100% Speedcraft Sunglasses - Review

The 100% Speedcraft sunglasses were a common sight on the enduro and DH race circuits this past season due to their distinctive and slightly outlandish look that gave photographers a good excuse to zoom in on athletes wearing the new shades. The Speedcraft's unique shape is partially based on the designs found in the company's goggle line, giving the glasses a wide field of vision and a large amount of coverage to keep dust or mud at bay. To help prevent fog or condensation from developing on the single lens, there are two small openings between the lower portion of the lens and frame junction that are meant to help improve airflow.

There are six different possible frame colors: orange, red, yellow, cyan, black, and gunmetal, along with a wide array of lens tints. Each pair of sunglasses comes with either a mirrored or a smoke colored lens, plus an extra low-light lens. In addition to the extra lens there's a slightly smaller nose pad to help fine tune the glasses' fit, a cloth bag, and a zippered hard case. MSRP is $195 USD for the mirrored lens option shown, or $175 for the smoke colored lens. There's also an SL version of the Speedcraft available that has a smaller lens profile and forgoes the air scoops at the bottom of the lens. www.ride100percent.com / @ride100percent





Performance

I ended up using the grey low-light lens for most of my time with the Speedcrafts, since I mainly ride in thickly forested areas with more shade than sun. The grey tint proved to be a good match for these conditions, allowing for enough visibility in the darker portions of the forest, while also minimizing the amount of squinting that occurred when popping out from the trees into clearings with direct sunlight. The Speedcrafts did fog up slightly in a few instances on long steamy climbs, but the fog stayed mainly at the very upper portion of the lens, and as soon as the trail pointed downhill and the airflow increased the fog disappeared.

Compared to a more traditionally shaped set of sunglasses the amount of extra protection provided by the Speedcraft is instantly noticeable, making them a good choice for rides where the amount of flying trail debris is high. Swapping lenses is a quick and simple procedure, and while the shape of the lens means you probably wouldn't carry a spare in your pack, making a last minute change before heading for the trails is easily accomplished.

Even on rougher sections of trail the sunglasses remained securely in place thanks to the shape of their arms, which extend past the ears and slightly curve towards the back of the head. Although this length does help keep them from moving around, it can pose a problem with some helmet designs depending on the positioning of the retention system - there was a degree of interference with the Troy Lee A1 and Kali Maya, but I had better luck when running them with a Giro Montaro. In any case, bringing your helmet along when shopping for a new set of sunglasses is highly recommended.


Pinkbike’s Take:

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