Koo Open Cube £199

Weight 30g

Koo glasses are an offshoot of helmet giant Kask. Koo makes its Open Cube glasses in a standard fit, split into small and medium, as well as two sizes in a smaller Asian fit.

The glasses have a pivot where a hinge would normally be, and rotate inwards (for storing) rather than folding. The design allows for three distinct positioning options to help riders pair the glasses with a range of helmets. Regardless of arm placement, the frame did come quite high up my forehead.

The glasses come with an adjustable nosepiece in two parts, and they’re also shipped with a second option which sits in a single bridge. The latter lifted the glasses slightly further away from my face.

Koo has worked with specialist

Zeiss to create the Open Cube lens. These glasses come with an ‘Ultra White’ shield, as well as a clear option for winter rides or off-road excursions under the trees. The ‘Ultra White’ lens comes with 16 per cent Visible Light Transmission (VLT), which is considered very dark and suitable for sunny days.

Donning the glasses with the ‘Ultra White’ lens fitted for a summer’s evening ride, they shielded my eyes from the sun and allowed me to pick out imperfections in the road surface. When the sun began to set and the atmosphere around me became darker, especially under trees, my vision was still good and I’d have no qualms using these on slightly overcast days.

The open design means there’s no frame at the bottom of the lens, and the frame at either end didn’t affect my peripheral vision. Koo has built in four vents along the top of the glasses, and stopping at lights I experienced no fogging – though I would expect some on cold or wet days (I’ve not found glasses that prevent this completely). While I love the fit and lens clarity of these glasses, the build quality of the plastic frame doesn’t quite mirror that of similarly priced options on the market.

Lenses: Clear, Smoke

Mirror, Ultra White, Infrared Colour: 12 options www.kooworld.cc

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