Ekoi Perso Evo 2 Sunglasses
Ekoi Perso Evo 2 Sunglasses
Paul Horta-Hopkins
A review of Ekoi’s Perso Evo 2 Sunglasses.
Our last in the current series of reviews of products from French internet seller Ekoi, are a pair of Perso Evo 2 sunglasses. Ekoi are new to us in the UK, but have been around since 2001 when founder JC Rattel started the company. With twenty years experience working for companies like MBK and Vetta he had the experience to make Ekoi the success it is today.
The Ekoi Perso Evo 2 comes with a handy hard case and soft bag to keep everything safe
When I first went to the Ekoi website to take a look at the Perso Evo 2 glasses, I was a little over awed by the amount of customisation that was possible – 4,640,000 permutations according to the website! As you can imagine with that amount of choice I spent a fair amount of time trying various combinations. And in the end I chose a plain blue to match my Ekcel Magnetic helmet, hardly ground breaking!
There are just so many options available, never again will you complain that your glasses don’t match your helmet/jersey/bar tape! Ok so you are limited to only ten colours, but I figure you should be able to get something that looks good with the rest of your kit. This is something that Ekoi have gone for in a big way on their website, you can even customise your shoes, like the R2’s we tested.
The only problem is which colour will you choose?
So once you’ve dispensed with all this fashion nonsense, what are the Perso Evo 2 glasses actually like? They are made from TR90 Grilamid, which is flexible, light and hypo-allergenic, weight is 29g. They actually feel pretty solid and flex enough to provide a firm grip, I didn’t feel them moving around at all and once they were on they stayed in place, which I guess is due to a combination of flexible frame and the soft, grippy ear pieces.
The ear and nose pieces are also customisable and you can get replacements from Ekoi should you lose them. Replacing the ear pieces is straightforward, they pull off easily enough and go back on again without a struggle. I did manage to misplace one in the depths of my bag once (should have used the handy hard case) but was soon re-united.
The photochromatic lenses work best in spring/autumn sun. They will change depending on light levels during your ride
There are nine different lenses available for the Perso Evo 2; six coloured, two photochromatic and a clear lens. Unfortunately there is no information about what the lenses are made from, but after almost six moths of wear they have stood the test pretty well. The small logos on the bottom edges have a couple of scratches, but considering how rough I treat sunglasses that’s pretty good.
I had thought the logos would be a little annoying, but in use they are not a problem, they are so far down that you have to make an effort to see them. There are six vents at the top the single piece lens to help with ventilation. I found they resisted misting well, only fogging up while going hard up a long climb during a ‘cross race on a very humid day. A combination of factors that would defeat any glasses I would think.
Swapping out the lenses is straightforward, twist out the nose piece then pull from the centre. Replacing is the same, but in reverse. My sample came with two sets of photochromatic lenses, one grey and one orange. These are meant for spring/autumn riding, when light conditions might change during your ride, but you’re generally not facing blazing summer sun. The photochromatic lenses will change depending on how strong the light level is during your ride. This isn’t a sudden change, it will take a minute or two, but over the course of my rides they were always ‘about right’. Not too dark or too light. If you want something for harsher conditions you’ll probably want to look at the Solar lenses.
Ventilation slits in the lenses help keep the lenses from misting up in all but the most testing conditions
As well as your personalised glasses, Ekoi supply the Perso Evo 2 glasses with a handy hard case to keep your sunnies safe. It has room for two spare lenses, a soft protective bag and holds the glasses in the open position. As well as keeping your glasses safe when not riding, this is great for throwing into a kit bag when packing for an event. Being large and bright red, it’s difficult to misplace.
At £45 for a standard lens and £69 for the photochromatic option, the Perso Evo 2 isn’t going to break the bank and the customisation option is something that’s going to make these ‘your’ glasses, that’s got to be worth a little extra in bragging points at the mid-way cafe stop?
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