“You look like that guy from x-men!”
“Thanks mate”.
My unhelpful friend had a point. The Polaroid Glide P7130A cycling sunglasses did give you a bit of a Cyclops look:
Other than making you look like Cyclops and giving you +1 on the how much you look like you are riding the TdF scale, what did I think of the Polaroid Glide?
A snug fit
The first thing you notice is how comfortable, light and secure these feel on your face. The rubber ear fittings combined with the comfortable nose grip means that the glasses don’t move on even the longest and bumpiest rides.
The lightweight wraparound frame means the Polaroid Glide sunglasses weigh next to nothing. You barely notice you are wearing them. However, the construction does make them feel a little flimsy at times. Therefore, I’d never place them in my bag outside of their protective case.
Having a wraparound style is important for getting full protection from debris flying into your eyes as well as protecting you from sun glare. The Polaroid Glide therefore gets full marks for this design.
The filter
The red filter worked perfectly for keeping the sun at bay whilst maintaining a clear view of everything around. However, this is where a slightly greater investment for the Contender P7121B sunglasses (£89) may have been worth it as you have the option of switching between the different filters depending on your riding conditions. For example, if you still want to wear the glasses in the late evening then the clear lenses still help keep dirt away whilst letting what little light there is through.
The advantage of the polarised lenses means a huge reduction in glare, your eyes feel less strained and you can still see clearly ahead.
Nose grip
The one negative to the Polaroid Glide sunglasses is in the red nose grip. Despite it holding the glasses in place excellently, it makes your nose prone to sweating, around where the grip is in place. I’ve never noticed this problem with other sunglasses. The sweating persisted even in periods when I wasn’t pedalling hard. Fortunately, it didn’t cause the glasses to go foggy.
Review of the Polaroid Glide
Overall, the Polaroid Glide glasses are comfortable, light and keep your eyes well protected from the sun whilst giving you a clear view of the road ahead. However, at £70 they are not a cheap purchase and if you planning on spending this much it would seem sensible to upgrade to the £89 model to benefit from the interchangeable lenses for different riding conditions.
They seem ok, i use the photochromatic rudy project impact rx, and they have been brilliant. Change to the light conditions so you can use them in sunlight or night without having to swap lenses, wraparound, fit great but you do pay a little more for them. In my opinion they are worth it. indestructable as well!
Every form of cycling-specific sunglasses is useless to those of us compelled by biology and wallet to wear spectacles. Target shooting wraparound goggles which fit over glasses are the only option.
Phil, I wear glasses, but also have some disposable contacts for cycling as well. You can get prescription lenses for cycling such as http://www.rudyprojectuk.com/technologies/impactrx/tailored-to-your-eyes.html. By the way, I don’t work for Rudy!
Thanks for the tip Karl; I will investigate the Rudy Projects ~5 minutes later~I can not possibly afford or justify £150 for a pair of shades, and I think disposable contacts are wasteful, so it’s shooting goggles or nowt for me.