Seeing the Light - A review of Julbo eyewear
By Jay Reilly (August 2007)
I’ve not written about sunglasses before, so bear with me here whilst I struggle to come up with words. I mean – everyone wears them, they’re no great mystery are they? They have dark bits you look through, and arms to stop them from falling off. AND they can often times be used as a fashion accessory.
Sunglasses from Julbo are no exception to the above, with the dark bits, arms and all… I guess the main difference between Julbo and the average fashion sunglasses, is that Julbo are designed to be used in the outdoors, and in extreme conditions, whether it be ice and snow, on the ocean, or hard charging a downhill on a mountain bike.
My test was on the new Julbo Explorers – made for the extremes of snow and ice. I have used the Julbo Micropores for all mountaineering ventures in the past and found the styling of the Explorers kinda radical in comparison. I loved it! The design is actually functional as well – allowing the frame to completely “wrap around” – rather than the leather side shields on the Micropores, which over time do succumb to facial sweat and oils.
Julbo have always had a reputation for great lens technology. I have used the High Altitude Cat 4 lens on many mountain forays with great results and full, reliable protection from the intense brightness at altitude. FYI – I’ve seen someone go snow blind in as little as 15 minutes at high altitude without glasses on!
The Explorers have a couple lens options. One is the standard, High Altitude Cat 4, never go snow blind, super reliable, super clear, Alti- Spectron lens. The other is Julbo’s new Chameleon lens – a lens that according to the claims is “photochromatic”, meaning it changes according to the light conditions -darker when light is brighter and lighter when there’s less light. The Chameleon lens changes from Category 3 (a very dark protective category) to Category 4 (a super dark High Altitude category)
I was climbing Ama Dablam in Nepal. We only made Camp 2 at 6100m due to heavy snow, but I used the Chameleon lensed Explorers up that point with confidence – and to be honest would likely have used them higher as well. I found them absolutely perfect for the climbing conditions we faced. The mornings were bright and sunny, then by 11am, clouds would roll in and snow would start. To have a pair of glasses that adapted to the changes in light was just lovely. Usually, when wearing an Alti-Spectron lens, when the clouds would come, I’d be tripping over things!
OK – I admit – I was surprised when the lens actually lived up to its claim and did indeed change to the different light conditions. It doesn’t change straight away, and the change is not noticeable, UNTIL you make a direct back to back compare with a non-photochromatic lens, such as I did with the other, Alti-Spectron lens fitted Explorers. That’s when you really can tell. One is too dark, the other is… well – just nice.