Alba Optics Delta Lei VZUM sunglasses

The Alba Optics Delta Lei sunglasses take the already excellent Delta design and reshapes it for smaller (typically female) faces. The result is even lighter than before, but with the same great performance.

Four years after launching the original Delta cycling glasses, Italian company Alba Optics has added the Delta Lei to their small but diverse range. It echoes the original but is built for a smaller facial structure – i.e. women. Alba doesn’t categorise its products by sex, but ‘lei’ is Italian for ‘she’.

The resulting frame is 2g lighter, 4mm shorter across the top, and finished with an appealing, metallic iridescent hue.

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It hosts Alba’s signature lens, the shatter-resistant polycarbonate VZUM. Alba elaborates at great length about its contrast-boosting prowess, but without going into light transmission or atmospheric factors here, it works. The clarity in bright sunlight is excellent. Plus they handle lower light conditions pretty well too.

These green lenses are the ML King option and are aimed at the brightest days which, Alba says, increases contrast on cold tones by 7%. They also come in ML Cielo (blue) for less intensely bright days and Pink for low light, and the lenses are removable so you can swap according to conditions. None are polarised.

They’re rated UV400 – the highest protection level – and have a scratch-resistant coating, which has kept these shades tip-top so far. The oleophobic layer, designed to resist moisture and grease, repels water well and remains unaffected by sweat.

The wraparound design covers an optical cone of 180 degrees, says Alba Optics, and this curved shape provides excellent coverage, diverting dust and debris effortlessly from road to trail. While the Delta Lei is wider between nose and brow than even my massive POC shades, I never had any fit issues with my helmet.

There are two ventilation slots on the upper lens, which worked well in keeping my vision steam-free even in an unusually warm test period. At 28g, the Leis feel very light, and are impressively unobtrusive given the secure fit.

The Lei frame uses the same TR90 as the original Delta: it’s a thermoplastic that’s extremely bendy. The arms are the same length as the original Delta at 120mm, and feature the same, eye-catching look: a wave designed to hug the temples securely.

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This it does, possibly a little too well. I had to stretch them open a little to get them on. Once in place though, they feel reassuringly secure, without pressure points.

That did mean that, when worn atop my head, they felt too tight, plus the arms don’t dock that well with some helmets. Top marks for their primary purpose, however (especially when compared to the unisex glasses I own, which feel too loose by comparison).

In the box with these glasses comes a drawstring pouch made from breathable fabric,  and a microfibre cloth for cleaning. There’s no hard case, however.

Value

At £147.31 these glasses aren’t cheap, yet sit somewhere in the middle of recently-tested similar shades. While they’re nearly twice the price of the £79.99 BZ Optics RST Mirrored Glasses, whose frames weren’t too huge, they’re much cheaper than the £173.52 Rudy Project Cutline glasses and £200 Roka Matadors.

Given the latter are focused (so to speak) on providing sharp optics and low weight, the Leis look like a pretty good deal at just £53 less for just 2g more.

Overall

The Delta Leis had a promising start, given the 9/10 review Anna Marie gave the original Deltas. These new smaller versions meet expectations in terms of clarity, coverage and comfort – the only real niggle is that those fancy arms still don’t dock well with all helmets.

Verdict

Smaller frames than before, but the same excellent shaping, clarity and contrast – wavy arms still don’t dock well, though

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