Thanks for tuning in today we're going to be reviewing the Smith Shift MAG sunglasses.
Smith's new Shift MAG sunglasses are described as geared for speed and offer clear optics and
protection from the elements. That's particularly important as a cyclist to block out the harsh
uv rays and protect your eyes from debris while riding. Now you can see in terms of
packaging really nice eco-friendly really thin cardboard box really minimal graphics on here.
That's a nice thing previously a lot of these sunglasses come in heavy cardboard boxes a lot of
color graphics and ink on there when the reality is you're just going to throw them away. You can
see what we have here is the Shift MAG with the photochromic lens option with the specs written
on here otherwise really simple. It's really nice to see eco-friendly packaging. Lets go ahead and
take it out of the box and while i do that we'll go over the specs. So retail price on this is $259
it has their MAG technology for the lens changeability. It's available on both Chromopop
and Photochromic lenses. It has a two position Mengol nose which provides good customization.
It's described as a five base lens curvature which means it's slightly curved inward
to wrap around your face. It's a medium fit large coverage oversized sunglasses as well.
Now in terms of what comes in the box a lot of value here i have the Photochromic variation
and that comes with this Photochromic lens pre-installed. They all come with the spare
clear lens as well and right now they almost look identical until the Photochromic starts
to darken up. You get the hard carrying case a little soft carrying bag for the sunglasses
the all-important sticker. A little bit of information here and a description of the
MAG. The case itself is actually pretty nice so zippered case with a Smith logo on top. Now let's
take a look at the weight of the sunglasses with the Photochromic lens pre-installed that comes in
at 26 grams so pretty light despite being such a large frame. The clear spare lens you can
see it consists of the lens itself and this top piece permanently attached in the black color.
So that comes in at 14 grams so pretty light overall.
The Shift MAG sunglasses are relatively conservative visual design.
You can see it really has straight curves a raised top brown portion with little vents on it
and otherwise really simple. It's a full frame design as well so it goes
all the way around and especially in this almost clear variation reminds me of older
eyeglasses it's an oversized retro frame though you can see it's quite tall and extends
really far downward. So the frame won't get into your eyesight.
Simple branding you just have Smith on the side this is the glossy black variation.
It's also available in a matte white a matte black as well as a red cinder color there are a couple
lens options currently. The Chromapop which are single category lenses and those are great for
colored transition and bright conditions as well as this Photochromic variation that we have here.
Now this is 20 to 85% VLT that means it's a category zero to category two which is great
for overcast days or early morning or dark rides. Now you can see because it comes with a clear lens
this combination of lenses almost doesn't make sense. I would have preferred to get something
really dark instead of the photochromic and then have the clear lens to pop in.
With the photochromic you almost don't need the clear lens unless you're really riding at night
when there's no sunlight as this goes down to 85. The clear lens is 100% visible light transmission
and this is 85% so you can definitely wear this in overcast weather or even as it gets dark. Now in
terms of the fit you can see it has a slight curvature they call this a base five it's not
quite wrap around as some other sunglasses but still comfortable. You have a two-piece nose
so it's a soft rubber that you can simply toggle back and forth
so narrow or wide. It's a really nice design and you also have that same soft rubber
temple so really easy to adjust and get the right fit on. They're designed to be a large
large coverage for a medium face i found these fit pretty similar to a lot of standard sunglasses
so unless you have a really small head or a really large one should find the fit on this.
The other really nice tech on this is what they call MAG and that's their magnetic
lens changing technology so instead of having to fight the frame and almost break it to take
the lens off they have these little toggles. So you can see on the side if you push down
that actually releases the magnet here so now the right side is loose if you go to the other side
pop that out. You can see now that's loose and the only thing holding in place is the center
so you simply slide it out and that's it so what you're left with is the bottom so really flexible
and soft. Then you have the top what's cool about this is that the full frame design
actually has the top of the frame attached to the lens itself so that gives it a really unique
design makes it really easy to swap out with getting a lot of fingerprints on the lens as well.
Then to pop in say the clear replacement slide it in line up the slots down the nose piece
and then simply line up the magnet
and it should just pop right in
and there you go so really simple and then when it's actually being worn
you can see you can't push down on those temple pieces.
Here we have the sunglasses on the road combined with a low profile road cycling
helmet it looks pretty good. The sunglasses don't have much curvature so they do
sit out a little bit further which provides pretty good venting. We also found the photochromic lens
to be really nice option you can easily ride with this early morning or evenings as it gets darker
without losing vision. The styling is a little bit conservative though compared to other brands
which is a one negative of these. So now let's do a little comparison between the Shift MAG sunglasses
and some other sunglasses on the market. Now first off I like to bring out my Oakley radars.
Now this is back when sunglasses weren't so gigantic and you can see just how big they've
gone recently. They're taller they're wider, and they extend much further down and even to the side.
So we've definitely come a long way the larger coverage of oversized sunglasses definitely nice
to have especially when you're cycling so it really doesn't limit your field of view but it
does look a little ridiculous especially compared compared to a standard performance sunglasses.
We also have the Smith Flywheel this is the sunglasses that we've previously reviewed
and you can see where the flywheel has a little more attitude especially with this get wild
color scheme they pretty similar otherwise. You can see smooth corners they bevel the top but where the
Flywheel has it concealing the frame. You can see the frame piece is actually hidden behind the lens
with the Shift it's actually visible so similar design schemes but same clean designs that are
known from Smith. Now this is a fairly conservative design especially on this
photochromatic lens especially compared to other oversized frames. This is the Bolle Chronoshield
which really is a modern take on a snow goggle and it's huge. You can see it's a bit taller and
extends quite a bit further down and you can see the curvature as well more curves so really
wrap around with additional frame so much bigger lens and a lot more aggressive styling.
The big difference with the Smith and say PC sunglasses like this aim sunglasses we have here
is that POC has a lot smoother design language. So you can see really smooth curves gives a very
sleek design where the Smith has more straight edges and POC also conceals the hidden frame
by partially hiding behind the lens giving a very thin look where the Smith
is actually thin but just a little bit wider. The Smith also has a full frame variation as well.
If you're looking for a more affordable sunglasses the Bliz are a great option so you can see this
is about a $100 compared to the $250 for Smith. You don't get the extra clear lens that you
give the smith but you get similar optics it's not photochromatic it's a single lens and you can see
the frame is pretty similar styled same tall and wide oversized frame tops vented but a lot more
difficult to swap lenses as the mag lens feature lens swap feature really makes it quick and easy.
With the blizz or other sunglasses you really have to yank on this to take them out.
Nnow let's go over the scorecard for the Shift MAG sunglasses. We're going to grade on four
different categories: design, optics, comfort and value. In terms of design we give it an A-,
these are sleek oversized sunglasses but a little bit conservative in our opinion. It would
be nice to see something a little more adventurous.
Optics wise would give it an A, the photochromic lens is really adapt to the environment and a
really great option you almost don't need to switch lenses even though it's so easy to do that.
Comfort wise would also give it an a the nose piece is adjustable and the temples are very
flexible so even if you fit between normal sizes these are really easy to put on and find the right
fit. Value-wise would give a B+, at 260 dollars it's obviously not the best financial decision but
compared to other premium sunglasses it's a great option. You get the spare lens
the soft bag the hard case so you get a lot of features with these.
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