Northwave Blade eyewear

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.