off-road.cc

Leatt's Velocity 6.5 mountain bike goggles offer an optically excellent lens plus superb comfort and security, but they're fairly heavy, which means they need cranking down to prevent movement with an open face helmet, though they're great with a full facer. They're not badly priced considering the quality and features either.

• Five sneaky bike marketing terms you shouldn't trust
• The best mountain bikes you can buy for under £1,500 - full sus and hardtails
• The best cycling podcasts

These goggles sit at the very top of Leatt's tree and while all three share the same Wide Vision 170° lens - claimed to be bulletproof, no less - the Velocity 6.5 gets a tidy quick release system for it, plus a broader strap and dual-density frame to improve the fit and security.

The lens is a real highlight. It offers a wide and undistorted field of vision, with the twin-layer design offering good protection against steaming up, along with an additional anti-fog coating and another to help protect against scratches, which it did admirably. I found the tear-off tab mounts are slightly in the periphery of vision when you first put them on, but it's not noticeable when riding.

Removal of the lens is pretty simple; unclip the big outriggers at the side of the goggles, push them forwards and then the lens comes out with a minimal amount of wrestling small clips. Those big outriggers also serve to hold the goggles closer to your face and improve sealing too, especially when wearing a full facer.

The fit is also aided by the frame being made of a harder material to mount the lens and a softer, more flexible material on the inside that distorts to the contours of your face more easily. Sitting against your face is well-shaped and profiled three-layer, dual-density foam with a soft, wicking outer layer, making them very comfy goggles to wear for a long time.

The only real downside is that they're fairly heavy and also somewhat bulky. Neither is very noticeable if you're wearing a full facer or have a particularly Roman nose, but I found it necessary to crank up the strap tightness when using an open lid as the weight would make them bounce about a bit otherwise. The big, broad strap does help here though.

The asking price isn't too steep considering the quality of lens and materials, though UK riders will probably also need to cough up an extra £9 for the clear lens, which doesn't come as standard with any of the goggle lens and frame options. There's a nose guard and some tear-offs included in the pack, plus you can fit a canister roll-off system too.

While they're probably best suited to full-face use rather than half-lid enduro fashion crime, the Velocity 6.5 goggles offer a load of comfort, superb optics and some clever features for the money. If you mostly intend to run them with an open helmet then the Velocity 5.5 goggles, which do without the quick release lens system, might well be a lighter and better choice, but these are very good goggles for the cash.

• www.hotlines-uk.com
• www.leatt.com

You might also like:

• The best mountain bike trail and enduro helmets - tried, tested and reviewed
• Which disc brake pads are best for mountain bikes? Sintered or organic?