Welcome to EN’s Product Review series! Who doesn’t love shopping, especially when the object of your search is new gear for yourself or your horse? As an enthusiast of all products equine, I LOVE trying out new gear. Please join me as I narrate my personal journey of trying out all of the products featured. While I will make no recommendations, I hope you have fun reading about my many adventures of trying new products, and that hearing about my personal experiences helps you on your own quest for new gear. Go Shopping.
The Soless Gold has a strap that tightens nicely around the helmet, and then a visor clip is added to the front for additional security while riding. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
I hate squinting. You want an absolute? Well, there it is. I’ve always been a little sensitive to the sun … as in, I tend to burn to a crisp without sunscreen, and I also find myself with a squinting-induced headache should I forget to wear sunglasses.
Let’s also not forget that comment my eye doctor made to me … that squinting can help cause wrinkles. Oh heck no! Sitting in my (late) 20s, you better be darn sure that I am taking that information to heart to avoid it. Like the plague.
Riding while the sun is in my eyes is just not fun. Like, at all. The problem is, that when I wear sunglasses, they never seem to stay in place on my face. It seems like every 10 strides my horse takes, I have to break rein contact to push my shades back up into place. #fail
Soless are transparent helmet visors that fasten to your helmet with an adjustable fastener. Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
Looking for a creative solution to this particular problem, I came across the brand Soless. I recognized the helmet visors as being something that I’ve seen eventers like Tamie Smith wearing. And so I was intrigued.
So intrigued, and then very excited to try them out for myself! Soless are transparent helmet visors that fasten to your helmet with an adjustable fastener. Each visor features a polycarbonate film that offers 92% UV protection as well.
And the UV protection is good for helping to keep the sun’s rays off of the sensitive skin. I was happy to have both a Soless Gold and a Soless Velcro arrive in a handy storage bag for me to try out. So what is the difference between the two?
I’ve found that both models are very simply to use, and they fasten onto my helmet easily. Photo by Lorraine Peachey
Let me break it down for you. The Soless Gold is a “dressed up” version of the Soless Classic, that simply lets you add a little extra bit of glam to your attire. The transparent visor feels flexible, and it is easy to bend around a helmet in order to attach it.
The Soless Gold has a strap that tightens nicely around the helmet, and then a visor clip is added to the front for additional security while riding. Personally like the look of the clear visor that is covered with a black mesh, paired with a black trim, and is also accented with sparkly gold flecks.
The Soless Velcro is a brand new model that … wait for it … can even be worn without your helmet. So it can even double as a visor. I will note that the velcro model also does not feature the mesh that protects the polycarbonate film that the Soless Classic and Gold have.
The Soless Velcro is a brand new model that…wait for it…can even be worn without your helmet. So it can even double as a visor! Photo by Lorraine Peachey.
I’ve found that both models are very simply to use, and they fasten onto my helmet easily. I get the sense that they will work well with most types of helmets, provided it has an attached brim. I’ve personally tried Soless on both my Tipperary and One K helmets and found both work equally well.
And I do notice a difference when it riding with Soless … with less sun in my eyes, for sure! The visors also stay attached at the walk, trot, canter, and even at the gallop, thanks to the fly away clip. All the while, Soless felt well secured to my helmet!
Cleaning and storage are also quite simple. After use, I detach the Soless visor, and return it to its storage bag. I treat it carefully, as I would a pair of sunglasses, in order to prevent scratching the polycarbonate film.
Soless Gold has a retail price of $79.99, while Soless Velcro is more budget friendly version that retails for $49.99. Both models are NEW, and you can find a listing of retailers who carry Soless here.
Go Stylish Sun Protection. Go Soless. Go Eventing.
