We have been sent the Outdoormaster PHOENIX X Sports Sunglasses with ZEISS Lenses along with the Outdoormaster RHINO GUARD MIPS Bicycle Helmet as a pairing for review! As a casual cyclist, I put my hand up to try them out! It was actually time for a new helmet, I’ve been sporting the same helmet for some time, it was very heavy (has built in lights and tech, as was my mindset when I got it). I’m still very much about lights when I ride (day or night!) but now I rely on Knog Blinders to keep the flashing happening! I digress… The pairing of the Outdoormaster helmet and glasses came at a perfect time, and to be completely honest, were not a brand I had considered, or knew about!

Comparatively, the gear was lower cost than what I was considering and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Delivery day came around and the two packages were unboxed and ready for action, slow middle aged man action, but action all the same! Let’s start by a look at what you get when you order the PHOENIX X Sports Sunglasses.

The package comes in its own little moulded zip-shut case, you have have the glasses including the Zeiss “Orange Green” lens (I chose the Dark Green frame because I’m calm like that!) the semi-rim nose bridge assembly for when you wear them half-frame, you get two extra included lenses, a PolaContrast clear for night rides and a Grey Polarized for brighter days, the user manual and cleaning cloth and a pouch for the glasses when you’re out and about.

Let’s talk about the lenses first, you might know that word “Zeiss” from camera lenses, regular glasses, spotting scopes or even binoculars or rifle accessories… the list goes on! They’re a precision optics manufacturer and they’ve been doing it since Carl Zeiss started the company in 1846 – They know their stuff! The green orange lenses that come fitted are great for your regular not-super-sunny day rides, they excel in hazy overcast conditions (I have orange lenses in my ski goggles for this reason, they cut through the dullness of it all) so think morning rides, a bit of mist or fog and they glasses fitted with the orange lenses will do you proud. The alternative lenses that come in the kit are a mostly clear, rated a CAT 0 (lets in the most light), VLT 100% (Visible Light Transmission – lets all the light through, just blocks out bugs, rocks, wayward cheeseburgers etc) and you have the gray polarised lens, rated CAT 3 (Cat runs 0-4, so a cat 3 typically allows 8-18% light in, they’re good for bright sunny days), VLT 12% – Blocking  88% making it a dark lens – thus the good for bright sunny days bit!

Here’s my ‘blue steel’ – Honestly not sure what I was going for here, but this is with the PolaContrast clear lens in, full frame, Jack Russell just out of shot.

The lenses are rated as UV400 protecting your eyeballs from nasty UV, they’re certified to GB and CE standards (European and Chinese standards) and they’re built to withstand high-speed impact from debris to protect your eyes on the road or trail.

In Australia, eyewear standards are a bit more nuanced. The closest relevant benchmark is AS/NZS 1067, which covers things like UV protection levels, lens category, and basic optical quality for sunglasses. Most decent cycling glasses will comfortably meet the UV requirements of this standard if they’re genuinely UV400-rated, even if they’re not explicitly certified to it.

There’s also AS/NZS 1337, but that’s aimed at industrial safety eyewear rather than sports optics. While some high-end riding glasses are built tough enough to brush up against those impact requirements, they’re generally not tested or certified under that standard because they’re designed for performance and comfort on the bike, not job-site compliance.

In other words, for cycling, UV400 and reputable international certifications do most of the heavy lifting. Australian standards are more about formal classification than everyday riding safety, unless you’re planning on drafting behind a gravel truck on a worksite. (Don’t laugh, I’ve done this… years ago, but still!)

The PHOENIX X offer adjustable nose pads, I basically just pressed them to what felt right when I first put mine on, they stay in place and hold on very well! You also have the option to remove the bottom half of the frame for a lighter more airy fit, and you have the extra nose pad to fit when you do that, adjust the same, sits on your nose very well. I do find when wearing them in half-frame (race mode!) that they tend to sit a little closer to the face for me, I had no issues with fog-ups, not to say you won’t, but I didn’t.

 

The frames are super light at 32g and they’re very strong and flexible! (gif above, crikey!) You pop the bottom half of the frame off to change the lenses, or you pop them off and leave them off as I mentioned above. They also have what Outdoormaster call the secure hook fit system, so the arms are flexible and hook into place with some gentle bending – I’ve ridden mostly gravel with them, but some single track with a couple of dirt jumps and they stayed on easily. A good system and although I wasn’t rampaging after my teen on a gnarly downhill I feel like they would stay on in most all conditions.

 

The PHOENIX X Sports Sunglasses (with ZEISS Lenses!) are a great option at a pretty good price given the kit and extras that come with the kit.

As I mentioned, the team at OutdoorMaster sent the glasses over with the Rhino Guard MIPS Road Helmet (Does that mean it would protect a Rhino, or protect you FROM a Rhino!) A MIPS certified bicycle helmet that weighs in at 300gm with its dual-mold construction. 21 vents, a sporty aerodynamic build and a quickly adjustable and securely fastening chin strap arrangement. They are available in blue, black and the colour that I received, white.

You may not have heard of MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System) is a safety technology built into some helmets that adds a thin, low-friction slip layer between your head and the helmet’s inner foam. The idea is that many real-world impacts don’t hit straight on — they come at an angle, which creates a rotational force on the brain that standard foam alone doesn’t address well. The MIPS slip layer allows the helmet to rotate very slightly (about 10–15mm) independently of your head on impact, absorbing and redirecting some of that rotational energy before it reaches your brain. It doesn’t make a helmet invincible, but independent testing has generally shown MIPS-equipped helmets perform better in angled impact scenarios compared to equivalent non-MIPS versions.

The helmet is ASTM & CPSC Certified which makes it compliant with Australian standards, and so far has been a great helmet in use. Nice and light and it fits well and is comfortable on my head.

As a pairing, the PHOENIX X glasses together with the Rhino Guard helmet make a great combo for those that want great quality gear without the crazy pricetag. Well worth a look!

 

Pricing and Availability in Australia

The Outdoormaster Phoenix X Sports Sunglasses with Zeiss Lenses have a RRP of A$229.00.

The Rhino Guard MIPS Road Helmets comes in medium or large, blue, white or black colourways, with RRP A$109.00.

DRN readers can get 15% off with this code DRN.

DRN would like to thank Outdoormaster for providing the review units.