Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to REVIEWS
review
Glasses
Lazer Walter glasses Lazer Walter glasses Lazer Walter glasses
Lazer Walter Gloss Flash Yellow 3-lens glasses

Lazer Walter glasses

8
by dave atkinson
UPDATED Tue, May 02, 2017 15:47

First Published May 2, 2017

2
£99.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Lightweight, comfortable riding glasses with good lenses and a retro look
Weight: 
28g
Contact: 
www.madison.co.uk
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

Lazer's Walter full frame glasses offer very good performance and a certain amount of dashing '80s style. Because of that they've become a bit of a favourite of mine.

Shape-wise, and with their full-frame, single-lens design, these Lazer glasses bear more than a passing resemblance to Oakley's Pilot Eyeshades of the mid '80s. They don't have the sweat-catching brow strip, but that always used to fall off anyway. They're a bit more angular, too, and not as big, but they certainly have a retro kind of a feel.

> Find your nearest dealer here

There's nothing retro about the materials or construction, though. The polycarbonate frame is light and tough, with adjustable, rubberised ear and nose pieces that make getting a good fit very simple. The Walters come with three lenses. There's a low-transmission semi-mirrored lens for sun, a high-contrast lens for overcast conditions, and a clear lens for night-time. All three have a hydrophobic coating which is very effective: the water beads on the surface very well and taking them off and tapping them on the handlebar clears most of the rain.

Lazer Walter Gloss Flash Yellow 3-lens glasses - lenses.jpg

The only issue with any of the lenses is with the sun lens, which gives slightly odd blue artefacts from headlights and reflected light. It's not a deal-breaker, but the first couple of times I wore the Walters in sunlight I kept thinking I was seeing ambulances and fire engines in my peripheral vision. It's not something I've ever experienced from a sunglasses lens before, and I'm not sure what causes it, but it's worth noting here.

> Buyer's Guide: 21 of the best cycling sunglasses

The optical quality of the lenses is good, with no obvious warping, and they're easy to swap. There are four vents at the top to help to stop them fogging; I haven't had any issues with that during testing. The semi-wraparound design of the frame means the peripheral vision is very good.

Lazer Walter Gloss Flash Yellow 3-lens glasses.jpg

Overall the Walters put in a pretty strong performance. They're light and comfortable, with good lenses, and they're very easy to live with. If you're not after the look-at-me fluoro yellow then they're also available in gloss white, gloss silver, matt titanium, matt black and matt green.

Verdict

Lightweight, comfortable riding glasses with good lenses and a retro look

road.cc test report

Make and model: Lazer Walter glasses

Size tested: Gloss Flash Yellow

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Lazer distributor Madison says: "The wide shield lens of Walter provides a great field of vision on the road ahead. Comfort and performance combined in style."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Full frame shield lens

Interchangeable lenses

Water repellent coating

Lens cut-outs for extra ventilation

Adjustable nose-piece and temple tips

Ultra-grip rubber temple tips & nosepiece

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
9/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Really well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Comfortable, light, look funky, good choice of lenses, shed rain well.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Odd blue artefacts in low-transmission lens.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your score

These glasses perform very well and they're light and comfortable.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 43  Height: 189cm  Weight: 92kg

I usually ride: whatever I'm testing...  My best bike is: Kinesis Tripster ATR, Kinesis Aithein

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mountain biking, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

Lazer Walter glasses 2017
Lazer Walter glasses
Lazer 2017
Lazer
Dave Atkinson

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

Add new comment

2 comments

Avatar
keirik | 7 years ago
0 likes

i bought a pair like that in greece for a fiver as it was the only design available

Avatar
steveal50 | 7 years ago
4 likes

Excellent! They look like something from Blackpool for a 3 year old.

Latest Comments