Popticals Popedge Sunglasses Review

by Mark Ranum

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If you’re an athlete, outdoor enthusiast, or just want to make sure your eyes are properly protected, sports sunglasses are a must. Cheap sunglasses often use darkly tinted plastic for lenses which don’t actually protect your eyes from harmful UV rays. They’re not polarized, don’t have a proper wrap-around fit, and can easily shatter or crack. If you’re serious about doing what you love outside (or care about keeping your eyes safe), the “good enough” cheap sunglasses aren’t good enough. One solution is to opt for a pair of Popticals Popedge sunglasses.

What are Popticals, you ask?

Popticals are a line of high-performance sports sunglasses that fold down into a compact size and get stored into a rugged pocket-able case. Designed for the active outdoor lifestyle, Popticals solves the problem of how to store wrap-around performance sunglasses when they are not in use. Let’s dig into the Popedge model.

Popedge NYDEF Optics

When you’re outdoors doing what you love, optics matter. From hiking incredible mountain trails, shredding a single-track or fishing your favorite lake, your vision plays a critical role and defines your outdoor experience. Having eye wear with high-performance lenses that protects and enhances your vision is a must for anyone that’s passionate about spending time outside. All Popticals feature the company’s NYDEF™ nylon lenses, a high performance lens manufactured for Popticals by Carl Zeiss Vision. The NYDEF lenses have the clarity of a glass lens (Abbe 52 vs. Abbe 49-50. Polycarbonate lenses are 30.), yet remain 18 percent lighter than polycarbonate lenses used in most other sunglasses (1.01 g/cm3 vs. 1.20 g/cm3. Glass lenses are 2.5 g/cm3.).

Superior Clarity – NYDEF lenses use a nylon construction material that offer a significant boost in clarity compared to polycarbonate used in most other sunglass lenses. Nylon has an incredibly high material pureness, causing less light correction and a greater overall clarity when compared to polycarbonate. Enhanced clarity means better vision and higher performance, allowing you to spot more details when running trails and improve every experience you have outdoors.
Clearer Vision, Less Strain – When you’re outside looking through lenses all day long, poor clarity can take a toll on your eyes. This leads to eye strain, fatigue, blurred vision and headaches. The superior clarity of NYDEF lenses keeps your eyes relaxed and focused on what’s in front of you.
Ultralight Comfort – The lenses provide stunning clarity while still being one of the lightest around. The ultralight weight rests easy on the face for an easy fit you can wear all day. The lighter weight provides a comfortable fit you’ll notice immediately, but often forget you have them on.

Popedge FL2 Micro-Rail System

Popticals’ FL2 Micro-Rail System allows the frame to separate at the bridge, and the lenses to slide parallel and nest on top of each other. About midway on each arm is a small hinge, which allows them to be collapsed as well. After being folded up, Popticals sunglasses fit nicely into a compact carrying case that easily fits into a backpack, jacket pocket, or running vest.

Safe In The Case

No matter what you love to do outdoors, Popticals cases offer an easy to carry design to keep the sunglasses from getting scratched and broken. Cases for most sunglasses tend be too bulky to be carried around and often get left at home, leaving those sunglasses vulnerable. The Popticals case is small enough to take with you anywhere without having to worry about that extra bulk.

True Portability – The small carrying case is designed to fit just about anywhere. It can be easily kept in a pocket, running vest, backpack or ski jacket to keep your sunglasses safe in the case when you’re not using them.
Convenient Clip – The case easily attaches anywhere with the included carabiner clip for added accessibility on the go. Clip it to a belt loop, backpack, or climbing harness.
Made to Take a Hit – Made from high impact resistant plastics, the case protects the sunglasses against bumps, drops and just about everything else.
Always Safe in the Case – Even at the bottom of a fully-packed backpack or bouncing around the floor of a truck, the Popticals case will keep the sunglasses from being crushed.

Popedge Features

Patented FL2 Micro-Rail System® allows the sunglasses to compact down to a small size, keeping them safe from damage in their custom case
Compact hard-shell case specifically engineered for PopGear offering unmatched portability & protection; easily slipped into a pocket or clipped to a backpack
NYDEF™ Nylon Lenses manufactured by Carl Zeiss Vision are significantly clearer and 18% lighter in weight than polycarbonate lenses for optimal performance
Swiss Grilamid TR 90 frames provide long-lasting durability, resistance to extreme temperatures, and a comfortable lightweight fit
Complete UV protection filters out 100% of harmful UVA and UVB rays
Hydrophobic and oleophobic lens technology repels water, oil, sweat and dust for distortion-free vision
Scratch, impact, shatter resistant lenses keep your eyes safe and vision free of distortion
Wrap-around design provides a great fit for outdoor activities and all-around protection
Patented FL2 Micro-Rail System® features stainless steel linkages for durability and performance
Engineered in USA, Handcrafted in Italy

The Verdict

Adventurers, mountain bikers, triathletes, runners and adrenaline junkies will appreciate Popedge’s aggressive aesthetic, lightweight comfort, and protective lenses. What is hard to appreciate is the price tag, but if you are someone that is looking for a pair of sunglasses that delivers the ultimate in lightweight clarity and need that peace of mind knowing that you have a small, safe place to keep them, then the Popticals are certainly worth looking into.

The Popedge’s are available with gray polarized lenses in five different frame colors or mirrored combos, and include the custom compact hardcase, carabiner clip, soft bag, and cleaning cloth. For more information on the Popedge and other Popticals sunglasses, visit amazon.com.