On 28/08/07 I ordered two pairs of Optilabs Scorch cycling glasses, the
first with single vision photochromic lenses, the second with single
vision gold mirrors. They arrived a little less then 2 weeks later.
Prior to that I had for several years commuted wearing a pair of Adidas
Gazelles with prescription inserts (I wear contact lenses for weekend
rides). I think the Scorch glasses merit a detailed review.
FIT 4/5:
Obviously fit is personal. What fits me might not fit you. I probably
have a fairly average size and shape of face.
The Scorch glasses have a secure, comfortable fit. The one problem I
initially had was that it felt as though the lower edge of the frame was
touching my cheeks, which in my experience leaves lens coatings
vulnerable to the effects of sweat. I no longer notice it, so perhaps
it's not actually a problem. 5 months on there is no sign of any sweat
damage to the lenses.
I would prefer it if the nose pieces could be adjusted inwards, or if
the angle of the arms could be adjusted, to move the bottom of the frame
away from my face, but the Scorch frame cannot be adjusted in any way
(unless, unlike me, you're willing to try using heat to bend the arms of
an expensive pair of glasses).
On the plus side, the Take-a-Look mirror fits better on these than on
any of the three other pairs of cycling glasses that I own.
STYLING 1/5
A big disadvantage of ordering glasses online is that you can't see what
the glasses will look like on your face before ordering. Optilabs offer
other designs, but the Scorch frames come in either silver with red
flames, or black with grey flames. I love red, and I was worried that
black frames might look quite severe with a full frame design (all of my
other cycling glasses and all of my regular glasses for the last 10
years have had, at most, half frames). So I ordered the silver and red
- if black with red flames had been offered I would probably have chosen
that.
Black might have suited me better. The silver frames have a glam rock
look that I don't think suits me. My kids love it, and the wife says
they look fine with cycling kit.
I was initially disappointed with the appearance of the mirrored lenses,
which don't look as reflective or (to my mind) as cool as other gold
mirrored sunglasses that I've owned. The Scorch lenses are also
polarising, though, and I suspect that a greater degree of mirroring
combined with the polarising filter might result in too little light
transmission. The performance of the lenses more than makes up for any
disappointment with the appearance.
PERFORMANCE 5/5
The clarity of vision with the Scorch glasses is superb. I wouldn't
find the photochromic lenses adequate in bright sunlight, but with 18
years experience of wearing photochromic lenses I knew that before I
ordered. That's why I ordered a second pair with mirrored lenses, which
are ideal. The ultimate test is that of riding on a wet road into a low
morning sun. I get slightly dazzled wearing the mirrored Scorch
glasses, but nowhere near as much as in my old glasses.
The polarising filter in the mirrored lenses initially made it difficult
to read my computer from certain angles, but that was a fault in the
computer display rather than the lenses. I've since replaced the
(7-year-old) computer and have no problems with the new one.
They're extremely effective at keeping wind out of my eyes up to at
least 30mph in warm weather, though my eyes will start to water above
about 20mph in cold weather and around 15-20mph in freezing conditions.
(Bear in mind while reading this that I ride a recumbent and haven't
tried them on an upright bike).
At the same time, peripheral vision is almost as good as if I was
wearing contact lenses. I can just about see the edge of the frame out
of the corner of my eye. The relative lack of peripheral vision was
never a huge problem with my old prescription inserts - after all, I
could easily compensate by turning my head - but good peripheral vision
is always nice to have.
One of my main reasons for replacing the Gazelles with these rather than
getting another pair of glasses compatible with my prescription insert
was the problem of misting up. In cold or damp weather, once I got
moisture between the insert and the front lens of the Gazelles there was
no way to get rid of the condensation without dismantling the glasses.
With a single pair of lenses condensation is less of a problem. If
they're not kept clean enough then in cold weather the mirrored lenses
(more than the clear lenses) have a tendency to steam up when I stop,
but unlike the Gazelles they clear rapidly when I start moving again.
Another reason was reflections. With the Gazelles it was impractical to
ride without a peaked cap in sunny weather, regardless of the location
of the sun, because I could see my skin reflected on the inside of the
glasses. With the Scorch it's not a problem.
DURABILITY ?/5
One concern that put me off on several occasions when I was thinking
about ordering, but slipped my mind when I actually ordered, was the
resistance of the lenses and coatings to scratching when I wipe rain off
them with a glove. We'll see how it goes, but certainly after 5 months
of wiping them dry with a soft glove finger whenever it rains there are
no visible scratches.
CUSTOMER SERVICE 5/5
Optilabs staff were friendly, helpful and a pleasure to do business with.
VALUE FOR MONEY 5/5
For the price of a single pair of Scorch glasses you could get a pair of
cycling glasses with a prescription insert and interchangeable lenses
for different lighting conditions. But they wouldn't be as good.
The Scorch glasses might seem expensive to someone who doesn't wear
glasses, but a single pair is less than I paid for any of my last 3
pairs of everyday glasses and I should get several years use out of
them. If you cycle a lot, can't ride without eyesight correction, don't
want to wear contact lenses every day and don't have any serious
financial problems, these are worth the money.
I was disappointed that the glasses were supplied with soft cases. The
day they arrived I ordered two Bloc Rocket hard(ish) cases from Wiggle,
effectively bumping up the price of the glasses by a little under a
fiver a pair.
--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"The plural of anecdote is not data" - Frank Kotsonis