Just before we were off to the southern hemisphere my Pro Bike Gear Rev sunglasses broke. Being summer where we were heading and with a strong/bright sun I really needed some new sunnies.
Why I needed new specks and how I got them.
I really liked the PRO Bike Gear’s Rev, frame less wrap around sunglasses. Since I did not have anything in the way of my vision, they also blocked out the wind and sun nicely. Though their new version of the Rev frames have bigger arms so I’m peripheral vision would be blocked more than I would like.
So the hunt was on for something that fitted what I wanted, photochromic (Light adjusting), frame less and with small (thin) arms. This narrowed it down rather a lot and made it harder for me to find some glasses that fitted that. Since fashion in cycling is right now, big fat frames all around the glass, along with fat arms, which I find a bit ugly and know they will limit my peripheral vision. I was willing to let the photochormic go if I could get polarized sun glasses, which didn’t help either.
Then I found Tifosi‘s Vogel sunglasses, which ticked the boxes. Though when I needed them every shop I could find in London, Melbourne or online didn’t have them in store. Or they had them but didn’t ship to where I was. As the hunt went one the closer the deadline became, for last minute delivery before we took off. And I was rather close to just by the first thing I would find the LBS and just live it for the next two month.
In steeped Billy the Tree in the US who let me buy them here in the UK and ship them to Australia. And my Tifosi sunglasses arrived the same day as we did down under, fantastic service.
Use and how the work
The Tifosi Vogel sunglasses, matte black (arms) with Fototec (Light adjusting) lenses which are red, which helps with the contrast of the things you are looking at. The Fototec works really fast and does not make the whole world black when out in the sun. When wearing these sunglasses my vision is not blocked at all and the wind stays away from my eyes. Never had any problems with them fogging up or having dust in my eyes.
When I see myself with these sunglasses in a photo or in the mirror, I’m very surprised how dark they look, since I have a very clear, sharp and bright view. Wearing the when driving in a forest, where you go from dark to light rapidly, they are light enough and dark enough to be able to see clearly all the time. When entering a dark room I quite often forget I got them on as they are not totally dark and slowly gets brighter with the help of the Fototec.
Since the are red tinted you do get a rose tinted view of the world, which at first is a bit weird if you haven’t worn tinted glasses before. But you soon get used to them and enjoy the benefit of the red tint since they do make what you look at much clearer.
The arms have Hydrophilic rubber pieces for a no-slip fit and have a nice grip to your head along with the nose clip, you soon forget that you are wearing these sunglasses. They fit nicely to my big’ish head without being uncomfortable or leave marks on your head. I have yet to drop them while cycling even in the strongest winds and roughest terrain, and I don’t worry about them if I should be looking down from a high point.
Rating
They do cover my needs with glasses, light, fit and forget and give me a obstruction free peripheral vision. So when next pay check comes around I will be putting in an order to get a few more, just to prepare for when I misplace these and don’t want to spend days looking for new ones.
Link : Tifosi, Vogel Sunglasses
