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The new product machine at Smith is relentless. Without fail, every six months, I get the lowdown on the new sunglasses, goggles, helmets and accessories. Chopper at Smith was particularly stoked on this new model, so I was naturally intrigued.
“We had a handful of mountain bikers ride them for several days straight on the Umpqua River Trail in Oregon,” he said confidently. “They were all stoked on how lightweight they felt.”
Slipping them on, I could see why as these glasses offer some of the best field of vision while remaining super light at the same time. The frameless design really gives the V90 Max a stylish look, but more importantly provides killer field of vision and excellent water shedding qualities.
I’ve used the V90′s extensively on the bike and trail running and really appreciate the grippy rubber and clear optics. I actually have used all three lenses in differing light conditions and truly dig the new Pivlock lens system. Changing lenses couldn’t be easier with no need to ever touch the middle of the lens to do the swap. A quick rotation of the arms, a tug on the nose piece and you’re swapped out.
The only real gripe I have with these glasses is that the ear pieces don’t curve behind the ear enough and tend to interfere with my Giro Xen bike helmet. I found myself adjusting the glasses a little too much on the bike with that helmet.
I love how light they feel and how comfortable they are in all conditions. I settled in on the Ignitor lenses for all-around performance. My favorite feature of these is the amazing field of vision offered by a truly frameless design, which lends itself to excellent peformance while trail running, mountain biking or hiking where a wide field of vision is key.
The Good
- Excellent coverage is much appreciated–especially during cold weather activity
- TLT optics provide great clarity in all conditions
- No frame to interfere with vision
- Flexible for any head shape
- Easy to swap out lenses without scratching
- Ultralight feel
The Bad
- Ear pieces interfere with my bike helmet (Giro Xen)
- Still not sold on clear lenses (I know… I know… night riding)
Bottom Line: Smith Pivlock V90 Max Sunglasses
A solid new sunglass offering from Smith features new Pivlock interchangeable lens technology in an uber-light shield design.
;)
These might be the ticket for me — I have a pretty small head & face, so I think the earpieces may fit behind my ears far enough. But I’m worrying if perhaps they might be a little too wide for a narrow face like mine?
Just got a pair — loving them. The earpieces and lens coverage both fit my head well (narrow face), and the lenses are easy to swap out. I used the clear lens nordic skiing on a cloudy day, on shaded forest trails. The lens has a bit of a reflective coating, so I really loved it. It was the perfect thing for that sort of situation — a very aerobic activity (skate skiing, not classic, with heartrate sitting around ~140-180bpm for 1.5hrs) on a cloudy, shady day. Great ventilation (only fogged for a bit when I would slow, then cleared once I got moving again), and the tacky points on the nose and ears was better than any other similar sunglasses I’ve used that inevitably slide down my nose.
One thing — I have a shorter, broader nose than some people and the width of the nosepiece is a little narrow for me (see pic here). As such, it rides higher on the bridge of my nose and the rubber nosepieces sit closer to the tear ducts of my eyes than the nosepads on a wireframe sunglass like the Smith Foley: http://www.gear.com/p/smith-foley-sunglasses-polarized. It makes me think that individuals with a short, broad nose like mine (including Asian and African-American faces) may have the same feeling with the V90. They fit my nose much better than any other shield-style sunglasses I’ve worn before, but not entirely perfect yet. The nosepads on wireframe-style sunglasses generally work better for my nose than shield-style sunglasses.