I recently bought a Heads Up mirror from Kinetics, after breaking my
second 3rd Eye mirror. After using the 3rd Eye for nearly 2 years and
the Heads Up for 3 weeks, I thought I'd post a comparison:
Both mirrors attach to the arm of a pair of glasses. Both have an
extension arm protruding forwards from the top of the attachment
mechanism, with the mirror hanging from the end of the extension arm.
Each mirror is connected to the extension arm by a ball-and-socket
joint, allowing easy adjustment while riding. At the other end, the
extension arm of the 3rd Eye is connected to the attachment mechanism by
a second ball-and-socket joint. The Heads Up has a continuous arm, made
of a stiff but flexible plastic that is supposed to stay put once it has
been bent into position.
The second ball-and-socket joint makes the 3rd Eye easier to adjust
while riding, but also makes it more prone to being knocked out of
alignment by a clumsy attempt at adjustment. The flexible arm of the
Heads Up will only bend sideways, it cannot be adjusted up and down.
The 3rd Eye can be adjusted up and down by a few degrees.
Both mirrors attach via a 3-pronged arm. In each case, the outer 2
prongs are intended to go on the outside of the glasses arm, while the
central prong goes on the inside. The 3rd Eye has a straight attachment
arm with the prongs moulded off-centre. Attaching the 3rd Eye bends
both the attachment arm and the glasses arm slightly. The Heads Up has
a curved attachment arm, which should put less stress on the thick arm
of a pair of cycling glasses but which also makes the mirror much less
secure when attached to the thin arm of a pair of regular glasses.
Both mirrors are designed for the US market. When you buy them, both
will be set up for attachment to the left hand arm of your glasses.
This is not a problem with the 3rd Eye, as the extension arm can be
rotated on the ball-and-socket joint and the mirror is then ready to
attach to the right hand arm. This is not an option with the Heads Up.
The instructions for the Heads Up recommend mounting it with the central
prong on the outside and the outer prongs on the inside if you wish to
attach it on the right. I tried this once and was not happy with the
way it bent the arm on my cycling glasses. I then took the time to bend
the attachment arm so that I could mount it on the right with the outer
prongs on the outside. This bent the glasses less. It also,
pleasingly, bent the glasses less than the 3rd Eye.
The attachment arm of the 3rd Eye is notorious for snapping after a
while, usually in cold weather when the plastic is brittle. In my
experience they last about a year (they're good enough that I don't
actually object to having to replace them once a year). Hopefully the
Heads Up will be more durable.
Both mirrors are about the same width (29mm). While the 3rd Eye is
round, the Heads Up is longer vertically (42mm). The extra length of
the Heads Up will allow you to get a good view behind you over a wider
range of head angles and will probably make it more useful than the 3rd
Eye for upright cyclists. It also means that the inability to adjust
the extension arm up and down is not a serious problem. Bear in mind,
though, that a bigger mirror will give a bigger blind spot.
The elliptical shape of the Heads Up is somewhat disconcerting if you're
used to the round 3rd Eye. It looks as though the mirror is angled
slightly away from you. That's not a serious problem and only takes a
few days to get used to.
The extension arm of the 3rd Eye is more rigid than that of the Heads
Up. I have noticed some vibration of the Heads Up mirror, something
that I have never found to be a problem with the 3rd Eye.
Overall I think the 3rd Eye is slightly the better mirror, mostly
because of the vibration with the Heads Up. Because of the slight
differences in the attachment mechanisms, which mirror suits you best
might depend on the glasses that you wear for cycling. I find the Heads
Up more comfortable because it bends the arm on my cycling glasses less.
The Heads Up is probably better for use during the winter months, when
the brittle 3rd Eye attachment arm is prone to snapping and when clumsy
adjustment attempts while wearing thick gloves tend to knock the 3rd Eye
out of alignment.
--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine