When I was offered the chance to test the new Galaxy ALIBI Sunglasses from KOO Eyewear, I was at first a little reluctant. Wraparound shades have always conjured up faintly ridiculous images in my mind.
No doubt I have been scarred by my first memories of seeing them in the eighties. I'm unclear whether this first memory was from watching 7-Eleven sponsored riders wearing repurposed ski-goggles in the Tour, or of the charmless Ian Botham sporting them in the slips on an overcast day at Edgbaston. It may even have been images of Princess Anne mixing with other horsey types at some society event in 'Hello' magazine.
But, being a fully paid-up member of the 'New MAMIL Army', I realise that I have reached the age where I can neither judge or care whether I look cool. If my teenage kids declare that I'm Gucci that's great, but frankly it's more fun if once again I get labelled as cheugy - or plain, old and embarrassing.
KOO's Alibi sunglasses come in over ten different frame colours and lens styles, with the new Galaxy Capsule Collection adding three new colourways to the range - metallic pink, metallic grey, and the metallic light blue that I tested. They feature a half-frame design for increased visibility, two ventilation holes at the top of the lens for fog prevention, and a non-allergenic and lightweight 'Grilamid' frame which locks-in to the lens at three points for added strength and shock resistance.
Made in Italy by the same company that produces KASK helmets, and fitted with a Zeiss lens, these are a premium pair of sunglasses that retail for £170. Being short sighted, I had to get my review pair fitted with an optical clip, which is available from KOO for an extra £50. Prescription lenses for these were fitted by reglaze-glasses-direct.com for £20 with an ultra clear anti-fog coating a further £21.
So, for £261, are these sunnies worth it?
Well, after wearing them on all my rides this summer I have been extremely impressed. Their light weight, rounded arms and rubber nose pads help them to sit really comfortably on my face. They stay in place easily even after all-day rides exceeding eight hours on the hottest and most sweaty days of the summer.
Even during a heads-down, all-out effort when racing, there's been no slippage down the nose that can occur on heavier or cheaper sunglasses where the nose pads are moulded from the same plastic as the frame.
Previously when I have had prescription inserts added to sunglasses, any hard effort where my face has flushed, or any sudden change in the ambient temperature has led to the insert lens fogging up. Whether it is the anti-fog treatment on the inserts, or the carefully placed air-vents at the top of the frame, so far this is yet to happen with the Alibis.
Admittedly, I'm yet to wear them when riding hard on a cool clear winter's day - conditions which most commonly cause lenses to mist up - but on cool summer mornings at least, the lenses have stayed blissfully fog free.
Perhaps the greatest positive about the Galaxy Alibi I tested, and the reason for them having a premium price tag, is the clarity of the Zeiss lens. Having worn a few different pairs of knock-off 'Choakleys' over the years, it's fair to say that the established sunglasses manufacturers invest a lot of time and effort in getting the optics of their lenses as sharp as possible.
Whereas it's relatively cheap and easy to manufacture a lens that has good optical clarity in the small central portion of the lens, making a lens that has this equal clarity throughout its entire surface is extremely difficult - especially on the large single piece lenses used for wraparound shades. Preventing images from appearing wobbly or swimmy at the periphery of a curved lens is technically difficult, and the main way in which more expensive sunglasses can outshine the competition.
When bike-packing this summer, in particular, I would often find myself utterly exhausted at the end of a ride. Several times I actually forgot I was wearing the shades - which would normally be considered a bonus. I would unclip and remove my helmet which would inevitably lead to my sunnies falling on the ground - because as we all know, cycling's unwritten rules dictate sunglasses arms must never go under helmet straps.
This has led to a few chips appearing at the bottom edge of the lens, but thankfully no cracks. An annoyance, but something which is really down to my own addled brain being tired.
What is disappointing, however, is that the shades come with a fine soft case, but no hard case. On a normal ride over the course of a day, a soft case is perfect for keeping the glasses in - after all, nobody wants to carry around a bulky hard case in their jersey pocket. But on multi-day bike-packing trips this summer, I often found myself stuffing the shades away in my handlebar bag when riding in the late evening, and worried that inevitably this would lead to them getting crushed or damaged during a trip.
KOO, if you are reading this, please sort this out pronto! Grazie.
As for how the sunglasses actually look, beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder, and is not something that is obtainable by me modelling them for this review. Unlike many of the half-lens frames on the market that have a smooth, curved aesthetic, that hint at testing in wind-tunnels and hours of 'computational fluid-dynamic design' in research labs, the Alibis have a more angular design that makes them stand out from the competition.
This hard-edged aesthetic brings to mind proto computer designs from the 1980s seen in 'Tron' and mimicked by 'Max Headroom', when true curves were mathematically too laborious for computers to quickly calculate. Whether you like this look or not is a matter of taste, but it's worth mentioning that KOO also offer more traditional 'Jessica Rabbit' curvaceous designs - such as their Nova, Supernova and Open Cube sunglasses.
This old cynic at least has been won-over by the KOO Alibis, and has warmed to their Graham Gucci style, even if their full price is a little eye-watering.
KOO Galaxy ALIBI sunglasses, £170 from kooworld.cc.
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