BLAZE
- John Nickolls
- 13 hours ago
- 6 min read
🔥 NIX | BLAZE
The Day I Ordered The Future
How a 63-Year-Old HGV Driver Ended Up Buying Artificial Intelligence, a Camera Crew, a Personal Assistant and a Pair of Varifocals… All Hidden Inside One Pair of Glasses
A Super NIX Blog by John Nickolls
Estimated Reading Time: 15 Minutes
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🎬 CHAPTER 1
IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AN EYE TEST
I blame Vision Express.
If they hadn’t invited me in for an eye test, none of this would have happened.
I’d still be wandering around Staffordshire wearing ordinary glasses.
I’d still be reaching for my phone every five minutes.
I’d still be fumbling around trying to photograph sunsets, campervans and random interesting things I spotted while travelling around Europe.
Instead…
I walked into Vision Express and accidentally ordered the future.
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As many readers know, I recently had my eyes tested.
At sixty-three years old I’ve reached that magical stage of life where my arms have become too short.
You know the feeling.
Restaurant menu?
Arm stretch.
Phone screen?
Arm stretch.
Tiny writing on a drone battery?
Maximum arm stretch.
Eventually you admit defeat and accept that varifocals might actually be a good idea.
So that’s what I expected to discuss.
Varifocals.
Prescription lenses.
Nothing particularly exciting.
What I didn’t expect was to leave having ordered a pair of Ray-Ban Meta Blayzers.
Or as they shall forever be known in the NIX universe…
🔥 BLAZE 🔥
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👓 WHY BLAZE IS DIFFERENT
Let’s be clear.
These aren’t simply glasses.
If they were, I wouldn’t be writing a 15-minute blog about them.
These are:
📸 A camera
🎥 A video camera
🎵 Headphones
🎤 A microphone system
☎️ A hands-free telephone
🤖 An AI assistant
🧠 A wearable computer
🌞 Automatic sunglasses
👓 Prescription varifocals
All disguised as a pair of Ray-Bans.
Twenty-year-old John would have thought this was science fiction.
Sixty-three-year-old John still thinks it’s science fiction.
The difference is that now I’ve ordered them.
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🌞 THE XTRACTIVE GAME CHANGER
This was actually one of the biggest reasons I decided to upgrade.
As an HGV driver and campervan owner, I spend an enormous amount of time looking through windscreens.
Vanilla’s windscreen.
My car windscreen.
A.P. Webb lorry windscreens.
European motorways through giant windscreens.
Traditional photochromic lenses work brilliantly outdoors.
But many drivers know the frustration.
You climb into a vehicle.
The sun is blazing.
Yet the lenses don’t darken as much as you’d like.
That’s because windscreens filter much of the UV light that ordinary photochromic lenses rely on.
Then along comes XTRActive.
Suddenly the rules change.
These lenses are specifically designed to react behind windscreens.
That immediately got my attention.
Because finally somebody had designed a lens around the way I actually live.
Not around somebody sitting in a coffee shop.
Around somebody driving hundreds of miles.
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🚛 THE HGV TEST
I already know exactly how I’ll judge Blaze.
Not in a shop.
Not in my living room.
Not on a YouTube review.
At 03:00 in the morning.
In an articulated lorry.
Rain bouncing off the windscreen.
Dashboard glowing.
Coffee steaming.
Can I see the motorway signs?
Can I read paperwork?
Can I see my dashboard clearly?
Can I read messages while parked?
Can I comfortably switch focus between road, mirrors and instruments?
If Blaze can handle that environment…
They can handle absolutely anything.
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🤓 FINALLY EMBRACING VARIFOCALS
I resisted varifocals for longer than I probably should have.
Like many men.
We convince ourselves everything is fine.
It isn’t.
Eventually reality wins.
The beauty of modern varifocals is that they simply disappear.
Road ahead.
Crystal clear.
Dashboard.
Crystal clear.
Drone controller.
Crystal clear.
Phone.
Crystal clear.
Menu.
Crystal clear.
Pub beer list.
Critically important.
Crystal clear.
They become invisible.
And that’s exactly what good technology should do.
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📸 THE CAMERA BUTTON
This is where Blaze starts to feel like magic.
On the top of the frame sits a small capture button.
Nothing flashy.
Nothing dramatic.
Just a button.
Yet pressing that button changes everything.
Imagine this.
I’m standing outside Vanilla.
Sunset over a campsite.
Clouds glowing orange.
Most people reach for a phone.
Unlock it.
Find the camera app.
Frame the shot.
Hope they haven’t missed the moment.
I simply press a button.
Click.
Photo captured.
Done.
The moment survives.
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🎥 RECORDING VIDEO FROM MY EYES
Now things get really interesting.
Press and hold the button.
A tone sounds.
Recording starts.
And suddenly something remarkable happens.
The camera records exactly what I see.
Not what a camera mounted on my chest sees.
Not what a GoPro attached to a helmet sees.
Not what a phone sees.
My actual viewpoint.
My actual experience.
My actual adventure.
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🚴 BLAZE MEETS TORQUE
This is where I think things are going to become ridiculous.
In the best possible way.
Imagine me riding Torque across Cannock Chase.
The Bosch motor humming quietly beneath me.
The trail winding through the trees.
Birds singing.
Sunlight breaking through the canopy.
A deer appears.
I don’t stop.
I don’t reach for a phone.
I don’t miss the moment.
I simply say:
“Hey Meta, take a photo.”
Click.
Captured forever.
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🎤 THE MICROPHONES
Most people don’t get excited about microphones.
I do.
Because microphones are the difference between technology working and technology being annoying.
Meta have packed multiple microphones into Blaze.
The clever part is what happens next.
They focus on your voice.
Not the traffic.
Not the wind.
Not background noise.
Your voice.
Which means when I answer a call while walking through CamperJam, the person on the other end doesn’t hear chaos.
They hear me.
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☎️ PHONE CALLS FROM YOUR FACE
This sounds utterly ridiculous.
Until you try it.
Phone rings.
The ringtone appears inside the glasses.
I tap the side.
Call answered.
Now I’m talking through my spectacles.
Like some sort of retired cyborg lorry driver.
And somehow…
It works brilliantly.
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🎵 MUSIC WITHOUT HEADPHONES
This was the feature that completely surprised me on my first Meta glasses.
The speakers aren’t in your ears.
Nothing goes into your ears.
Yet music appears.
It’s like carrying a personal soundtrack around with you.
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Imagine this.
Sitting outside Vanilla.
Sun setting.
Beer chilled.
England winning.
Dire Straits playing softly.
Nobody around me is disturbed.
Yet I have my own private concert.
That’s clever.
Very clever.
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🤖 SAYING “HEY META”
This is the bit that genuinely feels futuristic.
I say:
“Hey Meta.”
A tone sounds.
The glasses wake up.
They’re listening.
Now I can ask questions.
“What’s the weather tomorrow?”
Answer.
“How far to CamperJam?”
Answer.
“Play Underworld.”
Done.
“Take a photo.”
Done.
No screen.
No keyboard.
No phone.
Just conversation.
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🚐 BLAZE AND VANILLA
Honestly?
I think Blaze may have been invented specifically for campervan owners.
Think about how many little moments happen on a typical trip.
Morning coffee.
Beautiful sunrise.
Interesting campervan.
Random sheep.
Spectacular mountain road.
Unexpected rainbow.
Funny campsite incident.
Most moments disappear.
Blaze lets me capture them instantly.
Without interrupting the experience itself.
That’s the important bit.
I remain present.
Yet still record the memory.
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🇪🇺 EUROPEAN DRIFT 2.0
I keep thinking about my European Drift adventure.
Twelve countries.
Thousands of miles.
Hundreds of memories.
Bruges.
Croatia.
Bosnia.
Austria.
Germany.
Switzerland.
France.
The Netherlands.
So many tiny moments vanished because I couldn’t get a camera out quickly enough.
Blaze would have changed that completely.
A glance.
A button press.
Memory preserved.
Simple.
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📺 VIDEOS I’M RECOMMENDING
Before Blaze even arrives, these are worth watching:
▶ Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses setup guides
▶ Meta AI demonstrations
▶ XTRActive lens reviews
▶ Real-world cycling footage
▶ Campervan travel footage filmed using Meta glasses
Watch enough of them and you’ll quickly realise something.
These aren’t trying to replace your phone.
They’re trying to remove the need to constantly reach for it.
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🔥 WHY THEY’RE CALLED BLAZE
Every important piece of kit in my world gets a name.
Vanilla.
Torque.
Zoom.
Nemesis.
Whiplash.
Towzer.
So naturally the glasses needed one too.
The answer arrived instantly.
Blaze.
Because the lenses darken.
Because the technology is cutting edge.
Because the frame looks fast.
Because it suits the orange NIX aesthetic.
And because my excitement level is currently somewhere between a bonfire and a small industrial furnace.
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🏆 FINAL VERDICT
I’ve bought a lot of gadgets.
More than I care to admit.
Some lasted a week.
Some lasted a month.
Some ended up forgotten in a drawer.
But occasionally a gadget arrives that genuinely changes the way you do things.
My first drone did.
Vanilla did.
Torque probably will.
And Blaze feels like it belongs in that category.
Not because it’s clever.
Not because it’s futuristic.
Not because it contains artificial intelligence.
Because it solves real problems.
Seeing clearly.
Capturing memories.
Listening to music.
Taking calls.
Finding information.
Staying connected.
All while looking like a normal pair of Ray-Bans.
That’s not just clever.
That’s brilliant.
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🔥 OFFICIAL NIX SCORE
👓 Varifocals: 10/10
🌞 XTRActive Lenses: 10/10
📸 Camera: 10/10
🎥 Video: 10/10
🎵 Audio: 10/10
🤖 AI Features: 11/10
🚐 Campervan Usefulness: 12/10
🚴 E-Bike Adventures: 12/10
🚛 HGV Driver Approval Rating: 44 tonnes out of 10
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FINAL THOUGHT
I walked into Vision Express expecting to order a pair of glasses.
I walked out having ordered a personal photographer, a music system, a telephone operator, an artificial intelligence assistant and a pair of the most advanced varifocals I’ve ever owned.
Not bad for a Tuesday.
🔥 BLAZE
The Official Smart Glasses of Nix, Vanilla, Torque, European Drift 2.0 and whatever adventure comes next.
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