Every athlete has felt it: the need to share their accomplishments on the field, pitch, slopes, trails or wherever they perform at their best. For the most part, the action cameras available are the very conspicuous kind – the kind that you stick onto your helmet or handlebars and announce to everyone “I’m recording my awesome sports moves!” The Spy Tec Inventio-HD 720P HD video sunglasses let you catch all of the action discreetly from a first-person angle – then relive your greatest accomplishments the second you get into the vicinity of a TV.
We were supplied with a pair of the glasses to review, and we wore them around for a while to get a feel for their style and functionality. As you can tell from the picture above, they look just like a normal pair of sports sunglasses, though they may not look entirely natural on a small-featured face. The issue of the sunglasses’ size is a minor one, particularly when you remember that you can use these glasses to record everything you’re seeing and hearing at all times. Or at least for the two or so hours of recording time that the Li-ion battery will give you per charge.
Recording video and taking still pictures with the Inventio HD sunglasses couldn’t be easier. To start recording you simply push an inconspicuous button on the side of the earpiece. Unfortunately (for this writer, at least) the LED that indicates when the glasses are recording was set back just far enough that the glasses have to be off in order to make sure they’re on and recording.
Bright and moderate-light video come out great, but the Inventio’s strong suit is definitely not low-light recording. Then again, they’re sunglasses and that really isn’t what they are meant to do. The image stabilization was better than expected for high-action video, and the USB charging cord also features component plugs that let you plug right into a TV and relive your sporty fun just as soon as you get home. Overall, for sports enthusiasts who want to keep a record of how rad their trail rides or mountain climbs are, you can’t beat the quality and ease of use of the Inventio HD Recording Sunglasses for $129.95.
