The Service Course: Taking the Spy Screw for a Test Drive

Heading into yesterdays holiday I decided to steal Paul's Spy Screws and see how I liked them. I'd been dying to try a pair. Spy recently revamped their entire line of Performance eyewear. I used to ride in the stuff quite a bit but the styles went stale and I wondered away from the brand.

Right away you can see the styling cues were taken straight from Oakley's classic M-Frame design. A glass that I've worn on and off for well over a decade.

The Screw fits my face really well and the glass is super light. After about 10 minutes of riding I forgot I was even wearing them. The biggest thing I did notice was how well they seemed to breath. My current glass of choice has been the Oakley Jawbone and Split Jacket. Recently as the temps have risen I've felt like my eyes were being suffocated a bit. Spy solves this with their patented Scoop technology. Small ports in the frame allow for air to pass inside creating a venturi effect that moves air from behind the lens. My eyes never felt hot or suffocated during wednesdays ride of 100 miles in 100 degree temperatures.

The Clear Smoke frame version I tested from Paul came with Spys Bronze / Green Spectra lens tint. I wasn't a huge fan of it as the tint is different through the middle of the lens so as you look in different directions the tint changes and kind of plays tricks on your eyes. It was however, only really noticeable if you were looking for it. My favorite lens from Spy is their Rose Contact lens which is available as an aftermarket lens. The rose/amber tint makes it perfect for sun/shadow off-road riding and the 28% light transmission is a great middle ground between enough, but not too much tint.

The nice thing with Spy is you get an upper end glass without the upper end price tag. At $140 it falls nicely between the $200 premium pieces and the $60 economy glasses. Definitely worth I look.