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review

Northwave Blade eyewear

8
£39.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Great value for money shades with excellent fit and adjustability.
Weight: 
25g
Contact: 
www.i-ride.co.uk

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Northwave's Blade glasses have a lot of impressive features for a pair that cost just forty quid and with plenty of options regarding frame and lens colour you should easily be able to match your bike and kit.

The lenses have what Northwave calls an off centre base. The axis of the focal centre is aligned with the focal centre of the eye so your eyes don't get tired and the curvature won't cause any image distortion. It's not hugely noticeable at first but if you switch back to some other glasses you do notice how good the clarity is on the Blades.

Like most eyewear they are made of polycarbonate . Considering this material was originally designed for fighter jet canopies they've had little trouble shrugging off stones and grit being fired up off of car and lorry wheels. My usual trick of rubbing wet, dirty lenses with the back of a glove doesn't seem to have resulted in any scratches either.

Our sample came with two lenses, blue and clear, and it's easy to swap them without feeling like the frame is going to snap. They both provide 100% UV protection so you're fine to wear both when the sun's out.

The clear lenses do actually have a very slight brownish tint to them which is enough to help in daylight but doesn't affect performance in the dark at all. The only slight issue I found was some refraction around car headlights on dark evenings. Northwave do do a polarised version of the Blades which would help but unfortunately they only come with smoke lenses.

The lenses are water repellent to thanks to a coating which makes the rain bead off. It only really works in heavy rain though; drizzle, fog and road spray tends to sit there requiring you to wipe them but if you're on the lanes with minimal passing traffic it's a boon.

We've got the fluoro yellow frames for test and they do look pretty cool against the blue highlights, They look much more expensive than their price tag would have you believe.

The nose pad is adjustable and it's all screwed into place as opposed to push fit. The same goes for the arms too. The rubber used for the temple tips and nose pad is very soft and grips well without needing too much pressure.

From a coverage point of view they suited my face fine. No wind came in around the lenses and they fit close enough to the face that insects and grit can't into the eyes. Another plus was the complete lack of fogging even on the most humid wet days.

Finishing everything off are some neat little Northwave logos which are very discrete and neat looking. You also get a hard case, and a soft bag for storage and cleaning that's also somewhere to keep the spare lenses.

On the whole it's a very neat package and well worth the cost. I've bought various glasses around this price over the years. None have inspired much confidence and I've always gone back to my Oakleys but the Blades have a very top quality feel to them.

The fit is good with enough pressure to hold them in place with your head down or in your helmet vents when you're going for that pro look. There is nothing worse than watching your glasses go underneath a following car's wheels.

The refraction of oncoming headlights was my only issue which in the winter months would see me struggling a bit as all of my riding is done in the dark at rush hour.

Verdict

Great value for money shades with excellent fit and adjustability.

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Northwave Blade Sunglasses

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Blades sit in the middle of Northwave's sensibly priced glasses range and are designed for any style of fast paced riding whether that's road or mountain biking. I found them really good in all areas and was very impressed with the fit.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Polycarbonate Lens - First-rate optical features, excellent impact resistance and extraordinary lightness: polycarbonate lenses also have a low refraction index and are solvent and scratch resistant.

Off Centre Lens - Northwave glasses have lenses with an off-center base: the axis of the focal centre is aligned with the focal centre of the eye so your eyes don't get tired and the curvature, which provides essential protection from sunlight and insects, won't cause any image distortion.

Water Repellent Lens - Perfect visibility even when it's raining or the lenses are wet. The lenses are treated to make them perfectly smooth so any drops of water simply slide off, leaving the surface dry and free from water prisms.

Adjustable temple tips and nose pads for the perfect fit.

Spare lenses included: Clear

Includes Soft carry case and Hard carry case

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10

You don't notice you are wearing them at all.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well indeed, no fogging, scratches or discomfort and all for a decent price.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The clarity and fit.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Night time refraction of oncoming headlights.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 35  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: Ribble Winter Trainer for commuting, Genesis Flyer  My best bike is: Sarto Rovigo

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

 

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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