Designed to integrate seamlessly with the Kortal and Ventral Tempus helmets, POC’s Devour sunglasses are as close as you can get to strapping a car’s windshield to your face. While eye-wateringly pricy, these glasses offer an unmatched level of coverage using a crystal-clear lens. There’s a tonne of adjustability built in too, making these some of the best sunglasses you can buy but again, they’re very expensive.
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POC Devour - Technical specification
POC’s aim when creating the Devour is to offer freedom and flexibility, combined with the level of protection and coverage often found when wearing goggles. Along with the lens that stretches over the sides of the frame, the Devour features adjustable temples that provide the opportunity to tailor the fit for any head shape.is built with a soft adjustable nose piece with grippy rubber.
The interchangeable lens is then built to protect against UVA and UVB rays, whilst receiving a Ri-Pel hydrophobic and oleophobic treatment. This stops crud and water from sticking to the lens.
Boosting the potential prowess of the lens is that it uses POC’s Clarity lens tech which has been built in partnership with Carl Zeiss. The brand claims that as a result of this collaboration, POC has been able to control the colour spectrum of light that travels through the lens. With this, the greens and browns have been sharpened up in order to better suit the usual environment of off-road cyclists.
Ventilation comes in the form of vents between the lens and frame at the top of the glasses. However, if this isn’t enough, POC offers lenses with vents cut into the top of the lens.
In the nice, luxurious box a clear lens and a carrying bag are included. Though, considering the price, it would be great to receive a more rugged carrying case. The Devour then weighs 40g, which is at the weightier end of the glasses spectrum, but given its generous size, it's to be expected.
POC Devour - Performance
POC’s extensive efforts in designing the Devour have directly translated into excellent performance, and rightfully so given the asking price. Upon placing the glasses on my face I was greeted with the glasses’ vast coverage and some sharp-witted comments from others in the office.
Comments aside, the Devour’s coverage is second to none. All corners of vision are thoroughly covered, without a gap for stray sunlight to peek through. Though, what’s not seen behind the cool gold tint of the lens is the rather substantial frame.
On the model on test, the frame is a thick black, reminiscent of the thick rims hipsters used to wear back when they were around. And even though there’s a lot of coverage on offer, the fat frame isn’t exactly out of the way. It can be seen when looking towards the sides of the Devour, so vision isn’t completely unaffected but it’s something that’s very easy to look past… Pun intended.
The lens and its coverage are the stars of the show here because the lens itself is crystal clear and its protection against bright sun is more than enough. But POC hasn’t gone crazy with the lens’s tint, so even when the sun isn’t at full chat, the tinted lens doesn’t completely impede vision, instead, it relies on the mirroring to reflect the harsher light.
As for comfort, the Devour continues to tick boxes as I’ve been happy riding in the specs for all kinds of rides, for any length of time. At 40g they’re a little heavier than most and understandably so, but thanks to the effective grip of the rubber nose piece, the weight is well hidden.
The glasses are pretty handy when it comes to anti-fog too. While this lens isn’t one of the heavily vented ones, lens fog has rarely occurred, only rearing its head when wrenching up particularly slow and sweaty climbs, where there’s a big temperature differential between my face and the specs. For the most part, anti-fog performance has been top-notch.
However, as a pair of sunglasses designed to work best with a particular helmet, comfort, and stability isn’t consistent when wearing with other lids. During this test, I’ve paired the glasses with the POC Kortal Race Mips, its companion piece, the Troy Lee Designs A3, and the Troy Lee Designs Flowline SE. As you would expect, they were great with the Kortal but I found that the brows of the Troy Lee Designs hats often knocked the glasses down on my nose, the Flowline more so than the A3. As a result, I often had to slide them back into place. If the Devour had a downside, aside from the price, this would be it.
As mentioned before, the Devour accommodates interchangeable lenses and it's a fairly simple task, but it requires some force to get the job done. Don't be afraid to get firm.
POC Devour - Value and Verdict
With a price tag of £230, sadly, the POC Devour is a seriously hard purchase to justify. While it offers coverage that many glasses can’t paired with a very clear lens, others at far less of a price do come very close.
For example, the Melon Optics Alleycat comes in at £140 with the optional low-light lens. Its coverage doesn’t match that of the Devour’s but it’s pretty darn good. It's a lighter pair of glasses that also gets a Carl Zeiss lens.
Smith Optics Flywheel is well worth considering too as its coverage is very close in comparison, and its Chromapop lens is mega clear. That’ll cost you £130, a full £100 less but the lens isn't interchangeable.
And both of these glasses that I’ve mentioned, gel nicely with a range of helmets.
So the POC Devour is mighty expensive pair of specs that plays best when used with the POC Kortal and it seems an unfortunate oversight that it doesn’t come with a carry case for protection in transit. However, it offers a range of coverage yet to be found elsewhere, with an effective lens and excellent fog resistance in a weighty, but comfortable package. If you don’t have a Kortal, do your best to try before you buy.
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