Panoptx Raptor CV EyewearMSRP (as reviewed) $195www.panoptx.com

Reviewed by Charles Ruhe

It was time. My favorite sun-glasses, after several years ofdaily wear, had started to deterio-rate. The lenses were scratched,the hinges were loose, and theycanted about 3 degrees off levelacross the bridge of my nose.

I get very few perks in myposition here at THUNDER PRESS, soI try to take advantage of the oppor-tunities I have. In this case, a quick e-mail to Bev, one of our ace salesreps, resulted in a spanking newpair of Panoptx Raptor CV LimitedEdition glasses landing on my desk.(There, don’t you wish you had myjob? Don’t be too jealous—so far ithasn’t worked for anything biggerthan a breadbox.) The Raptor CV isPanoptx’s top-of-the-line model, andit retails for a pretty penny. They’re“Limited Editions” because they’vegot this cool flame design on thetemples, and I understand they’llalso be offering other graphics thatappeal to the biker aesthetic. Prettygood for swag, but would I person-ally shell out almost 200 smackersfor a pair of riding glasses? Frankly,I’m finding my eyes less useful with each passing year, though Iguess they’re still worth protecting.(For those with eyes even less use-ful than mine, prescription lensesare available for all Panoptx glas-ses. Even bifocals. It bumps up theprice substantially.)

My first impression when Iopened the box and picked theRaptors up was how light they are. I think my usual glasses may actu-ally weigh more. The ear pieces are adjustable, with about a half inch of movement to accommodateyour ears’ position fore and aft onyour skull.

My Raptors are equipped withday/night (or photochromic) lensesthat automatically adjust their tint inresponse to sunlight. When exposedto the UV wavelengths of Sol’s rays,the lenses get darker. After sundownor indoors, they fade to clear, with avery slight yellow tint that improvescontrast. This makes them prettymuch useless at the poker table, butif your ride is likely to last frommidday past twilight, or you’re run-ning under overcast skies, you won’tneed to stop and reconfigure your

face. Other lens options are avail-able, but Panoptx says the day/nightlenses are the most popular amongtheir riding clientele. The trade-offis that it makes the glasses less use-ful behind a face shield or for driv-ing the chase truck—if less UV lightis hitting them, the lenses don’tdarken as much.

And while we’re talking lenses,let’s contemplate the polymer fromwhich the Raptor’s lenses are manu-factured. It’s called NXT, and it wasoriginally developed for the lower

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windows of military helicopters. Inother words, since it’s tough enoughto resist small arms fire, it can han-dle the pebble kicked up by that beertruck you’re about to pass.

The “CV” hanging off theRaptor model designation indicatesthat these glasses are “convertible.”In other words, they do double dutyas glasses and goggles, making theswitch with a removeable gasket thateasily snaps into place between theframe and your ocular orbits. Theinsert is more than just a layer offoam; it incorporates vents at strate-gic points to allow air to circulate,helping to prevent fogging. Thisgives you the option of sealing offyour eyes if you’re traveling bare-faced and windshieldless. If youreyes are prone to dryness after a day

in the saddle, you’ll appreci-ate being able to providethem with a comfy microcli-mate of their very own. Onmy face, it took some fid-dling with the adjustabletemples and the includedelasticized strap to get a good seal along the bottomedge in goggle mode. Andironically, the hawk-facedamong us need to exploremodels other than the Raptor—the most common fit prob-lem as I passed them around

the office was a gap at the outerperimeter of the ocular orbit. Thelesson here is try before you buy;Panoptx offers other styles bettersuited to faces smaller than mine.

The Raptor CV’s adaptabilitywill appeal to many; if you’re mak-ing this much of an investment ineyewear, you want it to cover mostsituations. The light-adjusting lens-es, oddly enough, may make themslightly less useful in nonriding situations, and if you spend most of your riding time behind a faceshield, I’d recommend choosinganother lens style. But if I was tak-ing an extended ride, with limitedpacking space, I wouldn’t hesitate to bring the Raptor CVs as my onlyeye protection. I can pick up somepoker sunglasses at the drugstore.L

Not for bluffing

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