Rad8 MTB Glasses 504 MTB Photochromic 2017
Reviews / Glasses
540
At A Glance
Rad8 might not be your first thought for eyewear, but the small British company is making a fair bit of noise about their glasses. From a desire to have glasses that 'were comfortable, adapt to the light changes of a trail and offer protection from the trail hazards' Rad8 was born.
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They have a range of glasses and lenses on offer, including prescription for those needing magnification. These here are the 504 MTB with their photochromic lenses featuring a full frame, but a half frame is available too.
Initial inspection showed a solid construction with good hinges, but with no adjustment on the legs or nose to suit one's face. Nose pads and legs are rubberised for grip and feel comfortable and the legs are straight, relying on squeezing your head rather than hooking over your ears.
They are relatively light, and the branding and colours are minimal so you don't have to look like a 90's raver when you hit the trails. They are also so confident that their glasses work better than anything else you've used you can return them within the first 60 days for a full refund.
On The Trail
The 504s fit very well despite offering no adjustments and feel secure on your face even in the roughest and worst of weather. They fit reasonably close to the face but don't fully wrap around and leave reasonable gaps around the sides. This means there is protection where needed yet allows for good air flow around the lenses.
The antifog coating does a good job of keeping vision clear, and this is certainly where the 504s excel, and in poor weather with a mix of warmth, rain and little wind they kept things clear and sharp.
The photochromatic element of the lenses impressed too, but perhaps isn't the quickest to change from full light to dark leaving you slightly lost when you plunge into the trees. However, this issue isn't unique to Rad8 and is a problem for most photochromic lenses.
After a good few months of careless cleaning, the lenses have held up and are showing few signs of scratching and wear. The lack of movable or removable parts lends itself to a solid construction and it's hard to image breaking this set of specs easily.
The styling is something that has divided opinion, and they certainly look more casual than high-performance enduro-tastic race glasses. This hides the fact that they contain plenty of performance and tech in their lenses and I like that fact they don't make my eyes look like an evil and deranged wasp. They do, however, when clear, look like the sort of prescription glasses certain people wear every day to make it clear to all that they are, in fact, very much, a bicycle rider!
Overall
If the style fits with your type of riding then they offer a great combination of robust construction and reliable clear vision regardless of how foul the weather and trail conditions. All this is backed up with some serious guarantees from Rad8 who are confident you will be more than happy with their performance.
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For more information visit Rad8 MTB Glasses Related
By Ewen Turner
Ewen Turner is a self-confessed bike geek from Kendal in the Lake District of England. He runs a coaching and guiding business up there and has a plethora of knowledge about bikes with an analytical approach to testing. His passion for bicycles is infectious, and he’s a ripper on the trails who prefers to fit his working life around his time on the bike.
