Flying Eyes Osprey Sunglasses Review: Biking Without The Headache
Like to wear sunglasses on the bike but fed up of them pressing your temples until your head feels like it’s going to explode? Then Flying Eyes might be for you!
Full disclosure: Flying Eyes paid for a sponsored video on our YouTube channel, but this blog post is unsponsored. They’ve also provided a discount code - go here and use “MOTOBOB” for 10% off if you like what you see.
What are they?
Flying Eyes offer a range of sunglasses originally built to fit comfortably under a pilot’s headset, hence the name. But they’re perfect for motorcyclists too which is why Flying Eyes sent theirs out to me for review.
Yes many of us ride with tinted visors, but they’re not legal everywhere. And yes some helmets have built in sun visors, but the optical quality is typically poor. For both of these reasons I tend to wear sunglasses on the bike, but my regular Ray Bans or Oakleys tend to get uncomfortable after an hour or two.
The Flying Eyes approach combats this troublesome temple pressure in a couple of ways. Firstly the arms of the glasses are super thin (1mm!) so they slide into your headset or helmet easily and without creating extra pressure. Secondly they’re super bendy - and I mean super bendy. So they conform to the shape of your helmet and head, again to help relieve any pressure.
But just because they’re thin and bendy doesn’t mean they’re easy to break. They’re made from Resilamide which is generally found in aerospace applications, and the result is that they just spring back to normal when you bend them. And you can really bend them. Like - really!
In fact, Flying Eyes are so confident about the strength of their frames that they offer a lifetime warranty - if you break them they will replace them for free!
My glasses are their Osprey frame but they have many other styles to suit a range of tastes and head sizes, and there’s a choice of frame finish and lenses if you want something with a little more zing. Perhaps more valuable to some of you will be their prescription lenses. To some extent wearing sunglasses is a choice, but if you need specs and can’t or don’t want to wear contact lenses, then you’ve no choice to wear glasses under your lid. Flying Eyes prescription lenses would be a great comfort to bespectacled bikers.
What’s good about them?
Much more comfortable than regular frames
Their bendiness means they won’t snap so easily
They’re very lightweight - you barely notice they’re there
The polycarbonate lenses are shatterproof which is good if you wear an open face helmet
The lenses are also 100% UV blocking
The optical clarity is excellent, especially compared to built-in helmet sun visors
There are plenty of styles and colours to suit all tastes
They cater for a decent range of head sizes
Lifetime warranty on frames
What’s bad?
The price is higher than a regular pair of sunglasses, but I personally think they’re worth it. Headaches are a real vibe killer when you’re out for a ride!
Verdict
Flying Eyes are a brilliant product that solve a real problem for me. Whether the price is worth it really depends on your personal preferences and circumstances, but if headaches on the bike are a common issue then definitely consider a pair.
Discount
Flying Eyes have been kind enough to provide a 10% discount code for our readers - simply go here and use “MOTOBOB”.
