For the past month, the gravel scene has gained a sunglasses brand: Vallon. The brand has been around for several years and is best known for its casual models, but also for its high-quality glasses for mountaineering sports and fly-fishing. Vallon’s first cycling glasses are the Watchtowers.
I was able to test the Vallon ‘Watchtowers’, as the new glasses for cyclists are called, extensively in different conditions. The model comes in 3 frame colours and 2 types of Zeiss lenses. The three models are sold as follows: ‘black smoke’, ‘dark teal copper’ and ‘silver blue’.
Minimalistic design
What immediately stands out is the beautiful minimalist design. The ‘black smoke’ is a pair of glasses with a black frame, and a blue/grey lens (13% VLT, Cat. 3) and has a black coating on the outside, the ‘dark teal copper’ has a dark green/grey frame with brown lens (14% VLT, Cat. 3), the ‘silver blue’ features the same lens as the ‘dark teal copper’ but has a blue coating on the outside. At the time of writing, the lenses are not interchangeable.
The brown lens seems better suited to darker weather, where more contrast is needed. The blue-grey lens seems better suited to sunny weather. But as with snow goggles, that’s just a little more personal for everyone.
The Vallon Watchtowers come in a pouch that doubles as a cleaning cloth. Bag and glasses come in a sturdy expandable box. Inside you will also find a business card, product information and two more nose pads. These allow you to place the glasses closer to (or further away from) your nose. For cyclists who want a sturdy case, there is (soon) the option to buy these during checkout (at the time of writing, this product is not yet available).
Comfort
The glasses sit comfortably on the nose, offering a pleasant space between the top of the frame and eyebrows/forehead. There is plenty of ventilation, and because the glasses do not touch the eyebrows, the lenses remain grease-free on the inside. The included nose pads allow you to position the glasses closer or further away from the nose.
Recycled fishing nets
The frame is 85% made of recycled fishing nets. The ends of the legs are more flexible and quite soft. Other glasses still tend to irritate when you have them on for a long time, but I didn’t suffer from that with Vallon Watchtowers. Not on the nose, and not on the ears.
The glasses are quite large compared to other sunglasses for cyclists. Apart from whether you like it or not, the advantage of this is that you still enjoy sun protection in the corners of your eyes, but it also reduces rain-in, for example.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Vallon Watchtowers are very fine glasses for any type of cyclist. Truly an asset to the market. With a price of €139, these glasses also seem to compare well with competitors such as Oakley, Bliz, Julbo and 100%.
