Overview
New from 100% are the Aerocraft sunnies. Designed in California, these blade-style speed dealers incorporate the brand’s 3D plane moulded lens technology. This futuristic shaping has featured in its MX and snow goggles since 2019, and the brand says it offers exceptional optical clarity and an uninterrupted field of view.
100% Aerocraft Key Features
Lenses
The Ultra HD lenses are manufactured from high-impact, shatter-resistant and lightweight polycarbonate. 100% say they offer 360° visibility for unobstructed views and optimal field of vision. We’re not quite sure how they help you see out of the back of your head, but in the field of view our eyes can see they are sharp and mostly distortion-free, save for where you can see the contoured shaping of the lens.
The lenses are interchangeable and offer full UV protection (UV400). We have found the lenses to be exceptionally clear and have so far survived many dusty rides and being thrown around inside our gear bag without any scratches or damage. 100% also applies a hydrophobic and oleophobic coating to help that sunscreen and dust infused sweat that drips out of the front of your helmet bead and run off the bottom of the lens rather than smearing and making a mess.
Thankfully we haven’t tested out the impact-resistant claims on any rides yet, however, they do have a sturdy feel to them, significantly more so than some other high-end, lightweight sunnies do.
The Aerocraft range features two different lens types, standard tinted and the HiPER version we have here. This is a proprietary lens from 100% that is claimed to boost contrast and colours to enhance details on the trail. This works in a similar vein to Oakley’s Prizm or Smith’s Chromapop where the lens is tuned to filter specific wavelengths of coloured light to help your eyes pick up detail. On the trail, we have found these lenses to be crystal clear without any distortion or strange light reflections.
The non-HiPER lenses are made from the same shatter-resistant polycarbonate and see full UV protection. They just miss out on the contrast-enhancing colour filtering.
Frame
The frames feature adjustable temple tips to dial in your fit, along with ultra-grip rubber nose pads and arms to help keep the sunnies on your head even when you get sweaty.
We have been testing them with a couple of different helmets and they have fit in nicely with a Fox Spreedframe, Leatt Enduro 3.0 and Smith Forefront 2 setups.
They haven’t had any of that annoying rub between straps or the retention system and the sunglass arms, or any uncomfortable pressure points that some sunnies have after a few hours on your head.
The adjustable temple tips are surprisingly effective, and even when angled in to create a secure fit, they don’t dig in.
The front also sees a removable rubberised brow pad, which is something we are in two minds about. On the one hand, it prevents your eyebrows from smudging the inside of your lens, but on the other hand, it doesn’t let as much airflow through to demist the interior. Being winter we can’t speak to how this performs in the heat, but we’d speculate the browpad will be out once the mercury begins to rise.
Flow’s Verdict
The new Aerocraft sunnies from 100% are a premium product, they are lightweight, comfortable, and offer a crystal clear uninterrupted view through the high tech lenses.
We do like the HiPER lens and it does seem to offer some contrast improvement, helping our eyes to pick out details in varied light conditions. As one of 100%’s pricier options, we think it is the aesthetic that will be make or break for most folks.
