The AIM sunglasses are the latest performance model from POC that combine oversized lens with sleek euro styling. Developed to have a wide field of view, the POC AIM sunglasses feature a semi frameless design. They are also offered with a wide range of interchangeable Clarity lens options, one of POC’s signature lens technologies. As the clever name implies, the lenses offer distortion free and vivid color rendering in a variety of filtering categories and tints to match any environment. POC also offers the sunglasses in a wide range of unique colors such as Kalkopyrit blue and Apophyllite green, making it easy to match with POC helmets or cycling kits. Along with the premium retail price, the AIM sunglasses have high end features such as a durable Gilarid frame construction and adjustable nose piece. To prevent damage in a crash, the AIM sunglasses also have snap hinge temples that can pop out to protect the frame.
The POC AIM sunglasses offer sleek euro styling combined with a semi-frameless design and the stellar optics of POC’s Clarity lenses.
| Category | Sunglasses |
| Rating | Design: A– Optics: A Comfort: A Value: B+ |
| Retail Price | $220 |
| Measured weight (in g) | 36 |
| Likes | + Sleek euro design + Adjustable nose piece and temples + Clarity lens optics and tints |
| Dislikes | – Frame temples look a bit cheap – Premium price – Not available with photochromic lens |
| Where to Buy (US) | POC |
UNBOXING
While the AIM sunglasses are admittedly expensive, unboxing them feels like a VIP experience all on its own. The sunglasses come in a large yet sleek white cardboard box with minimal graphics and a foam inner liner that holds the sunglasses and a hard case. Unlike standard fabric zippered hard cases, POC provides an attractive plastic semi transparent case that opens down the center. All told, you receive the following in the box:
- AIM sunglasses
- Semi transparent hard case
- Soft fabric storage bag
Despite the number of products we have unboxed, these sunglasses are among our favorite as the design and details of the packaging are truly impressive.
FIT & FINISH
The AIM sunglasses capture POC’s distinctive rounded oversized sunglass design language. Particularly from the front, the AIM sunglasses have a modern and sleek shape to them. Instead of aggressive and sharp corners, the AIM sunglasses have a smooth and rounded shield shape. With the AIM sunglasses (the POC Aspire Clarity and Crave Clarity offer variations on this design), a semi-frameless design is used with no frame along the bottom of the lens. This provides you a clear and unobstructed view which is particularly useful when cycling. The oversized lens also overlaps the upper portion of the frame which paired with the mirrored Clarity lens gives the frame a thin and delicate appearance.
When you remove the lens from the frame, or look at the AIM sunglasses from the backside, you quickly realize that POC has played some visual tricks to hide the frame. The semi-transparent frame is actually quite bulky, with the nose piece attached to the main frame via a vertical connector to the top of the frame. Surprisingly, you don’t notice the vertical connector when riding unless you’re looking far to your sides. The temples of the sunglasses are offset from the top of the frame and use a snap hinge that is designed to pop out to protect the sunglasses from damage in the event of an impact. Visually we found the temples looked a bit cheap with the wide design and semi-transparent design which makes them look like something you’d find on knock-off sunglasses. Aside from the material used on the temples, the unique colors and flexibility of the frame feel well designed.
OPTICS
One of the most important factors in selecting sunglasses are the lenses. Even gas station sunglasses can provide similar styling to most sunglasses but their lens don’t have the durability or optics of premium sunglasses. With the AIM sunglasses, POC offers their Clarity lens technology which uses precise color filtering for enhanced contrast and color definition. Unlike the Bollé’s Phantom or other photochromic lenses, the Clarity lenses are a single filter category and do not adjust to light conditions. We found the Clarity lenses had excellent clarity and distortion free optics on the road. They worked well in mixed riding conditions, even when our rides took us through fog and full sun. Although they are similar, we preferred riding with the Clarity lenses over the Smith’s Chromapop lenses as the colors generally ‘popped more’ on the road.
POC offers a wide variety of Clarity lens options and even simplifies the buying process by classifying them as road or trail. The difference between the two is the filtering category and the base tint color. These two properties dictate how much light is transmitted through the lens and how you see the color spectrum. We tested both the Clarity Road Violet/Silver Mirror (CAT 3 VLT 10%) and Clarity Trail Brown/Silver Mirror (CAT 2 VLT 34%) and found the Clarity trail offered better depth perception and brighter color rendering for forested trail riding. The mirrored Clarity Road lens offers more protection from the sun and brings out imperfections in the road. With the interchangeable lens design of the AIM you can easily swap them out to match your environment but at $100 per lens your wallet probably won’t be happy.
COMFORT
Despite the oversized lens design, the AIM sunglasses are light and comfortable to wear all-day. We would describe them as standard fit and have a similar feeling to the Smith Flywheel and Bollé Lightshiftters. We had no issues with pressure points or the sunglasses staying in place.
Unlike the Smith and Bollé sunglasses which have nose pieces with 2-3 positions, POC uses a flexible rubber material that can be adjusted to a near infinite number of positions. Applying a little force on the material allows it to deform and hold the desired shape, thus allowing you to customize the fit on each side. The same material is used on the temple which allows the sunglasses to contour around your head.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the POC AIM sunglasses to be sleek in design with great optics. Although the Clarity lenses are a single category design (i.e. not photochromic), the wide range of available tints and light transmission amounts let you easily choose the best one for your ride. Both the Clarity Road and Clarity Trail we tested had excellent color definition for their environments. The clear optics and sleek euro profile of the AIM sunglasses mean they look great on or off the bike. POC’s distinctive color options also lets you match the AIM to POCs helmets or your cycling kit. Although the temples look out of place for the premium price, with the POC AIM sunglasses are a great option for those looking for high-performance sunglasses.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by POC. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.