Long-Term Review: ENGO Eyewear

As I approach my third decade in our industry, it’s rare for me to be truly surprised by a new product anymore. The last truly surprising release to me was the original Nike Vaporfly, as it represented a truly innovative approach that left every competitor in the footwear category in the dust. Most everything else is iterative; as in, it’s improving upon the preceding product, but those improvements are somewhat predictable. And that’s not a bad thing — that process has brought us a lot of really good products across a variety of verticals.

It’s against that experience that I started reviewing ENGO’s heads-up display eyewear and tech ecosystem. And I can honestly say that I’ve been entirely surprised by these sunglasses.

What They Are, And What They’re Not

As we mentioned in our introduction and set-up article to ENGO’s display, ENGO makes what can best be described as a monitor to mirror whatever your preferred GPS watch or computer has to offer and have it appear in a pair of really nice sunglasses. And even within the same brand of devices (e.g., Garmin), what might be available to be seen is different if you’re connecting with, say, an Edge computer versus one of the myriad Forerunner devices. It’s ultimately up to your preferred watch company to decide whether you can play with a pair of ENGO sunglasses.

Currently, that list of devices is exclusive to the Garmin and Apple Ecosystems, with the exception of an Android phone. Suunto is on the horizon to be added. If you’re a Wahoo, Stages, Hammerhead, etc. type of cycling computer user, you’re on the outside looking in at the moment.

For the sunglasses themselves, you’re getting premium materials for both the lens and the frame. The lenses are high-definition polycarbonate category 3 lenses, which the company says are similar in nature to other high-performance sunglass lenses on the market. I can attest that they’re lightweight and scratch and impact resistant, and held up to my household’s standard for abuse, otherwise known as “my six year old decided that they’d be really fun to play with and wear, throw, and otherwise mistreat them.”

The package, depending upon the size you go for, weighs between 36 and 41 grams. For comparison’s sake, my normal go-to sunglasses, Smith’s Lowdown XL 2, weighs 35 grams. And note that the package weight on the Engo 2 includes the frame, the lens, the display, and the battery. Unlike some other heads-up products out there, it truly doesn’t feel much different outside of the fact that you now have a display in front of your face.

One minor note on sizing: I typically would have preferred the larger lens, as it fits the way that I normally wear most sunglasses. However, I wound up doing the majority of my activities in the smaller set, as I found it easier to get the display centered in my vision. Your mileage may vary.

What I Loved

Ease of Connecting: As we mentioned in our Getting Started with Engo Eyewear article, Engo has made getting your sunglasses up and running really simple. And that’s the advantage of them choosing not to be an entire ecosystem unto themselves. They let Apple and Garmin do most of the heavy lifting on that front. What that means is that outside of having to bend the arms of the sunglasses into the right position, and some tweaking of the display centering, set-up was an absolute breeze. With both my Apple Watch Ultra and my Garmin Fenix, it took me longer to get changed and get shoes on than it did to get these devices up and running.

Ease of Seeing Data: The display sits just off the right eye and projects towards a central location over the nose bridge. The light yellow color does a good job of being always visible but also not very intrusive. It’s a really nice balance, particularly while riding; you’re able to see the data while also staying very aware of your surroundings. Given the uptick in distracted driving and number of collisions between cyclists and cars we’re seeing, it’s really handy to be able to not have to look down for data.

The Glasses: I’ve always had a hard time with sunglasses fogging, or the fit not quite being right. For whatever reason, the shape and fit on the ENGO 2 really worked well for me. No matter how warm I got cycling or running, the glasses stayed clear, even when I sweat directly onto them. And they were also plenty durable, surviving drops onto tile, hardwood, asphalt, and gravel without a scratch to them. My prescription lenses can’t say that.

What I’d Change

The Frame Bending Process: As mentioned in the outset, you customize the fit and finish of your ENGO by manipulating the arms. And once properly set-up, it works quite well. That being said, the instructions aren’t super clear as to how to bend those arms into the right position to move the display into place. It took me a few tries to figure out which direction I needed to bend the arm to get the display to seat correctly. And although I was initially nervous that that process may have weakened the frame arm, I was proven to be wrong on that front, at least based on the durability mentioned above.

Integration with Radar Systems: I really can’t fault ENGO for this. It’s not on them. It’s on Garmin. But for as much as I enjoyed having workout data displayed, I’d honestly much rather be receiving alerts from a Varia in the system instead. This goes back to what I think ENGO’s strongest benefit is — cycling safety — and taking it one step further. Hopefully that’s an integration point we can see in the not-too-distant future.

Conclusion

I’m ultimately shocked by how user-friendly ENGO has made their glasses and app. You can get pretty deep into the weeds of customization what data fields you’d like to have displayed in the glass. Or you can take them out of the box and get 90% of the functionality within five minutes of opening the glasses. It’s one of the cooler choose-your-own-adventure items I’ve seen in a long time. If you’re the kind of person that thrives off of seeing data constantly, or you’re interested in not having to look down at a computer at all while riding, I can’t give you a reason why you shouldn’t try these.

Price: $329.95
Learn More or Purchase Here