Poc Propel sunglasses

The POC Propel Sunglasses have two excellent lenses that offer a wide field of vision. They are easy to adjust, very comfortable and the lens clarity is excellent. However, the bold design may not appeal to all, and the price is at the very top end for cycling sunnies, even with their claimed aero benefits.

If you are looking for sunglasses as we creep towards spring, do check our best cycling sunglasses buyer's guide, featuring top-notch sunnies from just over £20 to nearer £200.

The POC Propel sunglasses claim to be aero optimised using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) testing. I have never previously been concerned about how aero my sunglasses are, and I think you really need to be a World Tour-level cyclist to care about the aero gains on offer from a pair of sunglasses. However, leaving the aero properties to one side, these are great sunglasses.

Lenses

The clarity of the lens is simply excellent – it's the best lens I've ever used. For comparison my current cycling sunnies are Oakley's Sutros, which also have a large lens but aren't so radically styled.

For glasses with such a close fit to my face, the Propels also did a good job at resisting misting up, with minimal fogging in all but the most challenging conditions, most notably a maximum climbing effort on a wet day.

The lens provides a wide field of vision. Due to the shape and size of the lens I found the vision was better when I was riding on the drops rather than in a more relaxed, sat-up position. Which, considering they are aero-optimised and designed for racier riding, does make sense.

The glasses come with a spare clear lens that was pleasingly easy to change. You can store the lens in the very nice-looking hard case that the glasses come in, though this is rather large. You also get a cloth bag that doubles up as a lens cleaner.

Fit and Integration

I found the fit of the Propel very good, and it comes with three different nose pieces so you can dial the fit to the shape of your face. The length of the arms is also adjustable, so you can move the glasses to sit closer to or further away from your face.

The integration with POC's Ventral Air helmet is excellent, with the top of the glasses closely aligning to the bottom of the helmet, pretty much preventing air getting into your eyes when you're riding. I wear contact lenses, and I found this especially useful on some long, windy descents.

There are six colour options in the Propel range, and I was testing the Fluorescent Orange Translucent with a Violet Gold mirror lens. The lens is optimised for sunny days, but not only did it prove excellent when the sun was shining, I found it also performed well on overcast days. As you'd hope for on glasses costing north of £200, the lens was durable and I found that it didn't scratch easily, which is handy for me, as I can be a little clumsy with my glasses.

Looks

There's no doubting that these have a very striking design, and I was initially sceptical of their looks. However, once I put my glasses on, I think they actually look quite good, though this was helped by the fact that I was pairing the glasses with POC's Ventral Air Mips helmet. And as with most cycling-specific sunglasses, I'd personally never wear these off the bike.

I felt that the Fluorescent Orange Translucent glasses looked a little cheap and plasticky, and that the Fluorescent Pink Uranium Black Translucent sunnies I was also trying out looked far better – more like a premium pair of sunglasses.

Value

These sunglasses are very good, the lens quality is excellent and they're easy to adjust – but at £230 the Propels are some of the most expensive sunglasses we've ever tested at road.cc.

Stu rated the Oakley Kato sunglasses as some of the best he's ever worn – and he has tested a lot of glasses – and at £245 they're one of the few pairs to top the price of POC's Propels.

The SunGod Airas BF glasses also have an excellent lens, they're a bit cheaper at £200 and Anna Marie was impressed with them. Rapha's Explore

Rapha's Explore sunnies look good, George rated them highly and, while still not cheap, at £150 they do undercut the POCs by quite a margin.

If you are looking to spend a lot less, then Stu thought the £46 Galibier Regale Ultra Optics were as 'cheap as chips' but in spite of the price they didn't sacrifice quality or performance.

Conclusion

The POC Propel Sunglasses are very good, the lenses are excellent and their adjustability helps you dial in a great fit. However, surely pretty much nobody outside of the WorldTour needs aerodynamic sunglasses and they come with a premium price by any measure.

Verdict

Excellent lens quality, good adjustability and a nice hard case – but you are paying a premium price for a premium product