Petrol Eyewear: Possibly the Best Eyewear You Have Never Heard Of

There is something about eyeglasses to me. Something about what you put on the part of your body that everyone looks at to communicate. It says something about a person. Personally, I make it a point to put something that makes me smile on my face. Whether it has mad steez, or is a classic. I put it on my face because it makes me happy. I think it's the same feeling that girls get with handbags. I don't wear a lot of accessories, so my glasses are what I use to communicate how I am feeling.




Glasses serve purpose. They can protect your eyes from rocks, from the sun, and if you choose the wrong ones, they can protect you from pretty girls. When behind the wheel, or deciding your fate at the bars of a motorbike, you need your glasses to make you see better. This is where driving glasses come in to play. I know what you are thinking, "What is the purpose of driving specific glasses. My Walgreens aviators do just fine." Sure, they cover your eyeholes, but there is way more to it than that.




I am lucky enough to be in the way of some really generous people, and I happen to be walking to my office when I am stopped to receive a small black box. With the instruction to, "Check these out." Simple enough. There is an unfamiliar logo on the box. Petrol. Hmm, like "gas?" Whatever, I guess "Diesel" isn't any different.




Okay, so I am a sucker for packaging. There, that is out of the way. Once I am at my desk, I break open the black box. I don't know why, but I take great care in doing so, because I am weird I guess. I slide out a hard case that is on par with some of the more pricey glasses that I have owned over the years. This bodes well for whatever resides inside the case. The case has simulated perforated leather just like the Jaguar E-Type owners favorite driving gloves. Awaiting inside is a slick orange on orange motif that is nothing but soft.




One of the first things that you will notice about a quality pair of glasses, is how solid they feel in your hands. None of the fittings are loose. The temple hinges have a confidence inspiring resistance to the way they fold. These Petrol's were no different to that feel. The temples stay in the position that you put them in. Quality parts assembled by quality personell. Everything is nice and snug. The Grilamid TR-90 polymer frame has a nice lightness to it. It is a plastic of sorts, but it is a more impact resistant polymer that was specifically designed to be used in action eyewear. These particular glasses are called the Bondi. It is a particularly common medium sized frame and lens, and it has a real basic fit. I throw them on and check myself in the mirror to see if they are going to meet my "smile" requisite. Check. They surprisingly fit my face really well. I have a wide bridge, and get asked all the time how I broke my nose. I have never broken my nose, but thank you.




I forget about my charge of checking out the new glasses once I give them the thorough pick-apart, and I attack the mountain of emails that have been pouring in overnight. Then lunch time rolls around, and it is time to grab my helmet, and head out the door. I see my beloved gold Electrics with the aviation gradient that I have yet to see another person with, just beside my helmet, and remember that I have some work to do. I run back into my office to grab the Petrols off my desk. Slide them on my face, and tug my helmet down before racing off to lunch. Once I hit the direct sunlight, to my surprise, these glasses knock down almost all the glare. I thought they were polarized at that moment, so I tilt my head in my polarized lens test to find that they are not. They just have some great lenses in them. Beauty! Hop on the Triumph, and blaze to lunch with my co-workers for a motorcycle kind of lunch. I get up to speed, and the full coverage lenses deflect all of the airflow to the sides of my face resulting in a squint free ride at speed. I have ridden with aviators and other nose pad based glasses, and regretted every second. These fit snug to my nose, and face. Perfect for an open faced 3/4. As I look around, the glare is knocked down and the colors pop. No warping at the edges of the lenses. Just a solid pair of glasses.



I get back to my desk and start digging. Based on the SKU, they are not polarized. They do however have some incredible blue light suppression, due to what Petrol calls a "Repelium" (the obligatory lame name) coating. This vacuum coating provides smudge, oil, fingerprint, fog, and scratch resistance. I don't by into these things much, but it worked. Call it whatever you want Petrol.


After some long wear, I think that the light weight zyl frames will pay off in dividends to my bridge, and ears. My eyes are not quite as tired at the end of a long ride either. The glare resistance meant less squinting, and thus less strain on my eyes.


Definitely worth a little look see if you can scoop a pair. While they are not on the carrousel at your local druggist, they don't exactly break the bank at $100 for the non polarized and a, $80 up charge to get the injected polarized polycarbonate with VisoChromatic lenses, which are light-transitioning pigments that automatically darken in response to both visible and ultraviolet light, providing the perfect level of lens tint in any lighting condition. Pretty reasonable if you ask me. It is hard to find a frame that is crafted in Italy for that kind of dough.


Check them out at Petrol Eyewear.

Edit: Whaaaat? They liked the review so much, they asked Discount Tire to feature it. The Squealing Tire: Blink of an Eye