SUNGOD VELANS
£195 Adaptive lens and fully customisable shades
WE SAY... Modern looking, highperforming glasses with an enormous choice of colouroptions
SunGod doesn’t really offer stock colourways, rather you choose your favoured combination of frame colour, temple tips, logos and a wide choice of lens options. To purchase, simply select the options and build your glasses via SunGod’s website. Then click-to-order and wait for them to arrive. The result is an accurate representation of what you chose online and the delivery service is slick.
The shape of the Velans is very contemporary with a large shield lens and an angular frame. My choice of a slate-grey frame, gold logos and golden yellow temple tips looks fantastic in the flesh. The full-frame design is great but it’s also convertible to a half-frame design. If you spec the ‘converter’ option when buying, release the lens and then the bottom half can be removed, then switch to the alternative nose piece (which fits directly to the lens) and you have a more open design. This adds £20 to the cost of the glasses.
The lens is 50mm at its deepest and has a great wrap shape that’s also spherically shaped top to bottom for a distortion-free view. The 8KO lens is superb. Its construction is a 2mm thick co-nylon material that’s both lighter and stronger than the standard polycarbonate lenses used in most glasses. Optically, it’s excellent too. I opted for the Iris HV option, which has a photochromic tint that adapts to the light conditions. This adds £40 to the price. While it makes the Velans more expensive it also makes them more usable all year round. At 34.4g they are light enough to be unnoticeable but sturdy enough to stay put, even off road.
On the bike the Velans are secure fitting, comfortable and kept any fogging at bay. I had a little condensation collect on the bottom edge of the lens in the far corner where it meets the frame after a particularly arduous and brutal climb in unseasonably warm weather.
The complete price of £195 is admittedly rather expensive for a pair of sunglasses, but it’s worth noting that does include the photochromic lens, second nosepiece, soft cleaning bag and the optional extra (£15) of a zipped hard case, and it’s all backed up by SunGod’s impressive guarantee whereby it promises to repair your glasses free of charge should you break them.