Tifosi Pro Escalate FSH glasses set

This Pro Escalate FSH glasses set is the most expensive that Tifosi makes; the company is better known for its good quality mid-range riding specs. It's a really good set though: there are three frame options, six lenses and a nice case to keep them all in.

FSH stands for Full, Shield and Half, and that's what you get: a full frame, a shield frame – where the lens itself is the frame – and a half frame. Well, you don't get the three whole frames, there's just one pair of Grillamid TR90 plastic arms that snap onto whichever front you fancy wearing.

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For each lens style you get two options. For the full frame there's a smoked sunglass lens with a mirrored finish, and a fully clear winter lens.

Move to half frame and there's a mirrored sunglass (again) and a high-transmission orange lens for dull days. 

The shield lenses are both sunglasses: mirrored like the other two, and a blue mirrored one that's darker for when it's really sunny out.

Swapping the front is simple: you just grab the arm and twist it to release, then reverse the process to fit it. You need to give it a firm twist to get it off, which is a bit disconcerting to begin with but you soon get used to doing it. All three frames have hydrophilic rubber nose inserts which are both very comfortable and adjustable to get just the fit you want. With the full and half frames they're part of the frame, with the shields it's just a clip-on section that snaps onto the lens. There's a rubber grip section on the arms too.

In use I've been impressed with these Tifosis. The lens quality is very good, with very little optical distortion, and the adjustable fit means you can get them just where you want them so you're looking through the lens and not the frame. The shields have the best peripheral vision but all three frames are very useable, and from a style point of view they should see you right for any type of riding. The full frames work really well as a general pair of off-the-bike sunnies too.

The full and half frames have vents in the lenses; whether it's that or the frame design that reduces fogging I'm not sure, but the Tifosis are pretty well behaved. I found the half frames to be the least sweaty overall.

> Check out our guide to the best cycling glasses

With two lenses per frame style you're more or less covered for every eventuality, although you're out of luck if you want to use the shield frame in low-light conditions because both lenses are low-transmission. But this is a really good, versatile system for all kinds of riding. You could be mountain biking in the rain in full frames on Saturday and racing sunny 4th cats in the shields on the Sunday, with just a quick change of the arms.

At £140 these aren't a cheap way of getting some eye protection for your riding but they still represent decent value because they're very versatile, and it's good to have everything you could reasonably need in one place. If you're looking for one purchase to cover all your eyewear needs – on and off the bike – these are definitely worth looking at.

Verdict

Versatile eyewear system that gives you a good range of frames and lenses in one case