TESTED: Adidas Evil Eye Evo Vario

Words: Kath BIcknell

Photos: Kath Bicknell and Gaye Camm

The easier it is to pick lines on the trails, the faster you’ll ride and the more confident you’ll feel. For this reason, the best sunglasses don’t just provide protection to your eyes from sun, wind and debris, they are designed around increasingly sophisticated lenses.

The Adidas Evil Eye Evo has recently been released with Vario, or transition, lenses. The frame is a popular one with cross-country and enduro riders, providing uninterrupted vision and the closest protection you’ll get to goggles without all the hassles that come with them for the uphills. (Not to mention the fact that goggles look a little weird with a regular helmet.)

Glow in the dark neon yellow highlights on the frame is a humorous addition. The glow factor is so powerful you can see it action when you come indoors after a sunny ride and put them on the table.

The frame includes Adidas Eyewear innovations that have been popular in other models for a long time: replaceable hinges at the arms that are adjustable for optimum fit, an adjustable grippy nose piece and a lightweight flexible frame design. In short, these glasses, which are available in small and large frame sizes, are easy to fine-tune for a personalised fit, and hard to break. Good to know, as at $400 they’re certainly an investment. The downside of the close fitting design is, despite the anti-fog coating, I still experienced some fogging if I stopped half way through a ride or rode at creeper-pace up a hill.

The photochromic Vario lenses transition quicker than any I’ve used before and are unique as they’ve been designed to work with an extreme-wrap lens design. They absorb between 14 and 89 per cent of the light, making them an ideal choice for winter rides, unpredictable trail environments, and those rides when you’re not sure whether you’re going to be in full shade, bright sun or a combination of both. They’re also handy if you like to put your glasses on before you leave the house.

In terms of tint, the Vario lenses transition from clear to a dark grey. They absorb the glare exceptionally well and provide a very natural feeling colour in all kinds of light. This makes them well-suited to riders who prefer the trails in their natural colour. Riders who crave enhanced contrast may prefer to look at other lenses in the range such as the popular, pinkish LST Active lenses which are available separately or come specced as standard with other frame colours.

Unlike other lenses on the market, the transition material is embedded inside the clarity-enhancing 10-base lens. This means if you scratch the lenses you won’t damage the tint, which is a win for durability. While the lenses have an anti-scratch coating, I did manage to leave a light mark on it at one point during the test period. Best to be careful to wash off any debris before wiping them with a cloth.

Having tested these shades in a variety of conditions over the last four months, I was surprised at how often I reached for the Varios instead of the standard or orange lenses I’ve relied on for years. The Varios were particularly good under the dark foliage in Rotorua, where even orange lenses are too dark, and for commutes to work where I’d ride one way in bright sun and the other under lights.

There was only one ride they seemed too dark, which was in shade so strong I almost needed a front light in the bike park at Queenstown. I took them off because I thought the transition was a fraction slower than I would have liked, dancing in and out of the dark forest and bright, open sections of the track. To my surprise, riding without the glasses revealed it was my eyes that were slow to adjust. Basically, the transition in these lenses is faster than you are.

At $400 the Evil Eye Evos with Vario lenses cost more than almost any other single item of riding kit. Having said that, the price is less than buying the non-Vario equipped frames with two sets of lenses for different riding conditions; replacing a set of glasses you lost because it got dark and you jammed them in your helmet, or surgery following a bad line choice or a stick in the eye. If it’s high performance and low fuss that you value, the versatility, adjustability and durability of this model makes them a worthwhile investment, and one you’ll reach for often.

HITS:

• Super-fast transition

• Adjustable and secure fit

MISSES:

They can get steamy

RRP: $400 or $198 for the lenses only

From: mimo.com.au