Engearment

Erin Trail

Initial Impressions

The clarity in these lenses is VERY impressive, and they are very lightweight.  

Detailed Review

I wore the KOO Alibi sunglasses running and on gravel rides. The lens clarity is really nice, and they are lightweight enough that you barely notice that they’re there. I wore them running and cycling during golden-hour light conditions (6-7 PM) and inlighting conditions ranging from shady tree- full sun, with lined bike paths to wide open gravel roads.  

I REALLY like these for running, especially for my after-work runs, where I want to wear lenses to keep the bugs out of my eyes and keep me from getting blinded by the setting sun.  They are well ventilated and fit well with a trucker hat and over the ear headphones.  The glasses passed my bounce test – they don’t move, even during harder efforts or when I had to bend down to adjust my shoelaces. 

For cycling, they fit well with my bike helmet and don’t bounce around or bang against my helmet. They may have a bit too much ventilation, for my preference.  I wore them out on a cooler evening ride, and my eyes started watering immediately, which is something that happens with cold wind.  I didn’t experience any eye watering on my 2+ hour gravel ride in mid-70 degree temperatures, so maybe the cooler ride was an anomaly.

I got the regular-size glasses, and I find the fit to be just right while on my face. However, they are small when I put them on top of my head or on my hat. The arms don’t have much flex, which is really something I only notice when I’m taking them off. 

I specifically asked for these lenses because I was curious about photochromic lenses with a mirror finish. The mirror finish is very subtle, especially in low-light conditions.  I personally like heavy mirror finish lenses because then no one can see my eye expressions.  The lenses change from 87% VLT (low light) to 15% VLT (full sun).  I didn’t find the shift to occur very fast, so if you’re going in and out of trees to bright sun, they may not have enough tint.  I didn’t find the full-sun tint to be overly dark, but I didn’t have eye strain or glare issues when out riding in full daylight.

Overall Impression

I really like these glasses, especially for running in cloudy to transitional dawn or sunset light conditions.  They’re light weight and fit well without banging against my hat.  I also think they fit well with my cycling helmet but they may be a bit too ventilated for colder weather rides. They may be a really great option for triathletes looking for something they can wear both cycling and running, in both training and in races.  I found them to be very comfortable and I barely noticed they were there, which is high praise for sunglasses.

I did find the mirror to be not as opaque as I prefer, especially under low light conditions. But given the optical clarity and comfort, this is a minor quibble.

Erin Trail