In the 1980s, monoshades were futuristic and the non-plus-ultra for many outdoor sports enthusiasts and fashion victims. They have never disappeared, but in recent years they have clearly regained popularity. Race-oriented cross-country riders in particular like to protect their eyes with a mono lens. They have more to offer than just an eye-catching look: there is no frame to obstruct the field of vision and they are lightweight despite the large lens surface. The latter is particularly true of the Smith Attack Max, which weighs just 31 grams. Despite this, the lightweight sits absolutely securely on the nose, no matter how rough the trail.

The Smith Attack Max (and its little sister Smith Attack) comes in a voluminous hard-shell case, in which older generations might at first glance suspect a portable CD player as it existed in the last millennium. In fact, it contains two ChromaPop™ lenses, one mirrored, one with orange contrast enhancement, two temples and a fabric bag in which the whole pair of glasses or the spare lens fits. Obviously, the manufacturer also assumes that not everyone will take the treasure chest with them on the tour. To protect the lens, this is certainly not a bad idea.

Clever bracket mounting

Unlike other goggles, with the Smith Attack you don't change the lens, but the temples and nose bridge. Like a clothespin, you unclip the temple at the hinge and place it on the other lens. The earpieces are also held in position by a magnet in the closing mechanism. The soft rubber nose bridge is pulled off and pressed onto the desired lens, with two positions available depending on whether you prefer the lens closer or further away from your face. The nose bridge can also be slightly compressed, which moves the lens even further away from the eyes and cheeks. So much for adjustment options and fitting procedure.

The decisive factor remains the lenses and how well you can see the trail with them. The eyes are pleasantly shielded from the airstream. Just enough air flows behind the lens to prevent it from fogging up. Even the lens designed for less intense sunlight darkens enough. You rarely feel dazzled. The lens scores particularly well in the forest, where there is sometimes sun, sometimes shade and often a mixture of both. According to Smith, the lens filters out unwanted color tones, which strengthens the contrasts.

When dusk sets in, however, the contrast enhancement soon comes to an end. This only seems to work in daylight. In this situation, you wish there was a photochromatic lens that would become completely clear after sunset. However, as far as the editorial team is aware, one has not yet been invented.

Fogging was not an issue during the test phase - as long as you are riding, the ChromaPop lenses work perfectly. If you stop and look down after a steep incline in low temperatures and your body temperature is correspondingly high, even the anti-fog protection is no longer able to cope with the vapor in your breath. However, as soon as the airstream flows onto the glass again (and a little behind the windscreen), the fog clears almost as quickly as it has risen.

Conclusion

The Smith Attack Max is a good choice for anyone who is riding at high speeds or who appreciates goggles that shield the eyes over a large area for other reasons. They are lightweight, do not slip and offer glare protection for almost the entire light spectrum thanks to the orange and fully mirrored lenses (the only time you might want an untinted lens is at dusk). The cross-country race look comes free of charge and the offensive vision aid also cuts a fine figure on a racing bike - a great all-rounder.

www.smithoptics.com