shade 1,713 times over.
Brehm speaks on the brand’s emphasis on sustainability, “We prioritize ecological stewardship because it’s the right thing to do. Every company should be carbon negative; every company has the means to be – they just prioritize profit instead. To us, we wouldn’t feel proud to build a brand and a company that was just taking from our resource base. We enjoy building while delivering a net-benefit environmental impact.”
As of 2025, Ombraz transitioned to a “100% Made in Italy Production.” All production is handmade in a small, family-owned workshop in Northern Italy, which greatly reduces the carbon footprint in development. The workshop uses solar power, minimizes oil use age, and uses advanced water recycling systems. Additionally, with all production happening under one roof, Ombraz cuts down on a major source of carbon emissions for most brands—the extensive shipping and processing of goods and parts from a variety of locations.
What’s wrong with trail running sunglasses?
Trail runners have specific needs for their shades based on their physical activities, many of which are not being addressed. Firstly, trail runners require shades that minimize motion or potential for falling off. Compared to road cyclists or road runners, trail runners navigate more technical terrain that could jostle shades around on extreme climbs, descents and on uneven terrain.
The potential for tripping is also higher, which increases the chances of shades flying off when running. Brehm shares the differences in fit between Ombraz and traditional shades, “Ombraz stay on your face and feel better than normal sunglasses with arms because we’ve been incredibly intentional about the way we’ve designed our armless frames to fuse with the built-in cord. It all comes down to balance. And every style in our collection has been meticulously balanced to fit perfectly on your face. The cord has to attach to the right place on the frame, and fractions of a millimeter matter for this balance.”
New shades on the block
One fear some might have when seeing photos of Ombraz shades is how to actually use them. Brehm explains the proper way to wear Ombraz to optimize their fit, “A relaxed fit keeps them secure, but allows the cord to disappear around your head with absolutely zero pressure or tension. This is the most important part about trying on a pair of Ombraz and something we stress to EVERY single person who tries a pair on for the first time. You don’t need to crank them down tight! Find your sweet spot, and they’ll be the most comfortable sunglasses you’ve ever worn.”
Visit the “How to Wear” page to watch an instructional video about how to wear their shades and to read commonly asked questions such as how to wear them with long hair and sunglasses.
Resting in shade or chasing the sun?
Ombraz may have created groundbreaking innovations in the sunglasses market, but they are far from done exploring their creativity. Brehm shares his love of marketing and expressing his personality authentically through Ombraz, “Honestly, we just love being quirky, different and creative. Ombraz could be perceived as gimmicky from the outside perspective, so we really try to create premium, high quality, fun content that gets people’s attention and lets people know we’re serious about what we’re building. A surprising number of outdoor brands are owned by just a handful of holding companies and VC firms. That’s why so much of the gear and the content they create feels the same: bland, polished, safe, and a little lifeless.”
Brehm continues, speaking on the difference in brand missions between Ombraz and major eyewear companies, “As an independent brand, content is our lifeline. But we’re not interested in forced smiles, holding a coffee mug, or staring off into the distance at the top of a mountain. Great content should spark something, make you feel, think, or stop scrolling. If it doesnt cause you to feel some sort of way, what’s the point in making it at all?”
In addition to their novelties in advertising, Ombraz plans to continue improving their models and growing their product line. Brehm explains the future goals for Ombraz in more detail, reflecting on how far they’ve come, “We’re really proud of what we’ve built and are continuing to build. Embedded into our mission and vision is to ‘do it better’ —create products, a brand and a business that can stand the test of time, one that is respected by the industry, loved by our customers and revered for our environmental stewardship. We’re now focused on a few new frames that are more – niche specific – the Refugio is a good example of that- we didn’t have a frame yet that was truly built for runners.”
Follow Ombraz on their social media here.
