Review: POC's Do Half Blade Clarity Glasses - Premium Price & Performance
POC are well known for their mountain bike helmets, pads, and gloves, but the Swedish company also has a full line of performance and lifestyle glasses and goggles.
The POC Do Half Blade glasses fall very much into the performance category, with a look that is anything but subdued. POC states that the glasses were developed for road cycling, but over the last year and a half I've validated that they are appropriate eyewear for the mountain bike as well.
The glasses are designed to be lightweight and durable, impact and weather resistant. This is critical as the frame has to flex some for durability and to allow users to swap between different lenses. There are hydrophilic rubber inserts on the inside of the arms where they contact the temple and on the nose piece to keep the glasses securely on the head.
The POC Do Half Blade glasses fall very much into the performance category, with a look that is anything but subdued. POC states that the glasses were developed for road cycling, but over the last year and a half I've validated that they are appropriate eyewear for the mountain bike as well.
The glasses are designed to be lightweight and durable, impact and weather resistant. This is critical as the frame has to flex some for durability and to allow users to swap between different lenses. There are hydrophilic rubber inserts on the inside of the arms where they contact the temple and on the nose piece to keep the glasses securely on the head.
Do Half Blade Clarity Details
• Carl Zeiss lens
• Anti-fog, RIPEL liquid repellence coating
• Hydrophilic rubber on nose and temple
• VLT: 32% (as tested)
• Weight:
• Interchangeable lenses
• Color Tested: Propylene Red Translucent / Zink Orange
• MSRP: $260 USD
• www.pocsports.com
• Carl Zeiss lens
• Anti-fog, RIPEL liquid repellence coating
• Hydrophilic rubber on nose and temple
• VLT: 32% (as tested)
• Weight:
• Interchangeable lenses
• Color Tested: Propylene Red Translucent / Zink Orange
• MSRP: $260 USD
• www.pocsports.com
The Crave (left), Do Half Blade (middle), and Aspire (right). All three glasses have a similar style "high-performance, racy, solar-shield" look to them but the fit is very different. The Do Half Blade work incredibly well on the mountain bike.
The more conforming fit of the Do Half Blade (middle) works well on the trail.
The Do Half Blade has a frameless bottom on the lens to allow a greater field of vision and the Carl Zeiss Clarity lenses have an anti-fog treatment to keep the field of vision clear as possible. There are also vents at the top of the lens where it meets the frame to allow for further ventilation.
According to POC, the Clarity lenses are made to filter specific peaks in the color spectrum to enhance all-day precision vision and the lenses are available in several different categories depending on need. Spare lenses are not included but the lenses are interchangeable. Different lenses cost between $60-$70 USD depending on which one you choose.
Performance
I've been riding in the Do Half Blades for over 18 months. I have also been wearing POC's Crave glasses, which are very similar, but slightly more "mountain bike specific" according to POC. Overall, there's not a lot of difference in the two except in lens style and selection. The fit is nearly the same, while the POC's Aspire model fit significantly larger.
The lens on the Do Half Blades I have is a Brown/Light Silver Mirror with a 32% VLT. POC calls this lens a "category 2 trail tint." This allowed plenty of light through them and provided a good read on the terrain in a myriad of light conditions. Dawn and dusk would be better served by a slightly lighter or clear lens, but even in the jungles of Appalachia I have been pleased with the light brown lens. Additionally, there is a clear "Category 0" lens offered by POC for lower light conditions.
The brown category 2 lenses do an excellent job of keeping things clear in the forest.
Lens fogging is common in a lot of climates, especially those with higher humidity. It's pretty much inevitable that it's going to happen to any eyewear, but it's important that you can manage it. The Do Half Blades do a better job than any glasses I've had at staying clear. On extra warm or humid days they still incur some fogging if I'm stopped at the top of a climb, but once I'm on the move they'll clear up in a matter of a second or two.
Even after throwing the glasses in the back of my car on more than one occasion (per week) and over a year's worth of riding, they've remained relatively scratch free. Given the amount of use they've received - literally hundreds of rides, and how well they have outlasted multiple other pair of riding glasses, they're the most durable glasses I've had.
The glasses fit well with every helmet I wore except for POC's own Tectal Race. The helmet tends to push down on the arms making the glasses slightly uncomfortable. This is more of a helmet issue than a glasses issue but worth keeping in mind if you're trying to stay on brand.
Last but not least is helmet fit. The Do Blades fit well with all helmets I have used them with. POC claim that they are designed to work with their Octal helmet which is a little more geared towards XC or road than aggressive trail, so I ran down to the local bike shop to pick up an Octal to double-check this. The glasses do fit well with the Octal while you're wearing them, however, the rubber pads on the helmet that are intended to help stow the glasses on the helmet when you don't want them on your eyes don't do their job. The glasses do not interface as well as I'd hoped with either the Octal or the Tectal Race helmets from POC.
The arms of the glasses feel a little pushed down when wearing POC's Tectal Race helmet, and sizing up to POC's Aspire glasses (pictured) makes things incredibly uncomfortable with their own helmet, for what it's worth. With the Do Half Blade glasses, I had no fit or comfort issues when riding in my Specialized Ambush helmet.
Pros
+ Great fit, excellent eye protection, minimal fogging
+ Interchangable lenses
+ Excellent durability
Cons
- Pricey, should include a clear lens with them
- Fit with POC helmets specifically isn't great
Pinkbike's Take
 | I've only had one pair of glasses that's lasted more than a riding season over the last decade, and the Do Half Blade are that pair. These glasses have become the surest staple in my riding kit and I'm anxious anytime I feel that I've misplaced them. They have stood up to a lot of riding and abuse better than I could ask for and done their job ride after ride. The inclusion of a clear lens to the package of mtb models would be a good move by POC, but otherwise I'd say that they're one premium product worth their premium price. |
150 Comments
People demand that mountain bike athletes be paid fairly, and have good benefits but then hem and haw when they have to pay money for a product that directly helps their favorite athlete get paid.
Here's one of many articles about it: www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-glasses-lenscrafters-luxottica-monopoly-20190305-story.html
Staff used to get our glasses at cost price plus vat and I got a pair of Armani glasses that retail for £325 for £7!! With prescription lenses!
So yes, most plastic framed sunglasses will likely cost no more than a couple of pounds at cost.
1) Armani is a brand that has consciously positioned themselves in the luxury market. Everyone knows the glasses aren't worth what they pay, but the people who buy them gladly spend the extra money to be perceived as wealthy. It's the same with Gucci, Luis Vitton, Hermes, etc.
2) A brand like Armani also has astronomically high costs, so *some* of that markup is necessary to maintain their status as a luxury brand. They have to pay to keep stores open in very expensive areas (5th Avenue in NY, shopping malls in Dubai, Hyde's Park in London), take out expensive full page adverts in the WSJ and fashion magazines, hire the best/hottest fashion models on the street, pay for tv adverts on prime television.
I don't think anyone would fail to understand that there is massive mark up in a product if you only have to pay for the product itself. But there are a lot of other things to consider that most people don't seem capable of wrapping their heads around: cost of manufacturing is a drop in the bucket when it comes to the overall balance sheet of a manufacturing company. Hell, even the ransom insurance owned by the CEO likely costs a few million bucks a year.
"Dear guide...shut your hole. Let's do this."
Sincerely...paying customer.
Which is why I use Ryders Roam frames with their Fyre lens. Bottom framed for protection, no upper frame for amazing venting and the Fyre lens works extremely well... I basically forget I'm wearing these no matter the conditions. Cheaper than these POC's too.
www.ryderseyewear.com/ca-en/catalog/product/view/id/14271/s/roam/#pdp-lens-tech
Thats exactly my problem. I own a Tectal Race for some months and the lid is awesome but I cant find a good fitting pair of glasses for it. I have different Oakley Radars, a Poc Crave and some other bike glasses and they are alle pushed down by the helmet. Seriously POC, even your own glasses do not fit???
Its sad to have found the perfect helmet but now not beeing able to ride with sunnys anymore!
They come with a giant case with a padded groove to drop them in...which is what is scratches the lens. Oh...and nobody on their Customer Service line will answer the phone. And if you email them about it, some chic responds with a "could care less about your issue" one line email over a week later.
Never realized how lucky I was to have a buddy at Tifosi in the past.
These are tiny bits of molded plastic being sold for hundreds of dollars.
Lots of people are careless with there shades and just don't get it.
It baffles me why you got down voted for your comment!
Thanks.
www.uvex-safety.pl/pl/produkty/osobiste-srodki-ochrony-indywidualnej/6341/korekcyjne-okulary-ochronne-uvex-rx-sp-5512
Fully certified with rx lenses appox 150 EUR.
Not everyone can wear contacts you know.
@konyp congrats on reading the upper comments and getting on the bandwagon. Lacerating your face from the bottom of your shades is so unlikely. And most people can wear contacts... theres only a handful of contraindications to contacts and most of them would make riding a mtb unsafe in the first place
As for contacts, yes most people can wear them, this is why I wrote "not everyone". Dry eye for example is very common and a problem when wearing contacts while not a risk for mtb. I myself have tried various contacts many times with different eye drops but my eyes simply reject them.
Rx sport glasses are a simple, convenient and safe solution for the 50% of adults who need vision correction. I just wish more companies would offer them.
Also there are artificial tears for dry eyes that work great
Artificial tears unfortunately do not help me in regard to contacts. Tried all sensible brands.
But making glasses not fitting your POC helmet, slicing your cheeks while crash with a cost like this... where is a review for those with strobo fast reacting lens I maybe would spend the money on for 1-2 seasons of riding before they'll be useless?
I have Oakley Radars with the prizm trail glass and they’re honestly the best glasses I ever had, but considering that my usual pair of (non-mtb) sunglasses never costs more than 20 bucks that doesn’t mean a lot.
That said, I once tried a pair of oakley prizm something on a trail ride and they were awesome. So yes, their optics are superior, but I still can't justify the price on something that will get scratched and eventually lost or broken.
There's nothing wrong with premium products existing, and there's nothing wrong with cycling brands actually making a profit. Would you like your employer to make less profit? Would you rather bicycle brands made minimal profit, couldn't invest in new things, risked their employees jobs, and eventually folded?
I have no interest in POC - but companies making a profit seems to be some sort of dirty word in cycling. I go on car websites, people never complain at the cost of a ferrari, for example, they just wish they could afford one.
Expensive things exist, but there are loads of cheaper options out there too. nobody is forcing you to buy POC/Oakley/Smith etc etc etc
Ultimately pricing of POC (or whatever) is down to very, very simple economics, which is taught in high school. If the pricing for their product is too expensive for the market, people won't buy them. in this case, they will be on sale later in the year, and next year's product might be cheaper.
If they do sell (or at least sell enough for POC to be happy that they've covered the costs they wanted to, and made the profit from it they want), they've got their prices right.
It's really basic. The market (other cyclists, maybe not you) have created the environment for POC (or Oakley, or Smith, or blah blah blah) to be able to put a $260 pair of glasses out there. If the market didn't exist, neither would the glasses.
I can't buy a ferrari, but i'm not going to lose sleep over it...
This is the real truth about cost: items are worth what people will pay for them.
It has nothing to do with production costs, research costs, ( insert here whatever makes you able to sleep at night after buying over priced sunglasses). These companies rely on the fact that you believe that fantasy in order to justify the ridiculous price.
"This is the real truth about cost: items are worth what people will pay for them."
And that is exactly MY point, if you bothered to read and understand it...
("If the market didn't exist, neither would the glasses").
Seriously - lets say you, @jayacheess , have a product on the market.
You have the ability (as POC clearly do) to sell it at $260, and make a decent profit after your various costs are met. You also have the ability to sell it at (arbitrarily) $100 and make less profit (or, need to shift more units, which ultimately is potentially harder to do, to make the same profit).
Which would you do?
No wonder that the simple sunglasses usually cost double the price of the best mtb goggles, and I'm sure that the goggles are more expensive to produce than the sunglasses.
Agreed. I just picked up a pair, they are awesome!
Under $10 for the polaroid ones.