ENGO 2 SUNGLASSES

Does Engo’s second attempt at smart shades hit a home run?

On the face of it the Engo 2 look like any other sunglasses, but hiding behind those lenses is a heads-up display (HUD) that can shine performance data right in front of your eyes. Setup takes a little bit of time but it didn’t prove too stressful thanks to clear instructions via a QR code on the box. However, you do need an iPhone, Android phone, Apple watch or Garmin device for the data to work (Suunto support is on its way, too).

Once connected to your device, you get a range of data screens at your disposal, which can be cycled through by running your hand in front of the nose bridge. You can customise the screens to your liking with data such as power, pace, heart rate, elevation gain, time, distance and more.

When on the bike, the data sits in your field of vision and is pretty easy to see, no matter what’s behind it. It’s not quite the same experience on the run, though, as constant movement makes it difficult to get a clear view of the data. Located next to the nose piece, the HUD unit itself also felt rather noticeable. It wasn’t so obvious on the bike, but on the run it almost felt like a small blind spot.

While the clarity of these category three lenses was good in both bright sunshine and dappled light, they didn’t feel quite as secure as other sunglasses we’ve reviewed, even after tweaking the nose piece. We also found that when on the bike in an aero position the lenses didn’t come up high enough, leaving us exposed to the wind and whatever it was carrying. Battery life is a claimed 12 hours. That’ll be enough for many full-distance athletes, but not all, which is something to consider.