Oakley Meta Vanguard In-Depth Review: 17 Things You Need to Know!

Here's everything you need to know about the Oakley/Meta Vanguards, from real-world sports testing! The Vanguard's on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4o5jYrT (link helps support the channel, thanks!!!) I test a lot of devices. Most of them, are frankly, kinda forgettable. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, they’re great. But they aren’t game-changers in my workflow or sports life. Instead, they are typically an iteration of an existing item I have. One watch for a newer watch. A new trainer for an older trainer. Or a slightly tweaked action cam replacing an older one. So when I first heard about the Oakley/Meta Vanguards, frankly, I figured it was going to be yet another smart glasses product that would end up in the bin of blah. I’ve tried countless ones over the years, from Recon Snow (2012+), Recon Jet (2013+), Google Glass (2014), Recon Jet (2013+), Garmin Varia Vision (2016), to the SOLOS glasses (2018), Everysight Raptor (2018), FORM Swim Goggles (2019+), and many more I never got around to writing about. And that ignores products like the Apple Vision Pro (2024), and making that work in sports too. When it came to the Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses, I was wrong. These are astoundingly good. They will absolutely replace a GoPro in a lot of cycling and even running action cam scenarios. But it’s more interesting to understand *why* and *how* they will do that. And beyond that, all the things that annoy me about them. Because, being (sorta) a 1st gen product, there are still some quirks. 0:00 Quick Overview 0:31 What’s in the box 1:10 Lens Style/Price/Options 2:03 The hardware controls 2:35 The microphones 3:31 The camera hardware 4:18 Battery and tests 5:06 The display? 5:42 The Meta App 6:38 Music Connections 7:12 Voice Calling 7:54 Video Tests & Comparisons 10:11 Slow Motion Video 10:33 Hyperlapse Video 11:32 Syncing Video & Gallery 12:09 Garmin Integration & Overlays 16:09 Strava Integration 17:08 Final Thoughts & Recommendations #Oakley #OakleyVanguard #MetaGlasses