Sunglasses have been getting bigger and bigger and while this trend has been around for a while, no eyewear is able to come close to POC’s enormous Devours. The unmatched real estate of the Devours is designed primarily for off-road riding, giving the same coverage as a set of goggles, but with more trail, XC, and gravel-friendly freedom that comes with sunglasses.
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There is more to the Devours than just their massive lenses and POC has added plenty of neat design features to tailor them for off-road riding, however, the size will always be the defining feature of the Devour glasses.
So when it comes to the best mountain bike sunglasses, is bigger actually better? We have been riding the POC Devour glasses to find out.
Design and performance
The Devours at first appear to be a frameless design, however on closer inspection, there is actually a full-frame structure behind the huge Carl Zeiss lens. This separation of lens and frame is what has allowed POC to offer massive coverage without affecting the ergonomics of the glasses.
The frames themselves feature adjustable arms to tune the fit as well as a two-position nose bridge. There are little grippers on the ends of the hooked arms to add a little more grip when wearing or stored in a helmet.
There is the option of regular lenses, Clarity Trail, or Clarity Road which give complete protection from harmful UVA and UVB rays and is treated with an anti-scratch and Ri-Pel hydrophobic and oleophobic treatment to combat dirt, water, and sweat.
Although the glasses size makes them visually striking, the branding is pretty subtle. There are POC logos molded on the arms with a little more POC aesthetic text printed on the frame and tucked behind the lens. POC offers a number of frame color options as well as a wide selection of lens styles to suit your riding conditions.
The Devour’s were originally released alongside POC’s Kortal helmet, pairing perfectly with a helmet that is also designed to work with goggles. I used the Devour’s with a number of other POC helmets including the trail-focused Axion and road/gravel Ventral and Omne and found they worked well with those too. I didn’t have any issues with helmets from other brands either such as the Oakley DRT5 and Smith Forefront 2.
Real estate isn’t cheap with the Devours priced at $250 / £230 making them expensive even in the premium cycling eyewear realm. POC includes a second clear lens to soften the blow which is handy for mountain bikers and those who ride in dim conditions. It would be nice to see a hard case included at this price point, especially as you will want to keep your lenses in good condition as new ones cost $100 / £80.
Performance
With such a huge lens, it's no surprise that the Devours feel considerably bigger than any other pair of sunglasses I have worn. The field of view is second to none though and you really have to strain your eyeballs into the peripherals to see the frames.
I thought the lens size might cause issues with non-POC helmets but there have been no problems so far with any of the helmets I have tried. The size means there is loads of coverage and the extended edges add a good amount of side protection too.
The fit is very comfortable and they stayed in place well when rattling down the trail. Although the lenses are wide, the narrow frame shape sits close to the face and avoids any interference with deep-fitting helmets.
Swapping the lenses is an extremely simple process, with six hooks holding the lens in place it's just a matter of popping the lens out the top two and removing the lens. Refitting the lens is equally as straightforward – line up the lens in the bottom four fixtures before pressing it into the frame. There is plenty of flex in the frame which means the process doesn't require force or manhandling either.
The combination of the front vents and set-back frames quickly takes care of any potential fogging – especially if your helmet has channeling across the brow. It’s a bit too effective though and, as someone who suffers badly from watery eyes when riding, I found the Devours to be too breezy when riding at speed. To the point that I needed to clean the tears from the lenses between some trails.
The tears weren’t the only things I was having to clean off the lenses. Despite the claimed oleophobic treatment, the lenses were prone to fingerprints. The clear lenses were particularly bad for stubborn fingerprints that were tricky to clean off.
Verdict
If you're looking for the biggest sunglasses, whether it's for style or protection from eye-poking, the Devours are going to be at the top of the list. Unless you want to wear goggles, no other eyewear offers close to the coverage and field of view as the Devours making them one of the best options out on the trail. The comfortable fit means they will also cross over to gravel and road duties too.
The design is top notch when it comes to the shape and structure of the frames and lenses. Adjustability assures a good face fit, they work well with a range of helmets and the lenses are simple to swap. There's a good range of tints and colors to tailor the sunglasses to your regular riding conditions, although there isn’t a photochromatic option.
Ventilation was always going to be a key consideration for POC when combating heat and misting with such a large set of glasses, unfortunately, they overachieve making fast descents quite literally eye-watering.
Tech specs: POC Devour sunglasses
- Price: $250 / £230
- Colors: Sapphire Purple Translucent/Clarity Road Silver Cat 3, Uranium Black/Clarity Road Gold Cat 2, Epidote Green Translucent/Translucent Brown Silver Cat 2, Hydrogen White/Clarity MTB Silver Mirror Cat 2, Uranium Black/Clarity MTB Silver Mirror Cat 2, Transparent Crystal/Clarity MTB Silver Mirror Cat 2, Transparent Crystal/Clear Cat 0, Opal Blue Translucent/Clarity Trail Silver Cat 2
- Weight: 41g
