MAAP x 100% Glendale glasses

The MAAP x 100% Glendale glasses are very impressive, with an incredibly wide field of vision, excellent clarity, and good ventilation, though there is no denying that they are expensive.

These Glendale glasses are the result of a collaboration between eyewear specialist 100% and kit maker MAAP. 100% already makes a Glendale model, but here you get a new colourway and the MAAP logo added to the lens and frame. So, to all intents and purposes, the 100% Glendale in a different colour.

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In terms of performance, they offer a huge amount of protection. Given that 100% made its name in goggles, this shouldn't come as a surprise, but these are big, covering most of my face while sitting relatively close to my head too. They provide an impressive amount of protection from both light and dirt, regardless of where you look.

The HiPER blue lens used in these MAAP versions (a HiPER red lens is an option in the regular models) is 'filter category 3' with 15% light transmission. You also get a clear lens in the box, and together these lenses covered most conditions at this time of year, offering impressive clarity.

One interesting element of the glasses is that the vents are metal and built into the frames rather than just being holes in the lens. I don't know how much additional benefit these metal vents have on ventilation, but good airflow stopped the lenses from fogging while riding, and meant minimal fogging even when I came to stop after an intense effort.

The hydrophobic coating on the lens helped too, so on the rare occasion where they did fog when I was at a standstill, they would clear almost instantaneously when I started moving again.

The wide, unobstructed field of vision the Glendales offer is especially impressive considering that they are full frame glasses. One key reason for this is that they can sit so close to your face, so even when you're in a tuck you can look upwards and not catch sight of the top of the frame, and when looking left or right the frames do not obstruct your vision at all. In fact, the only place you can see the frame is right at the bottom, and unless you're particularly interested in staring at your top tube without moving your head it doesn't have much impact.

I found these comfortable to wear over long periods thanks to their comparatively light weight of 41g, combined with interchangeable (and easily done) Ultra-grip rubber nose-piece, and temple tips made of the same material. They stayed on my head comfortably even on long, sweaty rides.

The frames themselves are made from Grilamid TR90, a highly flexible plastic that means, if they fall off, they shouldn't break.

You really wouldn't want them to, either, because these are expensive glasses, though their quality, the additional lens and hard case do go some way to justifying their RRP of £195.

The Rudy Project Cutline glasses, for example, are £173, and weigh around 4g less, but they don't come with a spare lens.

The Koo Spectro glasses that I tested a couple of months ago also come in cheaper at £169 and are relatively light for a full frame design, but they don't come with a spare lens either, and I found that they obscured my peripheral vision slightly.

There's also the sticking point that the non-MAAP 100% Glendale glasses with HiPER lens are £169.99...

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Overall, the Glendale glasses are very good, with an excellent lens and a very wide, unobscured field of vision, plus they sit well on the head. The fact that they also come with a spare lens that is relatively easy to change is another positive, though there is no getting around the fact that they are expensive.

Verdict

Impressive clarity and field of vision combined with good looks, but there is no getting away from the price