Leaner and meaner – ROKA Matador Air Cycling Sunglasses Review – feat. Swappable Lens / Nosepads
Thanks for tuning in today we’re going to be
reviewing the ROKA Matador Air cycling sunglasses.
Since their initial release in 2020 the ROKA
Matador sunglasses gained popularity thanks to
their unique styling and excellent optics. In
order to improve the matador sunglasses ROKA
has just released the newest version the Matador
Air which we have here today. As the name implies
the Matador Air is a lighter semi-frameless
variation of the Matador sunglasses. In terms
of packaging it’s pretty simple you get this nice
movie card style a little folder and that has your
order information on it and
a little ROKA sticker. It is nice little premium touch
and then the sunglasses themselves are in a little
cardboard box. ROKA logo on a glossy text on top
and then the specs of the sunglasses. Here we have
the gold mirror variation with the matte black.
Now lets go ahead and take these out of the box and
go over these specs. Retail price on the Matador
Air is the same as the standard version so it’s
225 dollars. It has a removable lens as well as
replaceable nose pads with multiple included
inside the box. You have titanium core wires in
the temples and that allows them
and hold their form and you have the v-core
temple design. This is this very unique part
about the sunglasses the fact that it goes up
and over and it’s designed to reduce interference
between the helmet and the sunglasses. They have
the no slip gecko material on the temples and
nose pad. You can see that here
this will grip your head and won’t slide around
and same thing with the nose pads these are
also replaceable with multiple included inside
the box. This is a TR-90 frame so it’s very
lightweight and flexible as you can see. In terms
of what comes in the box you get the sunglasses,
you get the additional nose pads so there’s
three of them in here with one pre-installed.
A little informational packet about the
filtering for the different lens options
a fabric carrying case which is always
nice to have and surprisingly there’s no
zippered hard case. Instead
you get this box with this magnetic lid
and this is pretty nice for storing it
but obviously a little bit bulky for
carrying around unless you want to put in
a bag or something larger. Now let’s take
a look at the weight of the sunglasses, being a
semi-frameless design we expect to be quite light.
So these come out to 24 grams on our scale
which is very close to the claimed weight.
With the ROKA Matador Air sunglasses ROKA
has eliminated the bottom of the frame of
the Matador sunglasses to create this lighter more
performance oriented sunglasses. They have a wider
field of view as you don’t have a frame at the
bottom to inhibit your vision and something we’ve
seen along with a lot of higher end sunglasses.
They’re lighter and then the wider field of view
really is helpful for cycling or other performance
sports where you want that really immersive experience.
Otherwise the Matador Air share a lot of the
same design features as a standard Matador. you
have the cylindrical lens the very distinctive
upward swept temple arms minimal branding
and the same smooth corners that you see
with the Matador. ROKA only offers this in
two color variations currently, you have the
matte black that we have here as well as a
white variation for the frame and one lens option.
We suspect ROKA will offer more options
over time though as these sunglasses are still
relatively new and the Matador actually comes with
a full customization option so that’s likely going
to be extended to the Matador Air version as well.
now starting with the nose pads
on the inside you can see very
soft plastic this is a gecko material which is
non-slip and you can see nice and soft. You have
three other options so total of four different
variations so you’ll definitely be able to find
the one that works for you simple rubber and you
can see adds a little tab so a little cutout here
and then you simply slide it in place. It is a little
bit different than the Oakley so you got to be
careful with that. To put it back on you simply
align them and then push so very simple and again
a lot of variation here between the three other
options so the total four options will definitely
find the one that fits you. The temple arms are also
another unique feature of these sunglasses they
actually sweep upward. ROKA claims this reduces
the interference between the helmet which would
be here and the sunglasses by getting them out of
the way and leaving this little v area. We haven’t
noticed any difference with road cycling helmets
and sunglasses but I for mountain,
trail or gravel helmet that might be a very useful
feature otherwise it’s a nice visual design and
you can see it really follows the line of the
lens itself and sweeps upwards so it makes the
sunglasses stand out and people will know this is
the ROKA Matador just by seeing the side profile.
The temple arms are spring-loaded so you can see once
you get past a certain point they lock into place
lightweight with minimal branding. You just
have ROKA on here matte finish and then you
have the gecko material here again and you can
see it’s actually textured on the other side
so it’ll hold its place very well.
There’s actually a titanium wire
on the inside so that’ll actually hold its
form some you can just grab it and bend it.
You can see easily flexes and then stays
there so nice feature it’s not as malleable
as other sunglasses a little bit stiffer to
manipulate but still really easy to adjust.
The lens is the other really important part of
any sunglasses not only do you want to look cool
but you want to make sure you get the right one
for your environment the one we have here is the
c3 lens and that is a cat 3 16 vlt gold mirror
with a dark browns tint. So you can see that dark
brown color that’s really helpful for bringing
out certain colors so browns and greens so it’s
good on the trail and when you’re road cycling
to help really make things pop and you can see
it’s quite dark. Cat 3 means it’s definitely
designed more for sunny days so here in california
it’s perfect for us and if you’re somewhere also
with brighter days is a good option. There are no
photochromatic options but with these c3 lenses
you get a lot of coatings so water oil and scratch
resistance a very durable lens and despite the
curvature you can see these are cylindrical
they’re very steep there’s no distortion with
the optics they’re nice and smooth and a uniform
coating on there so really impressive. You also
have three vents so you can see one on top one
on the side and then another one on the other
side so it helps really prevent it from fogging.
The lens is removable as well so to remove them
you want to pop the top and you can see once you
pop the top off the lens will actually flex
out and then you simply just tug a little bit
and then they come off the nose pad here and
the plastic bridge part that stays attached to the
lens. They just pull that out you want to be
careful with that one so if you push too hard
you can actually break these and i’ve
actually broken out another other sunglasses
but you can see if you just apply a
little bit of pressure i’ll pop out
and then slide it out. It has these little tabs
so really easy to remove and then you have
the lens by itself so you can see most of
the sunglasses actually the lens so you can
see it’s a very lightweight TR-90 nylon frame.
They’re quite flexible and without the
lens in there it’s very soft and pliable
to put the sunglasses back on it’s really
simple you want to put the corners in first
and here you can see i’m getting fingerprints
everywhere that’s one downside to this.
There’s really no way to avoid it you want
to line up the tabs and then push them in
that’s about it so very
simple and then the nose pad
that simply slides in and it has its own little
tabs in there. Now let’s take a look at the ROKAs
on the road they’re very distinctive looking pair
of sunglasses especially with the upward swept
temples. You can see here that doesn’t really
add anything because the road cycling helmet
it already is about flat of that section but it
looks good. The most impressive part about this
are the optics they’re really crisp and clear
and with the semi-frameless design it’s easy
to forget you’re actually wearing sunglasses
as they’re so immersive and lightweight. We’ve
had more than a few rides where we actually
have to check if we’re still wearing them.
Now also a comparison between the ROKA Matador
Air and other sunglasses on the market.
We’ve done a lot of reviews here everything
from the extreme Oakley and POX to more affordable
options like the Bliz. That might be something
you’re wondering about is this worth 225 dollars.
You are paying a premium for the branding
the sleek frame and the unique design. The blizz at
under 100 gives you multiple frames right out of
the box some are cylindrical lens but you can see
a little bit bulkier and less refined than the
ROKA and not nearly as distinctive. The temple
arms are really what sets the ROKA apart and
this thin frame so this one definitely will stand
out compared to the Bliz which looks more like a
standard pair of sunglasses but again optics wise
at this price point they’re all really good. So the
ROKA looks as good as Bolle, POC even Oakley. The
main difference is just finding the right tint
and the right uh category for your riding style.
The nice thing about the ROKA is even
though they’re oversized they look more like a
standard sport sunglasses so we
have the Bolle Lightshifter
you can see the
Lightshifter looks pretty similar.
Same cylindrical design so curves but the ROKA is
a little bit more extreme as it curves inward with
the temples and then a more a smoothed out design.
So you can see the Bolle has these sharp edges
the ROKA is nice and smooth very more similar to
the POC style sunglasses. The one downside to ROKA
and other interchangeable lens designs you get
a lot of fingerprints so you really have to grab
the lens. Smith has solved that with their MAG
shift here so you can see this simply has these
magnetic side arms so you pop that off and then
it actually goes off with the top brow attached so
a nice option if you do a lot of lens swaps but
not again not as nearly as distinctive as the ROKA.
Now there are other more unique sunglasses on
the market like the Oakley Katos and you can see
they look pretty crazy especially
with this curvature here and this
prism sapphire color. Similar field of view
but the oakley is more of a frameless design
so you can see the top is actually empty and it
just curves up and semi frameless on the bottom
as well so quite unique looking and expensive with
no interchangeable lens which the ROKA does offer.
Definitely not styled for everybody similar
curvature though you can see a very aggressive
so similar base curvature so it’ll really
has a visor like fit that wraps around you.
There are other oversized lenses if you
want even bigger lenses the POC Devour.
You can see it’s just massive it’s taller wider
and then a lot sleeker looking as they actually
hide the frame behind it but on the inside
you do have a full frame so if you were to compare
the two you actually do see the frame a little bit
more but obviously at a larger size. This has more
protection and coverage especially doing mountain
biking you won’t actually get any sunburn
because this is just so large. There are other
companies that have embraced the oversized look
too the Bolle Chronoshield so it actually looks
like a ski goggle because it’s designed after
one. You can see similar but a lot larger
full frame but wider taller with the same kind
of venting strategy and this nice top brow so
the ROKA has a nice balance it’s not huge and
oversized like the POC or Bolle but gives a
nice balance with the wide field of view and the
distinctive sidearms that definitely stand out.
Now let’s go over the scorecard for the Matador
Air sunglasses we’re going to grade on four
different categories: design, optics, comfort
and value. Design would give it an A it’s a
very distinct style and that semi-frameless look
really helps. Optics is an a minus are quite crisp
but very limited selection currently so unless
you’re in a sunnier area you’re going to want
something with a lower category lens. Comforts in
A at about 20 grams these are very lightweight
and very easy to forget you’re wearing them.
Value would give it a B+ they don’t come with
a spare lens or even a hard case so at over 200
dollars it’s not the best value pair of sunglasses to
get but they have the unique look. Thanks for
watching this review don’t forget to like and
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Sweet Cyclist reminding you to enjoy the ride!
