TESTED: Adidas eyewear Zonyk Pro

Words and Photos: Mike Blewitt

Gracing the faces of stars like Jolanda Neff and José Hermida, adidas have been climbing the rungs of the sports eyewear ladder for some time, and now rival Oakley for their popularity among pros and amateurs alike. Their latest offering is the zonyk, due to arrive in Australia by the end of October, and already taking Europe by storm. These bright and bold glasses might just throw the usual old sports eyewear aesthetic slightly off its axis (we think for the better).

But behind the expressive casual styling, these glasses are all performance with some of the latest eyewear technology behind them, all made in Austria under the strictest quality controls. They’re constructed around a panoramic single lens for the widest field of vision, and made of shatter-proof polycarbonate with anti-scratch hard coating. Lenses are quick to change with adidas’s lens lock system built in.

Adidas have also released a range of filters for the zonyk, many with mirror effects. Choices include Polarising Clear to Dark Photochromatic (cat 0-3), which is great for 24hr races. The VARiO Blue Mirror Photochromatic (cat 1-3), a new lens going from light grey to dark grey with blue mirror coating and great for road cycling or sunny mountain bike shredding. LST Bright Purple Mirror Photochromatic (cat 1-3) is a new high-contrast lens going from light orange to dark orange with purple mirror coating – perfect for all mountain biking, from thick tree cover to alpine descents. Adidas’s VARiO photochromatic filters change from light to dark in seconds, while adidas’s Light Stabilizing Technology (LST) have a brightening effect, despite high light absorption, and enhance contrast vision. Combined in some of the lenses on offer, the two technologies make for a powerful, flexible, and practical lens for nearly all conditions.

Zonyk frames are made of ultra lightweight and durable adidas SPX polymer material, and are shaped to be helmet friendly. AMB took them out on the trail and found they were incredibly comfy and sat light on the face. With traction grip arms and a double, adjustable nose bridge, our aonyks didn’t slip forward, even in sweaty conditions and on rough descents. The angle and position of the glasses can be adjusted too, into three different angles, using the TRI-FIT position tilt system built into the eyewear’s arms.

For some years it’s seemed that the coolest mountain bike accessories have been developed for the trail and downhill side of the market, or just for casual wear, while those looking for race-specific or lightweight, high performance eyewear have had to embrace a generic, sporty look and put up with looking the same as cricketers, or golfers, or roadies. Not so anymore: with the zonyk, mountain bikers of all breeds have a pair of glasses that match the casual freedom that shredding trail is all about. And they look great off the bike, too. While there’s always the chance we’ll see them on pro golfers or cricketers in 2017, zonyks are all about the mountain bike: we were here first.

The zonyk will come in two sizes (S and L) to ensure better fit, and in two versions: (PRO and basic). The PRO version has a removable sweat blocker and spare nose pad, while the basic comes without these extras. Some models feature reflective parts for better visibility in low light.