Three Bean Soup Product Review

KOO Alibi Sunglasses

Here I am, wearing my first ever pair of cycling specific performance eyewear; the KOO Alibi. Well, actually, that's my dog, Lot-E, posing for the photo. Hard to tell the difference, but she is the one who takes more pride in her appearance. Anyway, I have been wearing these for a month now. And yes, in spite of being old enough to remember when Oakley came out with Blades, I have never actually worn any of this type of eyewear, except for when Dain Zaffke loaned me a pair of something for the Starling review last year because he said I looked stupid in my Ray Bans and even worse with my unshaded RBF.

So, KOO. This is the eyewear end of Kask, the Italian helmet makers. There is actually a fair bit to write home about here. One piece lens made by Zeiss, replaceable rubber nose pucks that are available in different sizes and shapes for different schnozzes, little vent slots at the top of the lens, prescription inserts, and in this case, a turquoise mirror lens with a super low 11% VLT that looks blue from the outside but is actually more of an orange/persimmon tint when viewed from the inside.

In spite of the low VLT, the tint offers impressive relief/shadow resolution and works surprisingly better than expected in low light situations. I wouldn't pick it for my rainy day lens, but it handles changeable light better than the number might imply. The optical quality and consistency is clean and distortion free. I was sort of expecting for my first rodeo with this kind of eyewear that I would be immersed in a massive field of vision with no edges or frame visible, and now have to concede that maybe I was daydreaming a bit too utopian. As it sits, the Alibi shields wind well, has better coverage than most of the "regular" glasses I've worn over the last three decades, and doesn't jiggle or bounce or move around at all when getting pinballed through the chunder. So that's a solid win. I'm not sure how I feel about now existing somewhere on the Terminator/Brian Bosworth style spectrum, but everyone is doing it these days and while not as cool as Ray Bans these work way better and still don't scream "culture victim" nearly as loud as Pit Vipers. But I'm not so sure that I'd willingly shell out somewhere between $190 and $230US for the experience.

It should also be noted at this juncture that I am not singling out KOO here. I am calling out every single sunglass brand being sold at somewhere other than gas stations. Factor in that around 80% of the fancy eyewear on the planet is made by Luxottica (but not KOO, fyi), and it starts to all feel a bit fishy. But then again, if people are willing to fork over $15k for a new ebike, what's a couple hundred bucks when it comes to making sure that your eyeballs don't get violated by the sun's rays or any errant rocks?

Endura MT500 Lite Knee Pads

I bought these because I had a pair of Pearl Izumi Elevate knee guards that got stolen. Those PI Elevates were my holy grail knee pads. They were light enough and ventilated enough and comfortable enough to ride all day without ever taking them off. They fit really well, they were unobtrusive, and their squishy D30 pucks offered just enough protection to feel worthwhile. Definitely not hardcore knee protection, but enough for my limited, somewhat reserved level of schralpitude.

So, when it came time to replace them, I noticed that PI had changed the recipe a bit, and decided to instead look for something similar, with about the same size D30 pucks and a roughly equivalent pull-on Lycra kind of vibe, and slapped down the credit card for these puppies - the $110US Endura MT500 Lites. On the website they sure did look a lot like the old Elevates I was seeking to replace.

In person, the MT500 Lites are a whole lot different. They are quite a bit more substantial than the pads I was replacing. The D30 inserts feel larger, the Lycra has some sewn padding on the outside of each guard, the rear of the guard is covered in breathable fabric instead of open, and there is an elasticized hook and loop strap that cinches around the quadricep to help hold the whole jam in place.

This is a mixed blessing. On one hand, these are more substantial guards than what I had before. They feel like they can take more abuse than the guards they are replacing, and are going to offer more protection during yard sales. That's good. Buuuut, on the other hand they are also a lot more noticeable when riding, and while not as hardshell bulky as the full on pads out there like the Fox Launch, they are up there in weight, clocking in around 400g for a pair. They make their presence known on hot days when there's a lot of pedaling involved. I dig the added sense of security these provide, but I would be more comfortable, and more inclined to wear them more often, with a less substantial pad. I'd prefer something that breathes more, I don't need a strap across my quad, and I am willing to sacrifice some protection for pedalability. Like maybe the Endura MT 500 Ghost, or the old Elevates.

On the other other hand, if you ride in cooler climates, and think the current crop of lightweight pads are a little too lightweight, but at the same time are looking for something a little more pedal friendly than the full-send double strap hardshell options out there, these might be just what you're looking for.

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Milwaukee Packout Tool Case

After a couple product reviews where my biases have come home to roost, you may be wondering what flavor of damning with faint praise I am going to indulge in here. Let's get it out of the way right now then, shall we? I wish these came in yellow. There, that's it.

See, when you enter into the world of battery powered tools, you basically have to pick a color and commit. That way you can swap out batteries between tools and thus maximize your spending potential. I made the decision, for better or worse, a long time ago to go with DeWalt. My ranchmate was true blue Makita. And my best friend has been a red and black Milwaukee man for as long as I can remember. When Milwaukee reached out beyond the batteries a few years ago and launched the Packout line of cases and accessories, I started to regret my DeWalt-ness.

Milwaukee's Packout line is defined by profiled and indented lids and bases, and in some cases, sides. These interlock with the matching profiles and indentations in other cases, or crates, or rolling boxes, or batteries, or bags, or coolers, or radios, or flashlights, or mugs, or shit, just about anything that you can shake a battery powered stick at, and it all locks together in a rugged, stable, secure chunk of workhorse goodness that won't just clatter around stupidly in the back of your car or truck because once you start stacking this shit together, man, it gets solid. It has mass. Authority. Security. Matchy matchy, latchy latchy, don't even think about bringing that shitty yellow Dewalt duffle case anywhere near us, boy...

These tool cases come with two chunks of laminated foam. Cut the foam to the desired shape and depth for whatever you want to stash, stash the desired stashables, latch the big latches closed with a satisfying "klunk", then stack the boxes onto each other with another satisfying "klunk", then maybe even throw one of those matching milk crate things on top because, hell (satisfying "klunk"), everyone needs a milk crate that locks in place on top of their tool box that locks in place on top of the other tool box, and... yeah. It would be very easy to get carried away at this point. I mean, a Packout cooler? WHY NOT? Makes perfect sense to me now. May as well get one of those baller Packout radios while I'm at it. And maybe a battery powered Packout shop light. And a Packout mug. Stanley? Pfffft, amateur hour. Take that bush league jive back to Ryobi-land, fool.

Okay, reel it back in, Ferrentino. Put the credit card down. Maybe spend some quiet, meditative time in the corner with a sharp blade and some customizable foam. There's a good boy. It'll all be okay.

But seriously, these things rule. Best $79.95 I have ever spent.