Review of Oakley RADAR EV XS PATH YOUTH FIT and RADAR EV PATH For MTB

Today we are talking glasses for riding. I have tried quite a few options over the years and I am currently an Oakley fan and I always get asked what glasses I wear and why I like them. So today I thought I would share it all with you. 

Why

I wear glasses on every ride. My local trails are in Fort William. I know How lucky am I? One of the tricky and most fun parts of Scottish riding is the weather. The weather here can change in an instant. More often than not the trails are muddy and steep. You are more mud covered than anything else on a wet day here. Well, let's face it your get mud even on the dryest days up here. So stopping mud from getting in your eye is paramount to any good ride. I have just been upgraded to a Mudhugger. (full post on that to come) Which helps so much too. But protecting your eyes when out on the trails is so important. 

A little horror story. We have all had that debilitating moment when mud splashes in our eye and you stop dead. Yes, that is awful. But one day I was on a nice easy blue trail when a stone flicked up and smashed the lenses of the cheap glasses I was wearing. Without them, I would have had a big stone to my eye socket. So I am glad I wear eye protection when rideing. 

Which glasses I wear

My glasses of choice Oakley RADAR® EV PATH. I have been wearing a Tour De France version I was gifted for years. and I have always loved them but if I am completely honest they have never fitted me right. I am a woman with a small face. I have in the past had to wear youth helmets before the market caught up and made better female-specific helmets. 

So why the Oakley radar 

Oakley has broken the mould with these glasses. I mean you know they are good by the sheer amount of world-class athletes that choose these on the daily. Yes, I know some are paid by Oakley but you have to admit it is a very cool brand. Oakley has put decades of research into there product and by all accounts actually listen to and use their athletes in testing.  

The Radar has a new taller lens and an extended range of view in the upper peripheral region. The frames are lightweight. You can change out the lenses. There is a huge range of differnt type and style of lenses covering every condition you can ride in. You have the Prizm lenses range which even enhances colour and contrast for a better experience.  The lens performance shield lens technology with HDO. You have the choice of polarized or Iridium lenses. You can swap out the earsocks and nose pads and you can even get them with prescription lenses. I personally love the way the lense have air vents cut into the top of them. This making them fog up less or not even at all. They are the best I have had for not fogging up and the lenses seem to last a lot longer than cheaper versions of glasses. 

One of the unrivalled things about Oakley is lense impact protection. The lenses have been designed and tested under extreme high mass and high-velocity circomstances to ensure they can withstand the most extreme circumstances. As you can imagine we can have some high impact crashes in our sport so knowing your glasses have been tested to the max is reassuring. 

The Difference in sizes. 

Today I thought I would show you the difference between the Oakley RADAR EV path and Oakley RADAR® EV XS PATH® (YOUTH FIT). I just ordered a pair of each and You will be shocked by the differance I know I was. I will try to do the side by side. So they Normal ones are the white ones with clear lense and the youth are the ones with the blue socks. 

From this view, you can really see the size differance in the frames and lenses. 

For once my birthmark comes in handy. You can really see the differance in the face coverage. If you look at my birthmark. 

 You can see from the side my sides the bigger version really takes over my face and the youth fits me a lot better. I am an Extra small/ small in helmets. That should tell you have pea headed I am. If like me you fancy some Oakleys and you are unsure of the sizes. I really hope this helps. I wish I could have found something like this when I was looking for a buy. I would mention the youth version has less option which is a bit sad. I would love to see more option in this range or maybe a female-specific range we are in 2021 after all and there are a lot of us women out on the trail-shredding hard tracks. 

I understand Oakley is an expensive brand. I totally get It. I too was a bit apprehensive about the cost but I have to say I am and have been delighted with my Oakley. I mean my last pair much be about four years old and the frames are still going strong. I just wanted to try the youth version if not I would still be wearing them. If you are a member of the blue light club you can get a really good discount on Oakley so that is a little tip. The blue light card is for emergency services. If you are not Oakley have a decent sale on at the moment so It might be worth checking it out and grab a bargain. 

If you have any question pop me a comment or ask me on Instagram @missljbeauty.