08 March 2012

Product Review: Smith Optics PivLock V2

Sunglasses for me are a more of an necessity than an accessory. I don’t leave the house without a pair of sunglasses on.

So, I was very happy to get a pair of Smith Optics PivLock V2 sunglasses at Outdoor Retailer for review.

The first thing you notice about the PivLock V2’s is that there is no frame. All you have is a single lens piece with a nosepiece, and temples attached. Once you put them on, they practically disappear. The earpieces are high up enough that they aren’t even visible in your peripheral vision, and the nosepiece is minimal enough that you hardly notice it. It always seems like my bike computer is situated just where the lower frame of my glasses sits, so I normally can’t just shift my eyes downward to check speed, etc… or shift my eyes up to glance further down the road because of the upper frame. The nosepiece, which is made out of hydrophilic Megol ( along with the replaceable temple pads), have a 3-position adjustment so you can comfortably fit them to your face.

One of the big features in cycling-specific glasses is replaceable lenses, and changing lenses in the PivLock V2 is about as simple as it gets. You simply grab one side of the nosepiece, and push it in and down to release it from the lens, and then grab the temple and rotate it upwards 45 degrees to unlock it – in fact, that is where the PivLock gets its name. They come with 3 lens options: Platinum (15% vlt), Ignitor (32%vlt) and clear.


Yes, it really is that simple.

How do they work? Like I mentioned above, with no frame, and the temples located high and back, they disappear. There are no blind spots anywhere on these glasses. The adjustable nosepiece makes it easy to comfortably fit even a funny-shaped nose like mine, and the Megol compound on the temple pads and nosepiece insures that they will stay put.

I really need a shave...

Need more proof that these glasses are worthy? They (and the PivLock V90) are the official sunglasses of VanderKitten-Focus Women’s Pro Cycling Team.


These are actually the PivLock V90's

The Smith Optics PivLock V2 has a msrp of $159, and is available in 4 frame (temple) colors: white, orange, blue, and black. More information is available at http://www.smithoptics.com/.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

would you choose the Smith over an Oakley?

Bike Junkie said...

I haven't had the opportunity to ride with a pair of Oakley's, so I can't provide a fair answer. Sorry. Hopefully, Oakley will see fit to let me review a pair.

PoweredByCoffee said...

V90's were much better. These new ones like like me too glasses with their sharp lines.