Review: POC Do Blade Sunglasses

Published November 4, 2014 04:40PM

I have a conundrum. With contact lenses in both eyes (toric as well, if you’re really curious), I need good eye protection. I’ve lost contacts on fast descents on the bike. That’s no fun. But I can’t just wear ski goggles. Because I sweat. A lot. POC’s Do Blade sunglasses come pretty close to offering me the protection and ventilation I need.

Lens

The Do Blade comes with two sets of lenses, which covered nearly any light condition one might encounter. The dark, mirrored lens was great in bright Colorado sun. I picked the violet tint for cloudy days, or mountain bike rides in thick trees.

Both options offered very good optics and clarity, a testament to POC’s Zeiss lenses.

In order to swap lenses, you have to flex a small strut on the frame, above the nose bridge. This process is doable, but usually led to fingerprints on the lens. I still think that Smith’s Pivlock offers the industry’s best lens-swapping system.

POC has designed narrow vents at the top of the lens. While the venting may help to a point, the Do Blade allowed little air to filter behind the shield, for better or for worse.

Fit

The Do Blade provides coverage — lots of coverage. On one hand, that means you’ll probably want to stuff them in your helmet vents on hot, clammy, slow climbs. Fortunately, the temples on these glasses tend to slot nicely into many helmets, even those that sometimes don’t play nice with other shades, like the Lazer Z1.

On the other hand, for ripping road descents or rainy weather, they keep your eyes well protected.

To a certain extent, you can adjust how close the glasses fit on your face with the flexible nosepiece. Although the material on this feature is grippy, the glasses started to move around a little bit when I got really sweaty.

The temples bulge outward, allowing you to wear them over helmet straps that attach directly to a helmet shell. Not coincidentally, this means they fit nicely over the straps on POC’s Octal helmet.

Though the nosepiece could do with a little more grip, the temples firmly cling to the sides of your head and appear to have slightly stickier rubber. This noticeably improves fit and stability.

I don’t usually like sunglasses with frames that encircle the lens, but fortunately those on the Do Blade don’t significantly impair peripheral vision.

POC’s signature cycling shield is a great option if you need more coverage. However, the Do Blade is at its best when temperatures are cool and speeds are quick. They just don’t vent effectively enough for hot, slow climbs.

Retail price: $230
What we like: Full coverage, comfortable fit, and good optics.
What we don’t: Too much coverage for hot, slow climbs, swapping lenses is a little troublesome.